The Home Stretch!
Here is a tentative look at our plans for the last few days.
Please pay special attention and consider joining us Tuesday.
Call for specifics! (910) 385-6787 or (919) 880-9343
If you plan to join us for any part of our home stretch, please call for precise starting locations and times and/or to locate us along the route. Note that we usually cannot give a precise starting location until 7PM on the preceding evening but we are usually easy to locate once we begin walking.
Also, if you come, be prepared for some narrow roadsides, unpredictable and uneven terrain and predictably hot, humid weather. While we welcome other walkers, it’s not a friendly environment for young children or pets and can even be difficult for adults.
A good time to walk with us will be the last mile or two as we enter Raleigh on Tuesday. Consider the 10AM committee meeting below then come meet us for our final approach and the subsequent events.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Start: 8:00 AM Starting point to be determined on US-70 about 10 miles east of Kinston.
End: Goldsboro
Sunday, June 28, 2009
10:00 AM Worship with Greenleaf Christian Church, 2110 N. William St., Goldsboro
12:30 PM (tentative time) Begin walking after lunch near Goldsboro.
Monday, June 29, 2009
8:00 AM - Start walking near Selma
End walking near Wake County line (intersection of US70 and Guy Road – Hess Station?)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
8:30 AM – Start walking near US 70 and Auburn-Knightdale Rd intersection
10:00 AM – Racial Justice Act in House Judiciary I. Pilgrims will not be there yet, but we hope you will be!
12:30 PM – First Presbyterian Church - Bring your own lunch and eat with the SOfAR Pilgrims. Also, legislative updates and “how to talk with your legislator”; then walk the final two blocks to talk with legislators.
3:00 PM – Final SOfAR Press Conference (Note: press event may be moved to before lunch)
Friday, June 26, 2009
New Bern, Victim Services, Getting Smarter on Crime
This morning (Friday) we awake in New Bern. Yesterday (Thursday) we walked 18 miles along some of the straightest, flattest country roads you'll ever see, cherishing any tiny bit of shade we could find along the way from Cove City into NC's original capital city. This morning we hope to meet with the Craven County DA and then drive to Kinston to pick up where we left off up there. We'll only walk a few miles today and use the rest of the day for planning the weekend and SOfAR Lobby Day and resting up for the home stretch.
Upon arrival in New Bern yesterday afternoon, we cooled off with cold treats at the Trent River Coffee Company, talked with reporters there and then sought 5 minutes with District Attorney Scott Thomas, who was recently appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue to the Governor's Crime Commission.
Mr. Thomas was unavailable but his administrative assistant, Ms. Creel, who also provides and coordinates victim assistance in the DA's office, talked with us briefly. We were very pleased to see on her shelf What to Do When the Police Leave (Bill Jenkins), a book for victim family members that offers guidance for the first few days after a traumatic loss. We talked further with Ms. Creel about the issues faced by victim family members and I left thinking that she must be quite a gift to persons in her district who have experienced the trauma of sudden, violent loss.
Unfortunately, our research indicates that victim services are very uneven from county to county with some counties and prosecutorial districts providing much more than others. Many victim family members say that they have only received support when they have been useful to the prosecution.
Victim family members report varying experiences with feeling like their voices are heard in the judicial process. For example, in my home Sampson County, a victim family member who was supporting the prosecution's pursuit of the death penalty in a trial last fall told me that she would "be satisfied with life without parole." When I asked her if the DAs knew that information, she stated, "They don't care what we think about that." In this case, the family was split by the prosecution's pursuit of a death sentence even while family members on both sides of the courtroom voiced clearly to me that they would be satisfied with life without parole.
What a waste of time, talent and money! What a cruelty to this family, heaping more trauma and strain on top of the horrible aftermath of the violence that had taken three family members from them! Where was the consideration of their voices and their needs?
But things seemed better than that in Craven County. Our hope is that Ms. Creel is as compassionate and available to victim family members as she seemed. What a gift!
Our hope is also that Scott Thomas and all district attorneys will do their jobs effectively, justly and with compassion and that they would be protected physically, emotionally and in every way. It must be a tough job and it is an important one. What these persons are exposed to must take a toll.
Finally, we hope that Scott Thomas and the Governor's Crime Commission as well as Secretary of Corrections Al Keller and his office, will help us become smarter on crime and move us away from the tired and too often empty rhetoric of 'tough on crime' that has prevailed for too long.
Upon arrival in New Bern yesterday afternoon, we cooled off with cold treats at the Trent River Coffee Company, talked with reporters there and then sought 5 minutes with District Attorney Scott Thomas, who was recently appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue to the Governor's Crime Commission.
Mr. Thomas was unavailable but his administrative assistant, Ms. Creel, who also provides and coordinates victim assistance in the DA's office, talked with us briefly. We were very pleased to see on her shelf What to Do When the Police Leave (Bill Jenkins), a book for victim family members that offers guidance for the first few days after a traumatic loss. We talked further with Ms. Creel about the issues faced by victim family members and I left thinking that she must be quite a gift to persons in her district who have experienced the trauma of sudden, violent loss.
Unfortunately, our research indicates that victim services are very uneven from county to county with some counties and prosecutorial districts providing much more than others. Many victim family members say that they have only received support when they have been useful to the prosecution.
Victim family members report varying experiences with feeling like their voices are heard in the judicial process. For example, in my home Sampson County, a victim family member who was supporting the prosecution's pursuit of the death penalty in a trial last fall told me that she would "be satisfied with life without parole." When I asked her if the DAs knew that information, she stated, "They don't care what we think about that." In this case, the family was split by the prosecution's pursuit of a death sentence even while family members on both sides of the courtroom voiced clearly to me that they would be satisfied with life without parole.
What a waste of time, talent and money! What a cruelty to this family, heaping more trauma and strain on top of the horrible aftermath of the violence that had taken three family members from them! Where was the consideration of their voices and their needs?
But things seemed better than that in Craven County. Our hope is that Ms. Creel is as compassionate and available to victim family members as she seemed. What a gift!
Our hope is also that Scott Thomas and all district attorneys will do their jobs effectively, justly and with compassion and that they would be protected physically, emotionally and in every way. It must be a tough job and it is an important one. What these persons are exposed to must take a toll.
Finally, we hope that Scott Thomas and the Governor's Crime Commission as well as Secretary of Corrections Al Keller and his office, will help us become smarter on crime and move us away from the tired and too often empty rhetoric of 'tough on crime' that has prevailed for too long.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Hot, hard days (they're behind us)
Saturday and Sunday were our hard days - very hot weather on the walk from Bethel down to and through Greenville, then south through Ayden and Grifton. We had a great meeting an a cafe/bookstore in Greenville on Sunday afternoon, attended by five Greenville residents who came to hear our story. We had a light day on Sunday, attending mass at St. Gabriel in Greenville and attending a Unitarian Universalist meeting later that morning - our hosts (who provided lodging for Dave and Debbie for two nights) Edith and Carrol Webber are members there. Our friend Kelly provided lodging for a night, as did Mike. Kelly also cooked a homemade vegetarian dinner Sunday evening.
Yesterday (Monday, June 22) brought us from Grifton into Kinston. On the way, we were greeted by Rose and Denny Clark, whom Scott has known since he and Roberta provided family support around the execution of Rose's brother, Ernest Basden on December 2, 2002. Scott will write more about that reunion, so I'll leave that to him. We walked through downtown Kinston to the county courthouse and were met by The Kinston Free Press for an interview and prayer. We met briefly with the Assistant District Attorney, Ms. White for a very productive meeting. Rose and Denny treated us to lunch at Christopher's restaurant in downtown (thank you!), then we drove down to Jacksonville. There, we prayed in front of the courthouse and then met with the Onslow County Assistant DA - also very briefly. He was very familiar with our pilgrimage, having read about it in the News & Observer that morning.
We were a bit behind - it was 3:30 and we'd only walked 9+ miles in the morning. We put in three quick legs of 4+ miles each, through Jacksonville and towards Emerald Isle. The weather today was much, much nicer than the mid nineties we had on Saturday and Sunday coming through Greenville. We walked until almost 8:00 PM last night, then grabbed some dinner cand checked into a hotel generously provided by Rev. James Brown's First Baptist Church. We got caught up on some laundry and showers and finally had time for this catch-up blog entry this morning before we head back out for about 14 miles into Emeral Isle. We've now walked about 185 miles, so are very excited about the final week.
We look forward to this evening's event featuring Linda White at 6:00PM
Emerald Isle Baptist Church, 304 Emerald Plantation Rd. Emerald Isle, NC 28594-1910
(252) 354-8795. Please join us! Linda will tell her storing of losing a daughter to homicide, her need to meet with the person who committed the crime, and how she came to be a grief counselor. Those not near Emerald Isle can also hear Linda speak on Wednesday at 7:00PM at St. Augustus AME Church 318 E. North Street Kinston, NC 28502. We hope to see our friends, old and new, at either event.
Sorry for the infrequent updates - it is very hard to find time to write, and harder to find internet on our journey. But we will keep trying!
Yesterday (Monday, June 22) brought us from Grifton into Kinston. On the way, we were greeted by Rose and Denny Clark, whom Scott has known since he and Roberta provided family support around the execution of Rose's brother, Ernest Basden on December 2, 2002. Scott will write more about that reunion, so I'll leave that to him. We walked through downtown Kinston to the county courthouse and were met by The Kinston Free Press for an interview and prayer. We met briefly with the Assistant District Attorney, Ms. White for a very productive meeting. Rose and Denny treated us to lunch at Christopher's restaurant in downtown (thank you!), then we drove down to Jacksonville. There, we prayed in front of the courthouse and then met with the Onslow County Assistant DA - also very briefly. He was very familiar with our pilgrimage, having read about it in the News & Observer that morning.
We were a bit behind - it was 3:30 and we'd only walked 9+ miles in the morning. We put in three quick legs of 4+ miles each, through Jacksonville and towards Emerald Isle. The weather today was much, much nicer than the mid nineties we had on Saturday and Sunday coming through Greenville. We walked until almost 8:00 PM last night, then grabbed some dinner cand checked into a hotel generously provided by Rev. James Brown's First Baptist Church. We got caught up on some laundry and showers and finally had time for this catch-up blog entry this morning before we head back out for about 14 miles into Emeral Isle. We've now walked about 185 miles, so are very excited about the final week.
We look forward to this evening's event featuring Linda White at 6:00PM
Emerald Isle Baptist Church, 304 Emerald Plantation Rd. Emerald Isle, NC 28594-1910
(252) 354-8795. Please join us! Linda will tell her storing of losing a daughter to homicide, her need to meet with the person who committed the crime, and how she came to be a grief counselor. Those not near Emerald Isle can also hear Linda speak on Wednesday at 7:00PM at St. Augustus AME Church 318 E. North Street Kinston, NC 28502. We hope to see our friends, old and new, at either event.
Sorry for the infrequent updates - it is very hard to find time to write, and harder to find internet on our journey. But we will keep trying!
Monday, June 22, 2009
News Coverage of the 2009 SOfAR Pilgrimage
Follow the Pilgrimage in the News around North Carolina:
Group walks to abolish death penalty
Kinston Free Press, Tuesday, June 23, 2009
By Sarah Campbell
Anti-death penalty protesters walk through Jacksonville
Jacksonville Daily News, Tuesday June 23, 2009
By Lindell Kay
Group Walks Against Death Penalty
Front Page in the News and Observer, Monday, June 22, 2009
By Yonat Shimron, Staff Writer
Group walks to protest death penalty
From the Daily Reflector, Sunday, June 21, 2009
By Michael Abramowitz
Group Walks to protest Death Penalty
Journey of Hope Blogspot, Sunday, June 21, 2009
Walk Against Death Penalty Continues Journey in Scorching Heat
WNCT News, Saturday, June 20, 2009
By Rachel Gallaher, Weekend Edition Producer
Group goes on 300-mile walk to protest death penalty
WNCT News, Friday, June 19, 2009
By Laura Phelps
300-Mile Protest: Group wants death penalty abolished
The Daily Southerner, Friday, June 19, 2009
By Kimberly Bellamy, Staff Writer
Group hopes event brings attention to death penalty
The Daily Reflector, Friday, June 19, 2009
By Michael Abramowitz
300 miles to abolish death penalty
Rocky Mount Telegram , Thursday, June 18, 2009
By Geoffrey Cooper
Anti Death Penalty March Through The East
WITN News, Tuesday, June 16, 2009
By Christine Kennedy
Death penalty opponents walk NC roads in protest
Durham Herald Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Death penalty foes to march to N.C. coast
WRAL, Sunday, June 14, 2009
By Erin Coleman
Monday, June 22nd
This morning we will begin walking at a point 8 miles north of Kinston on Hwy 11. We'll walk to the Lenoir County courthouse, arriving about 10:30 or so.
Next we will drive to the Onslow County Courthouse in Jacksonville for prayer there. Onslow County is one of our counties with a disproportionate number of death sentences handed down. The DA from that district sought a death sentence in Sampson County (within the same prosecutorial district) last year for a man with severe developmental, social and emotional delays. The accused was charged with a very uncharateristic act of brutal violence against family members and had no previous criminal history. The death sentence was sought in spite of the fact that family members stated that they would be satisfied with life without parole. Pursuit of the death sentence unnecessarily and cruely split the family as some decided to support the prosecution and others supported the defense.
After prayer at the Onslow County courthouse at roughly noon, we'll walk toward Swansboro on our approach to Emerald Isle for the Tuesday evening event with Linda White.
Next we will drive to the Onslow County Courthouse in Jacksonville for prayer there. Onslow County is one of our counties with a disproportionate number of death sentences handed down. The DA from that district sought a death sentence in Sampson County (within the same prosecutorial district) last year for a man with severe developmental, social and emotional delays. The accused was charged with a very uncharateristic act of brutal violence against family members and had no previous criminal history. The death sentence was sought in spite of the fact that family members stated that they would be satisfied with life without parole. Pursuit of the death sentence unnecessarily and cruely split the family as some decided to support the prosecution and others supported the defense.
After prayer at the Onslow County courthouse at roughly noon, we'll walk toward Swansboro on our approach to Emerald Isle for the Tuesday evening event with Linda White.
Just a 'Typical' Day?
Thursday, June 26th – We began walking 8 miles east of Rocky Mount and walked through Tarboro, Princeville, Conetoe and Bethel, stopping just short of Parmele. I realize that most of you have never heard of these places, but we have met some very friendly, helpful and hospitable people in them.
One man, Michael J. (not Jordan), stopped me on the sidewalk in Tarboro and asked what we were doing. I told him about our work with murder victim family members and with families of people on death row and our opposition to the death penalty. He immediately began telling me about his spending a few years in Central Prison and how quiet and cold and eerie it was on the nights of executions. We talked more about his life outside of prison and about us. He invited us to eat lunch with him. So after prayer in front of the Edgecombe County Courthouse, we went to meet him at his usual lunch stop – the local soup kitchen. Although our prayer time and talking with reporters had made us miss the 12:15 closing of the lunch line, Michael advocated for us until the folks serving food relented and served each of us a full plate of food. While it might seem strange for us to eat this way, it was as if we had been invited to eat in this man’s home and to have said ‘no’ would have been rude and overly prideful.
After lunch we walked across the bridge into Princeville, a town known for its founding by freed slaves in 1865 and its devastation in the floods of Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The racial history of the area reminded us of the Racial Justice Act which is currently moving toward the floor of the NC House of Representatives – an act that aims to provide an avenue for removing some of the racial bias from capital punishment. Not from the entire judicial system, mind you, but just from that small piece of the judicial system associated with capital punishment.
In the evening we are settled down to sleep on cots at Bethel United Methodist Church in Bethel, NC. The pastor, Steve Smith, was most hospitable and accommodating. Pastor Heath Faircloth of Bethel Baptist Church helped us as well, delivering a fresh, homemade dinner of spaghetti, salad, bread and vanilla cream pie all made by one of his parishioners. He wanted to give us lodging in his home but he thought his one-week-old child might not cooperate with our need to get a full night’s sleep. These two pastors did not state clearly whether they agree with the entire purpose of our walk but they gave time from their busy day to help out some passing Pilgrims. They did so with a lot of love and kindness. For that we are so thankful!
After a good night’s sleep and a breakfast of spaghetti leftover from the previous evening, we went into the Bethel UMC sanctuary for our daily prayer and reflection time. Surrounded by eight stunningly beautiful stained-glass windows, we settled near the one that depicts a scene just after the execution of Jesus. A woman – probably Mary the mother of Jesus – clings to the stone base in which the cross – the instrument of Jesus’ execution – had been mounted. Part of Jesus’ robe lies torn on the ground and a beam of the broken cross lies nearby.
The scene evokes the grief of a mother whose son has just been executed. How often we forget that Jesus’ crucifixion was an execution and that the cross was the lethal injection paraphernalia of that era. I could easily – and painfully – imagine some of the mothers with whom we work laying themselves across the execution gurney as a modern parallel to this scene. Just as easily, I could see the image of another parent of a child was taken by violence inside or outside prison walls, laying across their loved one’s bed, seeking some continued connection with their loved one.
One mother of a man executed by the state of North Carolina told me (and gave me permission to tell others) that she has slept with her son’s tennis shoes as a way of dealing with her heartache for beloved son. We’ve heard similarly heart-wrenching stories of others whose loved ones were murdered.
After our bittersweet time of prayer and reflection, we set out walking toward Williamston. Near Robersonville, we encountered a young man walking. We immediately noted his distinctive t-shirt and listened as he explained that the t-shirt memorializes his brother who was shot to death on May 23rd of this year. Another grieving family member working out and walking out his grief.
On Friday evening, we had dinner with several of Willie Brown's family members. We first met them on the day of Willie's execution in April 2006. They were one of our first families at Nazareth House. It is difficult to describe the bond we formed with them through Willie's execution night and our subsequent contacts.
Courage - Ann, Villia, Teresa, Kendale, Trellis and Geneva (a family friend whose son is serving a life sentence) and Lorenzo (whose brother was recently shot to death). Courage, we will walk with you and for you.
Courage, brothers, sisters, families; You do not walk alone. We will walk with you!
One man, Michael J. (not Jordan), stopped me on the sidewalk in Tarboro and asked what we were doing. I told him about our work with murder victim family members and with families of people on death row and our opposition to the death penalty. He immediately began telling me about his spending a few years in Central Prison and how quiet and cold and eerie it was on the nights of executions. We talked more about his life outside of prison and about us. He invited us to eat lunch with him. So after prayer in front of the Edgecombe County Courthouse, we went to meet him at his usual lunch stop – the local soup kitchen. Although our prayer time and talking with reporters had made us miss the 12:15 closing of the lunch line, Michael advocated for us until the folks serving food relented and served each of us a full plate of food. While it might seem strange for us to eat this way, it was as if we had been invited to eat in this man’s home and to have said ‘no’ would have been rude and overly prideful.
After lunch we walked across the bridge into Princeville, a town known for its founding by freed slaves in 1865 and its devastation in the floods of Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The racial history of the area reminded us of the Racial Justice Act which is currently moving toward the floor of the NC House of Representatives – an act that aims to provide an avenue for removing some of the racial bias from capital punishment. Not from the entire judicial system, mind you, but just from that small piece of the judicial system associated with capital punishment.
In the evening we are settled down to sleep on cots at Bethel United Methodist Church in Bethel, NC. The pastor, Steve Smith, was most hospitable and accommodating. Pastor Heath Faircloth of Bethel Baptist Church helped us as well, delivering a fresh, homemade dinner of spaghetti, salad, bread and vanilla cream pie all made by one of his parishioners. He wanted to give us lodging in his home but he thought his one-week-old child might not cooperate with our need to get a full night’s sleep. These two pastors did not state clearly whether they agree with the entire purpose of our walk but they gave time from their busy day to help out some passing Pilgrims. They did so with a lot of love and kindness. For that we are so thankful!
After a good night’s sleep and a breakfast of spaghetti leftover from the previous evening, we went into the Bethel UMC sanctuary for our daily prayer and reflection time. Surrounded by eight stunningly beautiful stained-glass windows, we settled near the one that depicts a scene just after the execution of Jesus. A woman – probably Mary the mother of Jesus – clings to the stone base in which the cross – the instrument of Jesus’ execution – had been mounted. Part of Jesus’ robe lies torn on the ground and a beam of the broken cross lies nearby.The scene evokes the grief of a mother whose son has just been executed. How often we forget that Jesus’ crucifixion was an execution and that the cross was the lethal injection paraphernalia of that era. I could easily – and painfully – imagine some of the mothers with whom we work laying themselves across the execution gurney as a modern parallel to this scene. Just as easily, I could see the image of another parent of a child was taken by violence inside or outside prison walls, laying across their loved one’s bed, seeking some continued connection with their loved one.
One mother of a man executed by the state of North Carolina told me (and gave me permission to tell others) that she has slept with her son’s tennis shoes as a way of dealing with her heartache for beloved son. We’ve heard similarly heart-wrenching stories of others whose loved ones were murdered.
After our bittersweet time of prayer and reflection, we set out walking toward Williamston. Near Robersonville, we encountered a young man walking. We immediately noted his distinctive t-shirt and listened as he explained that the t-shirt memorializes his brother who was shot to death on May 23rd of this year. Another grieving family member working out and walking out his grief.
On Friday evening, we had dinner with several of Willie Brown's family members. We first met them on the day of Willie's execution in April 2006. They were one of our first families at Nazareth House. It is difficult to describe the bond we formed with them through Willie's execution night and our subsequent contacts.
Courage - Ann, Villia, Teresa, Kendale, Trellis and Geneva (a family friend whose son is serving a life sentence) and Lorenzo (whose brother was recently shot to death). Courage, we will walk with you and for you.
Courage, brothers, sisters, families; You do not walk alone. We will walk with you!
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