FOR News February 1999
A publication of the Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation
P.O. Box 268 Columbia MO 65205 573-449-4585
State Plans to Execute Two Men
Vast Increase in Killings Seems Likely
As we prepare this newsletter, the state of Missouri has set execution dates for two men James Rodden to be killed late Tuesday evening, officially just after midnight on February 24, and Roy Roberts two weeks later, a few minutes into March 10. Please read the enclosed info on them and act promptly.
We were of course thrilled Governor Mel Carnahan recently heeded the request of Pope John Paul II, compassionately staying the execution of Darrell Mease then commuting his death sentence. If you haven't done so already, please contact the governor and thank him for his merciful action (see the address/phone # under Suggested. Action" on the next page). He's apparently received much negative flack, so people of conscience need to applaud him-- giving him some "political cover"-- for acting appropriately and encourage him to lead our state down a moral road toward abolition.
Unfortunately Kelvin Malone didn't have the "good fortune" of Darrell Mease, having his execution initially scheduled during the Pope's visit -- then mysteriously rescheduled. He was killed by the state Jan. 13 (Please see "Lethal Injection" on page a poem written by Kelvin and kindly shared with us by his sister Denise). Though glad for the Mease family, she is understandably troubled the governor spared a man who admits slaying three people-- while denying mercy for her brother who steadfastly contended he was innocent of murder. Such is the freakish, nasty nature of the death penalty.
A clerk for the state's Supreme Court, recently told the FOR, Attorney General Jay Nixon has asked the court to set execution dates for two more prisoners. Another eight condemned prisoners have had the last of their appeals heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the clerk.
Consequently, the state high court could schedule the killing of a dozen Missouri prisoners by the year's and perhaps even summer's end. It would make 1999 by far the bloodiest in the past decade of state killing. Missouri has the distinction of killing fourth most people among all US states since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed executions to resume.
Missouri Seeks to Kill James Rodden Feb. 23
James Rodden agrees with the state that he "picked up" Terry Trunnell at a bar in Marshall in December 1983, brought her back to his apartment then briefly left to harass his ex-wife across town. From there the accounts differ. Prosecutors contend when he returned, he found his roommate, Joseph Arnold in bed with Ms. Trunnell. In a fit of drunken rage, James reputedly then fatally stabbed both of them.
Rodden contends upon his return he found Arnold repeatedly stabbing the woman. He insists his roommate in turn wielded the knife toward him. They struggled before he finally killed Arnold in self defense. Panicking, Rodden says he poured a flammable liquid throughout the apartment. then set it on fire in an unsuccessful effort to destroy the crime scene. While physical evidence appears to support his version, this final stupid action helped to assure his death sentence.
Prosecutorial misconduct also insured his death sentence. During Rodden's first trial-- for the murder of Joseph Arnold, the coroner testified both victims died at approximately the same time. The same prosecutor in Rodden's subsequent trial for the second killing however, argued the defendant didn't kill Terry Trunnell until 2 or 3 hours after fatally stabbing Arnold. The prosecutor's modified scenario undermined Rodden's self-defense claim and led the jury to believe he kept her alive longer to torture her-- an aggravating factor supporting the death sentence. Even if James is guilty of these horrible crimes, we condemn his murder by the state as a continuation of the initial evil actions. All three have/had the same inalienable right to life.
Read an interview with James Rodden
>>>> Suggested Actions
** Please contact Governor Mel Carnahan (phone 573-751-3222 or fax 573-751-1495) and urge him to stay the execution and commute his death sentence.
Attorneys for both Rodden and Roberts have asked the governor for a 90-day moratorium on executions, since there's been a reported backlash of public opposition to his act of grace. Both their clients have insisted they're innocent. Yet without a "cooling off period," Carnahan will have no political room for genuine contemplation on the merits of their claims. Ask him to at least grant this request.
** And if he doesn't, please join us for protest vigils Tuesday,Feb. 23: 5:00- 6:00 p.m., Boone County Courthouse, Walnut St., Columbia and 11:00 p.m.- Midnight, Governor's Mansion, Jefferson City (car-pooling from courthouse, 10:00 p.m.). A prayer service will also take place there at 11:30 p.m.: Bishop John Gaydos hopes to attend. Call 449-4585 for more information.
Hey! Check it Out:
FOR's on the Web!
The Mid-Missouri FOR is finally on the Web. Come browse our page for updates on the death penalty or international issues. Our website is https://members.tripod.com/~midmo_for. Special thanks to Peter Gerard for helping guide us into the modern age.
State Murder of Roy Roberts Set March 9
Read an Interview with Roy Roberts
On July 3, 1984, a few dozen prisoners at the Moberly Correctional Center ironically celebrated Independence Day with a cookout organized by MCC officials. The event became volatile though when prisoners drank alcohol they had made in the institution. A few guards tried to take away one prisoner who became most belligerently drunk. Prisoners protested, then attacked the unarmed guards, tragically stabbing to death one correc-tional officer, 61-year old Thomas Jackson.
Roy Roberts tells the FOR he didn't even find out about the killing until the next day since he had remained in his cell during most of the melee. He says prison investigators questioned him once in the weeks following the stabbing, but on a different matter. It wasn't until December, he first learned from a local TV newscast that he was a suspect in the murder. Prosecutors convinced a jury, Roy had held Officer Jackson while fellow prisoners Rodney Carr and Robert Driscoll fatally stabbed him. They sentenced Roy to death.
Several of his childhood friends have advocated for his release over the years, including Robbie Harper. She laments Roy's is a case of "a poor person not getting the help he needs. A guard was killed and someone's going to pay. And they don't care who." Roy admits the pressure of having an execution date is taking a toll; the past three weeks, he's lost 30 pounds. Says Roy, "I've got no appetite. All I've got is anger toward the state."
"The death penalty is not a deterrent. People get mad. They kill, they don't care" about being executed. He sees state killing as "all a show. This place (the Potosi prison) goes on full alert." with a great increase in the number of guards brought on site. Para-doxically, he observes prison officials order kitchen workers to fix extra bake goods the day before a lethal injection. They "run tours through the prison after an execution and party. It's like they're having a festival. We're supposed to be the most civilized nation on earth. I don't see that."
Additional Issues to Consider
Possible Innocence. Roberts admits to punching at least one guard that day, but insists he did not even hold Jackson. State officials have never complied with his request to undergo a lie detector test or hypnosis (something one of the state's witnesses, a prison guard was allowed to do to clarify his fuzzy recollections).
One of the state's main witnesses, Joe Volgopole testified at trial he saw Roy assisting in the assault. However in a letter, dated Nov. 7, 1983 to his male sexual partner, Volgopole implicates another man not charged, while indicates he did not witness the attack. He wrote, "Oh Ed Ruegg is over in H Hall on PC (Protective Custody). He really got into some heavy shit. I heard he held Jackson while Rabbit (nickname for Driscoll) was stabbing him." The letter's recipient, Dewitt Burns, passed the letter to Roy soon after the state charged him in the murder. A postmark shows the letter was mailed to Roy's public defender in February 1984.
Arbitrary and Disproportionate Punishment. While Roy received the death sentence, the two other prisoners convicted of stabbing the guard received lesser sentences. Rodney Carr got a 50-year sentence, Robert Driscoll got life.
Prosecutorial Misconduct. Tim Finnical, an assistant attorney general under then state AG, now Sen. John Ashcroft (also known as "Doctor Death" for his ability to get defendants sentenced to death), was the lead prosecutor in Roy's trial. Throughout the proceedings, Finnical suggested if the jury chose death it would be a recommendation for the judge not a sentence. Under Missouri law, judges can overturn a capital sentence but almost universally are disinclined to reverse the jury's will. Courts did overturn the convictions of both Driscoll and Carr, citing Finnical's misleading statements. A different appellate judge however, refused to strike down Roy's conviction or death sentence. Driscoll has had a new trial date set for next month in Waynesville.
>>>> Suggested Actions
** Please contact Governor Mel Carnahan (phone 573-751-3222 or fax 573-751-1495) and urge him to stay the execution and commute Roy's death sentence.
** And if he doesn't, please join us for protest vigils Tuesday, March 9,
at times listed in the alert for Rodden.
Please join us for the next
FOR Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Thursday March 4
2018 Hazelwood Dr.
We'll discuss: updates on scheduled executions;
brainstorming on means to attain abolition,
planning upcoming events; updates on legislation;
local efforts to protest on-going aggression toward Iraq and the sanctions;
plus whatever's on your mind.
(call 449-4585 for directions)
Daughter of Murdered Man Urges End to All Bloodshed
Kristi Smith to Speak Here March 24
So often in our society, proponents of the death penalty pose the question, "But what if your loved one were killed?" There are many people who have suffered such a loss but favor reconciliation and forgiveness over revenge. Folks like Kristi Smith; she'll speak in Columbia at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 24 in the Friends Room of the Daniel Boone Regional Library. Admission is free.
In 1977, she mourned the death first of her adopted father, then the next year the murder of her biological father in Wichita. Twelve years later, still angry and grief-stricken, Kristi attended parole hearings for the three men responsible for his murder. She reached out to confront one of them, Billy Lemons, expressing both her pain and her forgiveness for his actions. They continued to keep in touch and when he was released from prison two years ago, she met him at the gate to welcome him back into society. We hope you'll be able to hear her tragic yet inspiring story. Call Jeff (449-4585) for more information.
March in March to abolish the Death Penalty
If you live in the Columbia area, please consider joining us traveling to the March in March in Jefferson City via our
Caravan of Compassion
Car-pool at 10:15 a.m., Saturday morning in front of the Memorial Union on the University of Missouri campus.
Update on Legislation to Abolish Death Penalty
State legislators have introduced three bills supporting at least a partial abolition of the death penalty in Missouri. In the House, Rep. Mike Schilling along with Rep.Vicky Riback-Wilson are co-sponsoring a bill for out right abolition of capital punishment. A second bill, crafted by Schilling would prevent state officials from seeking death for mentally-retarded individuals.
Both are expected to be scheduled for a public hearing on a weekday evening in the next 1-2 weeks. If you or someone you know could testify, especially on the issue of mental retardation and crime-- or for an update on scheduling, please call Rita Linhardt with the Missouri Catholic Conference at 573-635-7239. To join a car pool from Columbia for the hearing, call Jeff at 449-4585.
Senator Bill Clay's bill, SB 39 if passed it would exclude mentally retarded people from the death penalty and prevent judges from imposing death if the jury deadlocked on its choice of punishment. Late last month, members of the Senate's Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee heard public testimony.
Now is the time to urge members of that body to vote the bill, hopefully with their support, out of the committee to be considered by the full senate. Please write the following senators c/o the State Capitol, Jefferson City MO 65101 or call, especially if you live in their district . Also contact folks you know who live within one of the districts and ask them to contact their senator.
| Senator | District | Office telephone |
|
Harold Caskey, Chair | 31- Butler | 573-751-4116 |
|
J.B. "Jet" Banks | 5- St. Louis | 573-751-4650 |
|
Mary Bland | 9- Kansas City | 573-751-2770 |
|
Wayne Goode | 13- St. Louis | 573-751-2420 |
|
Ted House | 2-St. Charles | 573-751-8437 |
|
Betty Sims | 24- St. Louis | 573-751-7147 |
|
Roseann Bently | 30- Springfield | 573-751-4145 |
|
Marvin Singleton | 32- Joplin | 573-751-2306 |
|
Morris Westfall | 28- Halfway | 573-751-3645 |
A personal statement against the death penalty......
The Declaration of Life
A few years ago, Sisters with the Convent of Mercy in Brooklyn NY, crafted the "Declaration of Life" to help insure nobody would be executed in their name, should they be murdered. The declaration would serve as an ongoing testament of an individual's reverence for life, even for a human being who in the future may kill the signer of the document. It states:
"I, the undersigned, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do hereby in the presence of witnesses make this Declaration of Life." For background it asks the signer to affirm: " I believe that the killing of one human being by another is morally wrong; I am opposed to capital punishment on any grounds whatsoever; I believe it is morally wrong for any state or other governmental entity to take the life of a human being by way of capital punishment for any reason;(and) I believe that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime and serves only the purpose of revenge.
Therefore," it continues, "I hereby declare that should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person or persons found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstances, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered."
The document requests that family, friends, prosecutors, courts, the governor and other officials honor the wishes of the signer. The second side of the statement provides for the declarant to sign it in the presence of a witness and be notarized. If interested call FOR at 449-4585; we'll send you a declaration.
U.S. Pounds War Drums for Kosovo Intervention
The drums are starting to beat for yet another military adventure; this time in Kosovo. But before U.S. planes start to bomb or U.S. tanks start to roll, perhaps we should recall two of our recent military interventions.
In Bosnia, President Clinton solemnly promised us that our occupation would be for only 18 months and that then we'd be out. Later, the 18 months became 30, and still later the administration told us our troops were due for an indefinite stay. For the United States, Bosnia has become a quagmire.
And then there is Iraq. Some eight years ago, hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops and hundreds of U.S. aircraft engaged in the Gulf War. Today, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths later, our planes bomb Iraqi targets almost daily.
As a consequence of these and other military actions, our military bud-get is again heading upward. The con-gress and the president need to hear a resounding "NO" to our going to war in Kosovo.
Please submit to your local newspaper a letter to the editor with your views. Also alert your officials in Washington to halt war preparations in Kosovo and to end both the bombings and economic sanctions against Iraq
President Bill Clinton
White House Comment Line (EST business hours) 202-456-1111;
The White House, Wash. DC 20500
Rep. Kenny Hulshof
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121;
U.S, House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515;
Sens. John Ashcroft and Kit Bond
U.S. Senate, Washington DC 20510
Other Important Events:
Feb. 25: "Is Peace Possible in Iraq?," 8:00 p.m., Room 110 of Lee Hill Hall, UMC campus with Shakir Al-Ani, who's from Iraq, and Steve Jacobs, who traveled to Iraq this summer.Call Steve at 875-7874 for more details.
March 25: Organizing Meeting for peoples' progressive congress, 7:00 p.m.,tentatively @Heartwood office, 1027 E. Walnut Call Devin (449-3537) or Jeff (449-4585)
April 8: Howard Zinn, historian, author of "A Peoples' History of the U.S.," 7:30 p.m., Middlebush Aud. UMC, Call 875-0539
Join the FOR in its weekly
Vigil for Peaceable International Relations
Saturdays 10- 11 a.m.
Columbia Post Office
High School Tabling
For the sixth year, the Mid-Missouri FOR is tabling monthly at Hickman and Rock Bridge high schools in Columbia, offering students an pacifist view of the military not presented by the Pentagon's recruiters. If you were in the military and wish to share your exper-iences with students please contact Jeff (449-4585) or Steve (875-7874). If you and/or your friend(s) are in high school thinking about joining the military; if you're a young man nearing your 18th birthday and unsure what you want to do about draft registration; or you're just plain curious call to arrange a free counseling session or stop by our table at one of the following dates:
Hickman High School 11:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.,Wednesdays, March 3, April 7, May 5
Rock Bridge High School 10:45 a.m.- 1:30 p.m., Wednesdays, March 17, April 14, May 12.
Lethal Injection
by Kelvin Malone (C-50500)
Executed by the state of Missouri 1/12/99
Lethal Injection is their new killing game,
still taking a life and feeling no shame.
Now they strap you in a gurney behind a curtain,
and you can rest assure that your death is certain.
They claim taking one of our lives is "Justice" all the time,
but the truth of the matter is they are also committing a crime.
Killing us now with that dirty dope,
forcing it into our system so there is truly no hope.
Nothing about this system is ever fair,
and the courts, oh they really don't care.
Three times they have now took the life a a fellow condemn,
and I am sure that they will take many more of us men.
No call from the Governor, no last minute stay,
so they took yet another man's life today,....
-- Kelvin wrote this poem February 23, 1996 at 12:13 a.m., minutes after California officials executed a fellow prisoner at San Quentin. Special thanks to his sister Denise who allowed us to reprint this poem. Please keep in your thoughts and prayers his family and all those who have suffered a loss through the violence of another person, acting on their own or on orders from a state. Individuals may send letters of condolences to his family c/o: Denise Malone; 5100 Coe Ave. #1, Seaside CA 93955.
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