Alabama’s death penalty system is broken. It is plagued by racial disparities and does not provide adequate safeguards against executing people with mental disabilities. And executions in our state are too often shrouded in secrecy. Alabama Arise and our partners have signed a petition calling for greater transparency in the state’s execution process. Please add your name to the petition before it is delivered on Wednesday morning. The need for policy change became apparent yet again this summer. During the state’s lethal injection of Joe James Jr., reporters were kept in a holding area for hours before being allowed into the witness room. A private autopsy later found that during that time, James’ arm had been punctured and cut open repeatedly out of the witnesses’ sight, likely in an effort to access a vein. Such a situation should not occur again, particularly in a country where we value freedom of information and oppose cruel and unusual punishment. As the petition says: “We demand a revision of Alabama execution protocols to require that public representatives witnessing executions see and hear the entire process. ... If we must have executions, pull back the curtains!” |
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