Charles Packer

Admirer & student of artists & apostles, musicians & mystics, poets & prophets, sages & saints; pastoral minister; friend; writer; teacher; biblical interpreter

[Charles Packer @CharlesPacker3]

What is the moral imperative behind the government’s urgency to hasten the death of its citizens? https://t.co/vVVO5XSrPv via @americamag

[Charles Packer @CharlesPacker3]

Save our future. We demand an end to fossil fuel. Switch to clean, green, solar and wind energy in this decade.
#strike4climate
@GovWhitmer @DetroitChamber @LeeChatfield @SenMikeShirkey

[Shane Claiborne @ShaneClaiborne]

Every execution is a tragedy. The cause of death listed on the death certificate of the executed is "HOMICIDE"?
Killing is wrong, no matter who does it.
Killing is the problem, not the solution.

[Shane Claiborne @ShaneClaiborne]

Here's some good news.
The death penalty is on its way out.
With 4 executions still set for 2018, executions continue to remain the lowest they've been in decades. Only a few states are still executing, & nearly every year a new one abolishes it. Let's end it once and for all!

[Kathleen Norris @knorriseyt]

Please enjoy these Encountering Silence podcasts:
https://t.co/YTlq6OUgAY

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

All nine justices on the Washington State Supreme Court understand what's really going on with the death penalty. It's arbitrarily applied and racially biased, among other issues. That's why they determined that capital punishment is unlawful under their state constitution.

[Shane Claiborne @ShaneClaiborne]

In case you missed it, this has been an epic 24 hours for death penalty abolition.
Malaysia announced it will be ending the death penalty.
The Supreme Court of Washington unanimously ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.
Gov. @BillHaslam stopped tonight's execution in TN!

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

BIG NEWS: The Washington Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty this morning. Washington is the 20th state to abolish capital punishment. The ruling also converted the death sentences of the eight men on Washington's death row to life sentences.

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

Glenn Ford spent 30 years on Louisiana's death row for a crime he did not commit. His defense attorney had never even handled a jury trial before. Glenn contracted cancer in prison and died a year after he was released. He never received any compensation. #WrongfulConvictionDay

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

Alfred Brown spent 10 years on death row in Texas for a crime he did not commit. He was falsely accused of killing a police officer and store clerk. Prosecutors withheld phone records that proved Alfred was actually at home at the time of the robbery. #WrongfulConvictionDay

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

Clarence Brandley spent 9 years on death row in Texas for a crime he did not commit. After a racially biased investigation and trial, prosecutors "lost" evidence that pointed to his innocence. Clarence died last month. He never received any compensation. #WrongfulConvictionDay

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

Ricky Jackson, Wiley Bridgeman, and Kwame Ajamu spent a combined 117 years in Ohio prisons for a crime they did not commit. The only evidence against them was "eyewitness" testimony from a 12-year-old boy who later admitted that he didn't see anything. #WrongfulConvictionDay

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

Tomorrow is Intl. Wrongful Conviction Day. I’ll be coming to you throughout the day with stories of people who have spent time in prison, even on death row, for crimes they did not commit. I’ll also share some concrete ways you can get involved and help. #WrongfulConvictionDay

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

Texas is planning to execute two men this week: Troy Clark on Wednesday and Daniel Acker on Thursday. There are some serious questions about both of these cases. I urge @GovAbbott to grant reprieves for Troy and Daniel so they can further investigate their legal claims.

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

Texas is planning to execute Troy Clark next Wednesday. Troy's trial attorneys completely failed to investigate mitigation evidence or present a case against a death sentence to the jury. Witnesses were available, but Troy's attorneys didn't contact or interview them.

[Kathleen Norris @knorriseyt]

The priest set up a tall ladder in front of the kids and said, "Can anyone tell me -- where is heaven?" A little girl immediately called out, "It's all around us!" So we were off to a great start. - from "The Cloister Walk"

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

.@CMNEndtheDP has launched the #HopeOverDeath Campaign to respond to Pope Francis's recent revisions to Catholic teaching on the death penalty. Learn more and get involved here: https://t.co/viURvDvyKu.

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

The New Hampshire @UnionLeader’s editorial yesterday in support of the death penalty was wrong on every point. It cannot stand unanswered:

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

The editorial claims that the death penalty serves a deterrent function. That’s hard to believe considering the fact that New Hampshire hasn’t executed anyone since 1939. The state doesn’t even have a facility for carrying out executions and there are no plans to build one.