Depression and suicide coming to death row inmates
- The CCRC Tampa chaos.
Imagine yourself as a person sentenced to put to death for
committing a capital offense. For several years you have been fighting for
your life. You don't want to die. And in some cases you may not even
be guilty. You don't find trusting anyone very easy, so putting your trust
in a defense attorney is difficult and frightening. But you finally build
up that trust and are depending on him/her to protect your life and maybe gain
your freedom if you are truly not guilty.
Suddenly your attorney is fired. Not because he/she is
incompetent and it is not your choice that he/she is fired. It is because
a new man in charge of the office decides he wants different attorneys working
under him. He doesn't take into consideration the effect this will have on
many people fighting for their lives, he only considers what he or the
administration wants to accomplish. And you think that it is probably to reduce
the population on death row by accelerating executions. How would
you feel? What would be your response?
Many people currently on death row in Florida are faced with this
dilemma. Aileen Wournos is one of these. It took her a long time to
trust her attorney and now she has to start all over again. She is tired
and angry and frightened. She is depressed. So what does she do
now? Can you feel her pain and fear? Is it any wonder that she wants
to give up the fight?
You may say that this is her choice to make and maybe it
is. But would she be making it if her hard work and her trust had not been
kicked out from under her. Don't you think that it is hard to fight for
your life if you see your hopes dashed to the ground again and
again?
Please, people out there, think about this. In the wake
of the firing of so many attorneys who have been fighting for the lives of the
people on death row, understand that these people want to live also. They
want their lives even if they are spent in prison. Aileen is no
different. Help her get back the courage she needs to fight for her
life. That life will be ending soon if she gives up now. And she
will not be the only one. Help those behind the bars of death row keep
fighting for their lives. Protest the drastic chaotic events that have
resulted in the unprecedented firing of so many attorneys at CCRC in
Florida. It was a heartless thing to do to anyone and so destructive for
those on death row. Think hard about this.
I also want you to remember how many have been put to death and
later been found to have been innocent of their crimes. Florida seems to
be among those with the highest percentage of such cases. Should the death
penalty even be a punishment when it does not assure the protection of the
innocent.
Fight for Aileen Wournos and so many others.
FOR INFORMATION :
Merry Thomas
Pat Hoover