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Amnesty International 112 May 28, 2020

Capital Punishment Stopped
Witness to Innocence came to Friends Center in 2013, click here
Herman Lindsay, Witness to Innocence click here
From the convener, Amara O'Oconnell, after the AI 112 meeting of May 28, 2020:

Good Morning All, 

I hope that you are staying safe and well during these hectic times. 

Attached to this email is the recorded discussion from last week's virtual meeting. We were able to invite Herman Lindsey, an exoneree from Death Row in Florida and an active board member of the Witness to Innocence Project, to discuss the death penalty in America and massive human rights violations that it incurs.

We also briefly discussed the new Amnesty International USA campaign "Rights Now" urging congress to pass legislation to help those most at risk for COVID-19. Please visit https://rightsnow.amnestyusa.org/ for more ways to get involved, including petition signing, letter writing, and calling elected officials for the release of those in detention facilities, better conditions in jails/prions, and additional restrictions on purchasing arms during the COVID-19 response.

In  addition, here is a link to the Google Drive folder with letters that we discussed for this month: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1Q7zVgqf_PIm9SscxDpFJYBPVF7-UU2jJ. Please let me know if you have any additional questions regarding last week's meeting. 

In light of recent events in the US, I also wanted to share some ways that you can get involved and help those who are fighting for equal rights and an end to police brutality. Please feel free to reply all to this email with additional ways that we can all help. 
    1. Amnesty has started a campaign to urge congress to pass legislation to restrict the use of deadly force by the police. Sign the petition here: https://act.amnestyusa.org/page/61619/action/1?_gl=1*142mjkm*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE1ODUyNjYwODYuQ2owS0NRandwZkh6QlJDaUFSSXNBSEh6eVpxTEx3MlRWVWZ0ZmpNb0NBV1F0UkphSDJIOGJPNkowOTQtdms5QnVSRU9LZkY1cmhFX0Exc2FBdEtlRUFMd193Y0I.
    2. Justice for George Floyd Petition- asking Minneapolis Mayor to bring justice upon all officers involved in this attack: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd
    3. Here is a link to an article that lists 100 different ways that you can get involved including signing petitions, donating to bail funds, and sending letters to elected officials: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2020/05/29/george-floyd-death-donations-resources-justice-petitions/5282539002/
I urge you to get involved in this historic moment in our Country, in any way that you can. 

Thank you so much for your dedication to Amnesty International. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or resources to share. Looking forward to hopefully getting to see you all again soon. 
--
Best,

Amara O'Connell
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Convener of Amnesty International 112
Which meets in the Ethical Society building at 1907 Rittenhouse Square every 4th Thursday at 7pm Jan-Oct, 3rd Thursday at 7pm Nov-Dec.
If you want to watch the video, it is a zoom video owned by Amara O'Connell, so you have to ask her for permission.