Mohawk
Murder Is Murder
RECEIVED Tue., Dec. 28, 2004
Dear Editor,
As a lesbian survivor of gay-bashing, I ask my Austin community and all people, especially those who are hated by white supremacists, to visibly and vocally oppose the execution of James Porter on Jan. 5, 2005. Whether a white supremacist is killing a gay man, or whether the state of Texas is killing a prisoner, murder is murder.
James Porter is an acknowledged white supremacist. He will be executed for murdering Rudy Delgado, a Latino prisoner, because he believed Delgado was gay.
Homosexuals are vulnerable "members" of U.S. society, even when they are in the custody of the state. A current example of this is the current case of gay Texan Roderick Johnson, who [allegedly] was "horrifically" subjected to being a sex slave in a Texas prison with the full complicity of the prison authorities. The state needs to protect gay people. But not by murdering our murderers.
As a lesbian in this world of neo-Nazis and gay-bashers, I call for a full moratorium of all executions, even the execution of neo-Nazis. Especially when it seems most difficult, Americans with "moral values" must be champions in the fight against state-sponsored murder.
Jeanette Popp is chairperson of Texas Moratorium Network. Jeanette's daughter Nancy was murdered in Austin in 1988. Jeanette became intimately familiar with the many flaws of the Texas criminal justice system after two innocent men were wrongfully convicted of her daughter's murder and spent 12 years in prison. They were exonerated and released in 2001. The real killer was convicted in December 2001. Jeanette successfully pressured the district attorney not to seek the death penalty for her daughter's murderer. Jeanette’s riveting testimony in 2001 helped convince two Texas legislative committees to vote in favor of moratorium legislation. She frequently travels across the nation speaking out against the death penalty. She is a Texan.
Coretta Scott King says, "Justice is never advanced in the taking of human life. Morality is never upheld by legalized murder."
As a lesbian survivor of gay-bashing, I ask my Austin community and all people, especially those who are hated by white supremacists, to visibly and vocally oppose the execution of James Porter on Jan. 5, 2005. Whether a white supremacist is killing a gay man, or whether the state of Texas is killing a prisoner, murder is murder.
James Porter is an acknowledged white supremacist. He will be executed for murdering Rudy Delgado, a Latino prisoner, because he believed Delgado was gay.
Homosexuals are vulnerable "members" of U.S. society, even when they are in the custody of the state. A current example of this is the current case of gay Texan Roderick Johnson, who [allegedly] was "horrifically" subjected to being a sex slave in a Texas prison with the full complicity of the prison authorities. The state needs to protect gay people. But not by murdering our murderers.
As a lesbian in this world of neo-Nazis and gay-bashers, I call for a full moratorium of all executions, even the execution of neo-Nazis. Especially when it seems most difficult, Americans with "moral values" must be champions in the fight against state-sponsored murder.
Jeanette Popp is chairperson of Texas Moratorium Network. Jeanette's daughter Nancy was murdered in Austin in 1988. Jeanette became intimately familiar with the many flaws of the Texas criminal justice system after two innocent men were wrongfully convicted of her daughter's murder and spent 12 years in prison. They were exonerated and released in 2001. The real killer was convicted in December 2001. Jeanette successfully pressured the district attorney not to seek the death penalty for her daughter's murderer. Jeanette’s riveting testimony in 2001 helped convince two Texas legislative committees to vote in favor of moratorium legislation. She frequently travels across the nation speaking out against the death penalty. She is a Texan.
Coretta Scott King says, "Justice is never advanced in the taking of human life. Morality is never upheld by legalized murder."
Respectfully,
Krissy Mahan
Krissy Mahan