International campaign in support of a Moratorium on the US Death Penalty

This is record of the campaigns outside the USA that are supporting the 'Ad Hoc Coalition against Racism and the Death Penalty's demand for an immediate Moratorium of the death sentence as a first step towards eliminating the death penalty completely.

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International Day of Action

Stop State Murders

End the Death Sentence Now!

The death sentence is a barbaric, racist, anti working class tool of the US Government. It must be stopped. Join the call for an immediate Moratorium (Ceasation) of the death sentence, the release of Mumia Abu Jamal and all other imprisoned black Activists.

Thousands of people are on death rows in the USA. Thousands more are brutalised and murdered by the state forces each year. The death penalty in America is a form of racial genocide and class warfare against the poor, the worst form of repressive social control. The US has more people in prisons (1.6 million) and is the last major industrialised nation to still put people to death.

A moratorium is an immediate stoppage of the carrying out of the death penalty warrants by any state officials. In contrast to a 'stay' of execution which is a legal postponement of execution whilst a point of law can be resolved, a moratorium is a long term stoppage and can only be won by mass protest worldwide. This would be the first step towards eliminating the death penalty completely.

In May this year there was a conference called to unite grassroots activists in to a movement for a moratorium. It was organised by the AD HOC COALITION AGAINST RACISM AND THE DEATH PENALTY with about 200 people attending representing some 50 organisations.

It was agreed that such a mass movement was needed and that whilst each group is autonomous and will do work locally, in addition to local work against the death penalty, there is a need to work together around political prisoners, police brutality and prison issues generally. One of their first joint actions was to send Lorenzo Komboa Ervin to speak at meetings in Britain and Belgium as a start of moves to increase pressure on the US government from abroad.-The US government are sensitive to their image abroad and any support from comrades around the world will be vital to gaining the victory we need.

'Political prisoners like Ex Black Panthers Marshall Eddie Conway Geronimo Ji Jaga and many others face the possibility of serving over three decades of political imprisonment All of this is happening at a time when Black youths are being criminalised by the US government, and one in every three Black youth in their twenties is incarcerated by the penal system. All of this happens in the face of a deep and social catastrophe generally, which has devastated our communities bought on by the government's racist policies, and conscious under-development of the ghetto, barrio and other non-white neighbourhoods by literally starving them of resources.'

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More on the call for a mortorium

A CALL FOR A MORATORIUM ON THE DEATH PENALTY
by Lorenzo Komboa Ervin

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We can win

Geronimo ji-jaga Pratt was freed in June after 27 years

Mumia Abu Jamal

Silvia Baraldini

Page on Death row prisoners

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Contact addresses for local groups organising demonstrations on July 4th in Ireland, Britain and Canada

Ireland

Dublin

WSM

PO Box 1528

Dublin 8

Ireland

 

Zapatista Action Project

C/O LASC

5 Merrio Row

Dublin 2

 

ARC

c/o GoD

3 Castle st

Dublin 2

Belfast

Britain

Birmingham

Birmingham Prisoners Solidarity

PO Box 3241 B'ham B8 3DP

Edinbrugh

phone 0131 557 6242

 

London

London ABC,

121 Railton Rd

SE24 (tel 0171 274 6655)

or

Red & Black Club,

BM Hurricane London

WC1N 3XX

(tel 0181 691 2456 - answerphone)

 

Sheffield

ABC

POBox446

Sheffield

S1 1EN

Canada

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Demonstrations on July 4 in Ireland/Britain/Canada

Edinburgh: meeting at ACE at noon then outside old G.P.O. Waterloo Place at 1pm, before handing in petition at consulate and then leafleting on Princes street

Dublin: Picket at US Embassy (Ballsbridge) at 5.30, 4th July

London: noon to 4pm, US embassy Grosvenor Square. Nearest tubes are Bond ST and Marble Arch

Sheffield: Sheffield Anarchist Group will be having a stall in the Markets area of the city with information about the day and other related topics on the 4th of July in the a.m. The afternoon will be a visit to hand out Taking Liberties and info about the campaign outside Wakefield Prison..

There will also be a showing of the Lorenzo video sometime next week at the Sheffield red and black centre, date to be confirmed.

Belfast: Picket of the US Consulate

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Useful links

Who gets killed, this study demonstrates the racist nature of the Death Penalty

Black Autonomy

Geronimo ji-jaga Pratt on the Black Panthers

Prison activists mailing list

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