Bob Kerr, Abby, and Judy Kerr

It has been just over one year since I became the Spokesperson and Outreach Coordinator for California Crime Victims for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.  My brother Bob was murdered in 2003 and, while I still wait for someone to be charged in my brother's murder, my opposition to the death penalty grows stronger with everything I have learned in the past twelve months. 

As the Spokesperson for CCV, I have had the privilege to meet many murder victim family members whose reasons for opposing the death penalty vary, but whose convictions against capital punishment are consistent and absolute.  They are an inspiration to me.

In January, February, and March of this year, CCV had a crucial presence during the public hearings of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice on the death penalty.  I listened to the stories of many victims’ family members who had not spoken publicly before.  The stories I heard are as moving as they are inspirational. 

At the Annual Victims’ March during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in Sacramento I was struck by the sheer numbers of victims’ family members who stopped at the CCV table to sign their names to the growing list of family members and survivors who stand against the death penalty.  It became clear to me on that bright April day on the Capitol steps that when murder victim family members are presented with facts and honest appraisals of what the death penalty means to them and to society as a whole, they unite in opposition to capital punishment.

Last month, CCV completed a speaking engagement tour of Los Angeles and San Diego counties.  Once again we were met with victims who, without hesitation, conveyed their opposition to capital punishment.  There is no clearer voice of reason in this debate than the voice of the victims’ families proclaiming with clarity and resolve that the death penalty does not serve them, that the death penalty causes them more pain, and that the cost of the death penalty in every county in California is a cost that detracts from other vital services that can keep us safe and prevent further crimes.

Our efforts will continue to strengthen and grow.  Our strategy going forward is clear.  We recognize that the road ahead is long but never so long as the night when we lost our family members to violence.  Your support and dedication are part of the reason we continue to speak of our terrible tragedies and part of the reason we can raise our voices together against the death penalty.

Comments

1. Comment by Sharon McEachern, Dec 1st, 2008 8:28am

   A note on the status of the death penalty in North Carolina -- Due to a lethal injection challenge, North Carolina has not had an execution in over two years, even though there are 163 inmates on Death Row in the Raleigh prison. Since most states have gone to lethal injection as a means of state execution -- the public rebelled against electrocution and gas as inhumane -- there have been more than three dozen botched executions. When the U.S. Supreme Court suggested it would find future executions by lethal injection as potentially unconstitutional, N.C. Corrections refused to continue state executions without the presence of a physician. However, the N.C. Medical Board, which licenses physicians, promised to punish any doctor who cooperated with atate killing. And in the last two years, no doctor would participate.
   
   An excellent article on "execution doctors" was recently posted on the Ethic Soup blog. To read about the controversy, go to:
   
   http://www.ethicsoup.com/2008/11/execution-doctors-unethical-whether-hanging-electrocution-gas-or-lethan-injection.html
   
   Sharon McEachern