Community Corner
Anti-Death Penalty Awareness Rising In Stamford
The invitation of NAACP CEO Ben Jealous is the latest in a series of local activities to have the death penalty abolished in Connecticut.
Stamford's increasing activism in abolishing the death penalty will heighten with a Nov. 21 press conference with National NAACP president Ben Jealous, who will speak against the death penalty's presence in Connecticut.
"We agree that the death penalty should be abolished," Jack Bryant, president of the NAACP's Stamford chapter told Patch.
While the death penalty largely exists to provide justice to the families of victims, Bryant states that there is another side to achieving this justice that actually makes things harder for those grieving.
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"With the appeals that go on through a death penalty sentence, the family suffers over and over again...sometimes for over twenty years," Bryant said. "It adds to the frustrations of the victim's families."
Stamford's NAACP is the latest local group to become active in death penalty opposition in the last two months. Jeffrey Deskovic, a man convicted of murder and later proven innocent through DNA testing in 2006, spoke against the death penalty at Temple Beth El on October 21, and State Sen. Carlo Leone had a meeting with the congregation of several weeks ago in regards to the death penalty.
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"He's on the fence," Bryant said.
The "anti-death penalty" cause is the same across each local group, but agendas, beliefs, and goals of each group are not the same. "There's a religious aspect of why we should abolish the death penalty," Bryant said, offering an explanation for the activities of local religious groups.
"Abolishment of the death penalty is an NAACP initiative on a national, state, and local level...we want death penalty abolishment on the next session of legislation, which is in 2012. It's not going to be an easy sell due to the government's focus on the state budget."
Jealous's arrival in Stamford is a major event for the local NAACP, as he been invited not only by the CT state NAACP, but the CT Network to Abolish the Death Penalty. The NAACP's recent activism against the death penalty is motivated by the execution of Troy Davis, who the NAACP feels represents racial injustice in regards to the death penalty.
"It's not everyday that the president of a national organization comes to Stamford," Bryant said. "I can't anticipate the turnout, but the turnout isn't important as long as we get the message out to Hartford."
Ben Jealous will be address Stamford residents at 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21, at the Stamford Government Center.
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