Juan Melendez Tour: Messages from Celebrities

Juan Melendez Tour Across Germany
co-project of four organizations
January 26th, 2006 - February 8th, 2006
see events

DEUTSCHER BUNDESTAG
(= one of two chambers of the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany)
Ausschuss für Menschenrechte und Humanitäre Hilfe
- Sekretariat -

"Die weltweite Abschaffung der Todesstrafe ist seit langem ein Thema des Ausschusses für Menschenrechte und Humanitäre Hilfe und von Prof. Dr. Däubler-Gmelin. Der Ausschuss teilt die Auffassung, dass es sehr wichtig ist, immer wieder auf die Grausamkeit und Unwirksamkeit der Todesstrafe aufmerksam zu machen. Dazu wird auch die von Ihnen organisierte Tour von Juan Melendez durch Deutschland beitragen."

"The worldwide abolition of the death penalty has been a topic of the Committee for Human Rights & Humanitarian Aid and of Prof. Dr. Daeubler-Gmelin for a long time. The Committee shares the view that it is very important to point out the cruelty and inefficiency of the death penalty again and again. The tour of Juan Melendez across Germany, organized by you, will contribute to it."

(Excerpt of a letter of January 23rd, 2006)

EUROPÄISCHES PARLAMENT / EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

"Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,liebe Freundinnen und Freunde,
die Todesstrafe ist in höchstem Maße menschenverachtend und hat keinen Platz in einer zivilisierten Welt. Das Schicksal von Juan Melendez ist ein eindringliches Beispiel dafür, wie schnell Unschuldige in ihrem höchsten Menschenrecht, dem Recht auf Leben, Freiheit und Sicherheit, bedroht werden können. Das Schicksal von Juan Melendez ist eines von vielen. Seit der Wiedereinführung der Todesstrafe in den USA kommen auf rund 1000 Hinrichtungen mehr als 120 Freisprüche von zu Unrecht bereits zu Tode Verurteilten. Gerade bei Kapitalverbrechen lässt der Wunsch, den Schuldigen dingfest zu machen, immer wieder die rechtsstaatliche Sorgfaltspflicht in den Hintergrund geraten. Statt Beweisen entscheiden Vorurteile oder gar Rassismus. Die Todesstrafe muss weltweit abgeschafft werden - egal, ob in den USA, China, Russland oder im Iran. Wir GRÜNEN, aber auch das Europäische Parlament stehen im Kampf gegen die Todesstrafe eng an Eurer Seite. In einer Zeit, in der bereits auf Verdacht gravierende Einschnitte in Menschen- und Bürgerrechte ermöglicht werden, setzt Ihr mit der Tour von Juan Melendez ein Zeichen für diese fundamentalen und unveräußerlichen Rechte. Dafür danke ich Euch von ganzem Herzen und bedauere sehr, dass ich an Eurer Veranstaltung in Hamburg nicht teilnehmen kann.

Mit herzlichen Grüßen
Angelika Beer, MdEP"

"Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
The death penalty is to topmost extent human-despising and does not have any place in a civilized world. The fate of Juan Melendez is a forceful example of how fast innocents and their utmost human right, the right to life, freedom and security can be threatened. The fate of Juan Melendez is one of many. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the USA, there are more than 120 acquittals per approximately 1000 executions of people already wrongfully convicted to death. Especially when it comes to felonies, the obligation to take reasonable care founded on the rule of law again and again takes the back seat for the desire to catch the guilty. Instead of proof, prejudices or even racism decide. The death penalty must be abolished world-wide - no matter, whether in the USA, China, Russia or in the Iran. We, the GREEN [party], but also the European parliament stand close by your side in the fight against the death penalty. In a time, in which grave cuts in human and civil rights are enabled on suspicion, you point the way to the future for these fundamental and inalienable rights with Juan Melendez's tour. I am deeply grateful to you for it and I regret very much, that I cannot attend your event in Hamburg.

Sincerely yours
Angelika Beer, MdEP"

"Herzlichen Glückwunsch den Organisatoren dieser Tour. Hoffentlich finden viele Menschen den Weg zu den Veranstaltungen. Durch einen solchen persönlichen Kontakt werden sicher mehr Menschen berührt und überzeugt als durch Briefe, Zeitungsartikel oder Vorlesungen."

"Cordial congratulation to the organizers of this tour. Hopefully, many people find the way to the events. By such a personal contact, more people are certainly touched and are convinced as through letters, newspaper articles or lectures."

Professor Dr. Thomas Feltes M.A.
Lehrstuhl für Kriminologie, Kriminalpolitik, Polizeiwissenschaft/ Chair of Criminology, Criminal Politics, Science of Police
Ruhr-Universität Bochum/ Ruhr University Bochum

"Liebe Freunde und Kollegen! Ich kenne und ich schaetze Euch als engagierte Menschen für die Menschenrechte. Ich würde mich deshalb sehr freuen, wenn Ihr die Vortragsveranstaltung von Juan Melendez unterstützt, besucht und Euren Freunden davon erzaehlt!"

"Dear friends and colleagues, I know and appreciate you as committed people to human rights. Thus, I would be glad, if you supported, attended and told your friends of Juan Melendez's event!"

- Nina Hagen, Germany's Mother of Punk -
www.ninahagen.beeplog.de www.beepworld.de/members77/ninahagendas

"Am 26. Januar in München könnte ich dabei sein und würde gerne Herrn Melendez kennen lernen. Mit solidarischen Grüßen, Konstantin Wecker."

"On January 26th in Munich, I could be there and would like to get to know Mr. Melendez. In solidarity, Konstantin Wecker."

- Konstantin Wecker, German singer-songwriter -
www.wecker.de

"Thank you for the work you're doing to expose the utter inhumanity of the death penalty. I wish I could join you for this tour, but perhaps another time.

Here in the United States, a country that claims to be a world leader in the advancement of human rights, thoughtful people are embarrassed by the continued use of the death system, not only because it is inherently inhumane but also because its application is based on considerations of politics rather than any serious notion of justice.

As your tour with Mr. Melendez will attest, the capital system in America is rife with problems. It entraps the innocent, it is used disproportionately against the poor and people of color. The system is biased not only racially but geographically, in that the same crime results in a different penalty in different areas of our country.
While our constitution requires that those too poor to be able to afford an attorney to defend them must have one provided by the court, in too many instances the court-appointed attorney is untrained in capital defense or simply incompetent. And, because of the political pressure to "solve" serious crimes, police often find themselves so pushed to find a solution that they cut legal corners, often entrapping the innocent. By the same token, politically ambitious prosecutors sometimes become so lost in the desire to "win" a conviction that they engage in prosecutorial misconduct with a wrongful conviction the result.

Add to these problems the inevitability of human error and we find ourselves at the mercy of a system state-sponsored-homicide that has no place in a civilized society.

I send my thanks to you for your work and offer my congratulations for your having the good sense to bring Juan Melendez to educate your countrymen and women.

Best,

Mike Farrell"

- Mike Farrell, actor, activist, writer and biker -
www.mikefarrell.org

Juan Melendez embraces Celia McWee, whose son Jerry McWee was executed in South Carolina in 2004, at the opening ceremony of "No Silence, No Shame: Organizing Families of the Executed," a new project of the organization Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights.
Photo by Abe Bonowitz
"Juan Melendez is a critically important voice for the abolition of the death penalty. Released from Florida prison in 2002 after spending 17 years on death row for a murder he did not commit, Juan Melendez illustrates the risks of wrongful conviction and the wide- ranging damage that the death penalty causes. Death penalty abolitionists in the United States and worldwide count Juan Melendez among the movement's most effective spokespeople. His heartfelt retelling of his own story combines with his clear articulation of the broad issues involved in the application of the death penalty.

Though Juan finally succeeded in proving his innocence and winning his release from death row, he has not turned his back on those who are still affected by the death penalty. Last October, Juan attended a ceremony that family members of people who have been executed throughout the United States held in Austin, Texas to mark the launch of a new project called "No Silence, No Shame: Organizing Families of the Executed." I watched Juan embrace the mother of a man who had been executed in South Carolina in 2004. "That could've been my Mama," Juan said.

As the son of a murder victim, I know how valuable it is when people who work for abolition of the death penalty are able to embrace the variety of people whom the death penalty affects. Juan Melendez suffered the pain of wrongful conviction and of losing 17 years of his freedom, yet he does not wish that pain on others; instead, he works to end the death penalty. I am the director of an international organization called Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights, whose members have suffered the pain of losing a loved one to murder and who do not wish that pain on others; instead, we work to end the death penalty. We believe that the response to one human rights violation should not be another human rights violation, and that we honor victims by preventing violence, not by perpetuating it."

Renny Cushing
Executive Director
Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights
www.willsworld.com/~mvfhr/

www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,397594,00.html
Spiegel Online
January 27, 2006
Unschuldig im Todestrakt - DER ÜBERLEBER
by Conny Neumann, Munich

www.shortnews.stern.de/shownews.cfm?id=607363
Stern Shortnews
January 29, 2006
"Deutschland: Juan Melendez Tour - Er saß 17 Jahre unschuldig im Todestrakt"