Dear Friends,
As many of you know, I have not always opposed the death
penalty. When I tell the story of my transition, I say, "The facts changed
my mind, and the people I met on the Journey changed my heart."
By 1993, I had become a fairly active anti-death penalty activist
through my involvement with Amnesty International, but I would still say
things like, "IF we could make it fair and equal, I would pull the switch
myself." But when I went on the Indiana Journey of Hope ...From Violence
to Healing, I met and learned first hand the stories of people who have
been "in the fire," as Sister Helen would say. It was certainly inspiring
to meet and work with people like Bill Pelke, Marietta Jaeger, Marie Deans
and SueZann Bosler and so many others who have lost loved ones to murder
and forgiven the perpetrator. But what touched my heart -- what *changed*
my heart -- was learning the stories of people like George White (with the
double whammy of seeing his wife murdered and then being wrongly convicted
of the killing) and Sunny Jacobs (with the double whammy of being wrongly
convicted *with* her husband, who was also wrongly executed!), and others,
including Randall Dale Adams, who was wrongly convicted and was nearly
Texecuted. What changed my heart even more, was meeting people like
Shirley Dicks, Ken & Lois Robison, Jill Fratta, Catherine Forbes, and so
many others who have had a loved one convicted of murder - rightly or
wrongly - and who themselves have been put through the wringer by a society
that condemns killing but ignores the collateral damage created in the
process of exacting revenge through execution.
Being on the Journey allowed me to not only meet these people and
hear their stories. I got to know them. And by hearing their stories
several times in front of different audiences as we spent 17 days
traversing a state, I got to *know* their stories. Ever since that 1993
Journey, whenever someone attempts to dismiss me by saying I'd "feel
different if my loved one was murdered," I respond with, "Maybe you are
right, but let me tell you about my friend Bill (or Sunny or Sam or
Marietta). And I share the stories I learned on the Journey. And it works!
ALSO on the Journey, I got plenty of practice talking about the
death penalty as an activist. I learned how to lead marches, how to better
convey our message through the media, how to handle hate-filled opposition
with a loving response, and how important it is to provide a hug for a
person who has just relived the most painful experience in their life over
and over again.
The Journey made me the activist I am today. There is no better
training ground for abolitionists. Period.
paz!
Links to Abe’s Journey:
