What will you do for the abolition movement this year? On March 1, 2008 National Lawyers Guild student chapters across the country will collectively raise our voices to mark NLG Law Student Day Against the Death Penalty (SDADP). Please join us.

Throughout 2007 and during the first weeks of 2008, we found the death penalty a prime topic of national discourse as people across the nation debated:
  • The case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, as oral arguments were heard, books were released, and a number of television and radio appearances were made in connection with the case.
  • The Supreme Court heard arguments in BAZE v. REES, a case questioning whether lethal injection violates the protection from cruel and unusual punishment afforded by the Eighth Amendment.
  • The evolving standard of "moral decency" in the U.S. justice system: In August we witnessed the granting of clemency to Kenneth Foster in Texas, and in January the same mercy was shown to John Spirko, an Ohio death row inmate, after DNA-evidence revealed no physical link to the murder for which he was convicted; a Louisiana court will review the use of the death penalty in a case in which the victim did not die; and Daryl Atkins, the mentally disabled man sentenced to death in ATKINS v. VIRGINIA, had his sentence reduced to life in prison. Of special note, the state of New Jersey became the first state to permanently abolish the death penalty since it was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1978.
This renewed debate gives those of us working to abolish the death penalty the opportunity to present compelling arguments in favor of abolition to our colleagues in law school and people in our communities.

In this packet, we include a page of Ideas for Action as well as a list of what NLG chapters did last year to help you generate ideas. A Yellow Pages resource lists useful websites, organizations, and programs you can contact for speakers; a Press Release template provides a rough draft for your own media work.

We have included the Death Penalty Information Center's year-end report. Please refer to the Center's excellent website at www.deathpenaltyinfo.org for comprehensive news and statistics. Each year we provide updated information on the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the NLG's Jailhouse Lawyer Vice-President. While Judge William Yohn set aside his death sentence in 2001, Mumia remains on death row. Detailed information about oral arguments heard in May and the status of his case is included in this packet.

Please remember to email me at studentorg@nlg.org with details of your chapter's plans for SDADP. Thanks for your important contribution to the abolition movement.

In Solidarity,

Míchel Angela Martinez
NLG Jailhouse Lawyer VP Mumia Abu-Jamal
Email NLG Student Organizer Michel Martinez: studentorg at nlg.org
2008 SDADP Packet