{"id":118,"date":"2006-01-16T10:41:40","date_gmt":"2006-01-16T18:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/?p=118"},"modified":"2006-01-16T11:53:28","modified_gmt":"2006-01-16T19:53:28","slug":"clarence-ray-allens-last-day-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/2006\/01\/16\/clarence-ray-allens-last-day-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Clarence Ray Allen’s Last Day of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ClarenceToday is Clarence Ray Allen<\/a>‘s 76th birthday. The Choctaw Indian is the oldest man on death row. He is wheelchair bound, nearly blind and is in need of open-heart surgery. While KPFK joined many other news outlets in focusing on the Samuel Alito hearing all last week, the news of Allen’s impending execution on Tuesday January 17th has gotten little coverage on our airwaves or others’. <\/p>\n

As was expected, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has refused Allen’s clemency petition<\/a>. Given his contempt for the incarcerated, no one expected him to grant clemency. Unlike the case of Stanley “Tookie” Williams, Schwarzenegger turned down the request for a clemency hearing which would have enabled Allen’s lawyers to explain why he should be spared. <\/p>\n

The death penalty is a form of cruel and unusual punishment that most of the industrialized world has given up. Here in the US, it is consistent with the commonly stated values of vengeance that are spouted in main-stream discourse. <\/p>\n

But there is a growing movement of Americans opposed to the death penalty that have won some victories, even as more men on death row continue to be murdered by the state. The victories include moratoriums in Illinois<\/a> and Maryland<\/a>. New Jersey<\/a> is on its way to declaring a moratorium and even California<\/a> is considering it. <\/p>\n

Activists have pointed out in Tookie’s case as well as in Allen’s case, the rampant instances of racist behavior that contributed to the convictions of these two men. Many rallied behind Tookie’s innocence. Ultimately no one will know for sure whether Tookie was really guilty of the crimes for which he was convicted. But is that really the point where the death penalty is concerned? <\/p>\n

The death penalty has been statistically shown to be a racist tool<\/a> to eliminate people of color, particularly black and brown men. Whether the men are guilty or not of the crimes they were convicted of, the fact is that they are more likely to be put to death based on the color of their skin. <\/p>\n

And then, even if the death penalty was someday fairly applied across race, is it still right? Given the large number of people exonerated<\/a> through the use of legal tools like DNA evidence, it is mind-boggling how many innocent people could be on death row. <\/p>\n

But even if we could somehow, miraculously know that 100% of all death row inmates were 100% guilty, is it still right? <\/p>\n

“Execution” is a euphemism for murder. Murder is wrong. If you’re religious, it’s a sin. If you’re a police officer, it’s a crime. How can one “sin” be punished through another “sin” (unless of course the state is equated with “God”). How can one crime be punishable by another? <\/p>\n

Activism Against the Death Penalty: <\/strong><\/p>\n