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Please Forward to Editors
NOTE: Melendez is fluent in English and Spanish
PHOTO-OP!
P R E S S R E L E A S E
from
C I T I Z E N S U N I T E D FOR A L T E R N A T I V E S
TO THE DEATH PENALTY (CUADP)
25 February 2004
CONTACT: Abe Bonowitz: 561-371-5204
NATIONAL TOUR ARRIVES IN SAN DIEGO
DEATH ROW SURVIVOR, VICTIM'S FAMILY MEMBER, ACTIVIST CONTINUE NATIONAL SPEAKING TOUR
Events at (details below):
Weds: 11:30am: Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Thurs: 12pm: California Western School of Law
Thurs: 6:30pm: Our Mother of Confidence Catholic Church
After almost four weeks into the "Journey of Hope Abolition Day '04 Tour,"
a 14 week national anti-death penalty public education tour, death row
survivor Juan Melendez and former death penalty supporter turned anti-death
penalty activist Abe Bonowitz arrived today in San Diego for a series of
presentations, some of which are open to the public. The two men are
available for media interviews From Wednesday to Friday of this
week. Murder victim family member Bill Pelke rejoins the group Friday
afternoon.
MEET
- Juan Roberto Melendez Colon, who survived almost 18 years on Florida's
death row for a crime he did not commit. NOTE: Melendez is fluent in
English and Spanish. ADDITIONAL NOTE: Melendez' presence is particularly
noteworthy in light of the US Supreme Court ruling this week regarding
prosecutorial misconduct....
- Bill Pelke, President and Co-Founder of the victims rights group Journey
of Hope ...From Violence to Healing, Inc.
- Abe Bonowitz, a former death penalty supporter who is now a leading
anti-death penalty activist and director of the national group, Citizens
United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (CUADP), and
- Governor, the canine mascot of the movement to abolish the death penalty.
Biographical Information and background is
at: http://www.cuadp.org/abdaytour04/SpeakerBios.htm
These spokesmen, traveling with a van and trailer emblazoned with
anti-death penalty messages, are available for interviews, radio call-in
programs, etc. To schedule one or more of these individuals for
interviews, please call 561-371-5204.
The Journey of Hope Abolition Day '04 Tour centers around March 1st, which
is International Death Penalty Abolition Day, the anniversary of Michigan
becoming the first English speaking territory in the world to abolish the
death penalty (see http://www.cuadp.org/abolitionday.html ). The group
will speak in cities from Seattle to San Diego through the month of
February, then Alaska through March 22nd, and then back across the United
States, concluding in Florida at the end of April.
"We know that support for the death penalty in this country is a mile wide,
but only an inch deep," said Bonowitz. "This tour is a part of our ongoing
work to educate the public about why the death penalty is a bad public
policy. As in my own experience, once people learn the truth about how the
death penalty system fails us, most will reject the death penalty in favor
of the alternatives already available."
Biographical Information and background is
at: http://www.cuadp.org/abdaytour04/SpeakerBios.htm
EVENT DETAILS
WEDNESDAY, Feb 25
NOTE: Bill Pelke will be in Texas these two days.
Juan Melendez and Abe Bonowitz are at
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
11:30am -1:00pm
Room 200 of the Courtyard Building
EVENING IS OPEN
****
THURSDAY, Feb 26
NOON EVENT
California Western School of Law
Join the Innocence Project, Amnesty International, La Raza and the Criminal
Law Society in hearing a most spectacular speaker.
Juan Melendez is an innocent man. However, he spent almost 18 years on
Florida's death row for a murder he did not commit. Juan Melendez will be
coming to California Western to share his harrowing tale. Food will be served.
When: Thursday, February 26, 12:05 - 1:15
Where: Moot Court Room, 350 Cedar St. building
EVENING EVENT
Death Penalty Focus of San Diego, Amnesty International, and others
Present
Journey of Hope Abolition Day '04 Tour
Featuring:
- Abe Bonowitz, director of CUADP, former death penalty supporter now full
time death penalty opponent, and
- Florida death row survivor Juan Melendez
6:30 pm - Refreshments
7pm to 8:45pm - Presentation
Our Mother of Confidence Catholic Church
3131 Governor Dr in San Diego
More info: Kent Peters, 858-490-8323
************
SENT BY:
Abraham J. Bonowitz
Director, CUADP
<abe@cuadp.org>
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YES FRIENDS!
There is an Alternative to the Death Penalty
Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
(CUADP) works to end the death penalty in the United
States through aggressive campaigns of public education
and the promotion of tactical grassroots activism.
Visit <http://www.cuadp.org> or call 800-973-6548
PMB 335, 2603 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy
Gainesville, FL 32609
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