Criminal Justice (Also see Death Penalty)

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A strategically smart 3-step testimony for legislation to abolish the DP

May 28, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

Many times I have testified to Washington State legislative committees.  In 2020 I did this again.  I’m attaching below a slightly longer version of what I said.  This document summarizes a strategically smart three-step process to convince people (legislators, the public, etc.) why it is important to abolish the death penalty — and why abolishing it would not endanger the public. A major obstacle in convincing the public and legislatures to abolish the DP is their fear that it protects our safety.  My third point in this testimony points out that we could abolish it without endangering public safety.  It […]

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Amnesty International’s new report on the death penalty worldwide

May 28, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

Amnesty International posted this new information on May 16, 2023: Worldwide executions have reached the highest level in five years. According to Amnesty’s new Death Penalty Report 2022 released today, the Middle East and North Africa’s most notorious executioners carried out killing sprees and China remains the world’s leading executioner. “It’s often those from disadvantaged backgrounds disproportionately affected by this callous punishment.” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General   VIEW REPORT (PDF)   Amnesty International recorded 883 executions in 20 countries in 2022, a 53% increase from 579 recorded in 2021. This figure represents the highest number of executions Amnesty International recorded in […]

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Death Penalty 101: Learn the “talking points” about why to abolish it: May 31 on Zoom for just one hour

May 28, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

Do you want to repeal the death penalty but don’t know the talking points? Have you gotten involved in the anti-death penalty movement but don’t know the history? This meeting is for you! Come learn about the history of the death penalty and the many arguments against it. There is a midday time and an evening time, both events will have the same content, so pick the time that works best for you to attend this virtual Zoom session. Death Penalty 101 Wednesday, May 31 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM – Register here 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM – Register here Virtual […]

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“International Courts and War Crimes” — TV + online

April 10, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

Anyone anywhere can watch the April 2023 program on “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” TV series.  This interview informs people about exciting, positive ways to protect peace, human rights, and fairness worldwide. Joanne Dufour is exceptionally well informed about the United Nations, International Humanitarian Law, international courts, war crimes, and related issues.  She explains these and related topics in a one-hour TV interview that you can watch through this blog post.  (See the link below.) Also, people in Thurston County WA who have cable TV can watch it on channel 22 three times a week throughout April 2023: every Monday at 1:30 […]

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Besides humanizing state-level prison sentences, FEDERAL SENTENCING LAW must be overhauled too.

March 23, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

We must COMPLETELY RE-THINK federal sentencing law: Tackling Excessive Sentences Thousands of people in federal prison are serving severe, outdated sentences that Congress no longer believes are fair. A 2022 Supreme Court decision that seemed to broaden the availability of reduced prison time has been interpreted inconsistently, extending uncertainty on this issue. In the short term, carefully crafted rules can allow judges to offer relief on a case-by-case basis. But ultimately, ending unjust penalties will require a top-to-bottom rethinking of federal sentencing law.   Congress must pass the “SECOND LOOK” legislation to reduce some sentences: A man who had been […]

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Good news! Oregon’s governor stopped death penalty before leaving office!

February 7, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

Oregon’s voters elected a new governor in November 2022.  The outgoing governor took a strong, smart action before her term expired. See news here:  https://www.opb.org/article/2022/12/13/oregon-governor-kate-brown-death-penalty-sentence-commutations/? The news was reported at this link too:  https://www.opb.org/article/2022/12/13/oregon-governor-kate-brown-death-penalty-sentence-commutations/?utm_source=The+Marshall+Project+Newsletter&utm_campaign=97d1f68c90-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_12_14_12_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5e02cdad9d-97d1f68c90-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D   In a few states people are considering whether to use their initiative process to gather signatures and force a statewide election to abolish the death penalty.  That is a long, hard, expensive slog.  A ballot initiative is not necessary. Oregon’s law is still on the books until the legislature repeals it.  But in late 2022 Oregon’s Governor commuted the sentences of all people on that […]

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Urgent: Save innocent Tony Apanovitch from Ohio’s death penalty

February 7, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

I’m on the e-mail list of Ohioans to Stop Executions (OTSE).  They do good work in one of the few northern states that still uses the death penalty.  See their message below urging people to tell Ohio to save the life of an innocent person.  I hope you will contact Ohio’s governor and parole board.  I clicked their links and sent letters.  I reworded their letters as follows:   OTSE sent this message and asked us to help: Hello Glen, The State of Ohio is on track to execute an innocent man. Tony Apanovitch’s innocence is not just a matter […]

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Strategically smart messages toward abolishing the death penalty

February 4, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

Building a movement to abolish the death penalty – both through changing public opinion and then through passing legislation – requires strategically smart messaging. Below I’m attaching something I wrote that uses 3 smart steps to help people recognize that the status quo is broken and to decide we can abolish the death penalty without sacrificing public safety: Fact #1:  The death penalty does not deliver what it promises. Fact #2:  The death penalty makes existing problems worse and it causes more problems. Fact #3:  We can let go of the death penalty and still be safe.   I wrote […]

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Nonviolent Ways to Heal Our Society’s Dysfunction — Watch Glen’s TV program online or on cable

February 2, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

The February 2023 program on “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” TV series provides insights and inspiration to help people solve problems that have been getting worse in our society. After mentioning some serious problems, we pivot toward proposing some smart nonviolent ways to solve the problems.  This TV interview is positive, upbeat, creative and practical. Rivera Sun is the expert guest who helps us explore these topics.  Rivera Sun is an author, activist, and the Programs Coordinator for Pace e Bene / Campaign Nonviolence. People in Thurston County WA who have cable TV can watch it on channel 22 three times a […]

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Martin Luther King, Jr., said these things about various issues

January 8, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

When people refer to MLK as the “Reverend Dr.,” they are recognizing that he did indeed earn a Ph.D. in philosophy in addition to completing formal theological studies and being ordained.  He thought clearly and wisely.  Below I’m sharing with you some things he said about several different issues — and always grounded in humane ethics.     On April 4, 1967, King spoke about the Vietnam war and overall U.S. foreign policy to an audience at Riverside Church in New York City.  Many of the things he said there have been quoted widely.  He explicitly denounced the injustices and […]

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Fresh insights into Trump’s reaction to getting caught stealing top secret documents

January 2, 2023 GlenAnderson 0

In the past several years, I have posted a number of items to my blog’s “Trump” category.  I plan to post more in 2023. In August 2022 the news reported that Trump STOLE many boxes of our nation’s MOST HIGHLY TOP SECRET DOCUMENTS when he left the White House.  The government repeatedly asked him to return them, but Trump kept refusing.  Finally, the FBI obtained a search warrant and legally searched his Mar-a-Lago home.  The FBI found many, many of the stolen documents, but not all of them.  Later, some of them were found at other Trump properties. If — […]

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US Militarism Fuels Domestic Gun Violence

October 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Overwhelmingly, the American people want to reduce gun violence.  Smart people urge Congress and state/local governments to pass specific legislation banning assault weapons, requiring background checks, preventing dangerous people from owning guns, and so forth.  All of those are good ideas and necessary. But nearly all people who want to reduce gun violence OVERLOOK “THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM” that persistently REINFORCES AND PROMOTES gun violence:  THE U.S. GOVERNMENT’S FOREIGN POLICY AND BUDGET AGGRESSIVELY PROMOTE SHOOTING (and bombing) in THE MISTAKEN ASSUMPTION THAT VIOLENCE SOLVES PROBLEMS. The government SETS A BAD EXAMPLE that ordinary Americans follow when they shoot people […]

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Gov. DeSantis’s FEDERAL FELONIES: Kidnapping immigrants + transporting them across state lines

September 27, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Sign the petition: Ron DeSantis must be investigated. You read that right. Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may have violated federal law by using over $600,000 in taxpayer dollars to lure 50 asylum seekers onto a flight that diverted them from Florida and sent them to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. That’s transporting human beings across state lines under false pretenses. Lawmakers and experts think that DeSantis broke the law. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice cannot stand by and let this continue. The asylum seekers DeSantis deceived were told they would be given housing and jobs. Instead, they […]

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YES! We really CAN organize grassroots movements to solve big, hard, scary problems!

September 1, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Many important issues (climate, nuclear weapons, etc.) are big and scary to think about, so many people do not want to think about them.  Many people feel that those problems are so big and are imposed upon us by powerful forces (big businesses, the Pentagon, etc.).  This power imbalance causes many people feel that they are powerless to solve the problems because the problems were created and are perpetuated by forces that are so big and powerful, and that we are too small and weak to oppose them.  It’s easier to simply avoid dealing with them.  As a result, the […]