Father George Lundy, our friend, colleague, long-time fighter for social justice and the director of The Moratorium Campaign, died on Tuesday December 20th. He joined Sister Helen Prejean at the start of her journey to end the death penalty and he was working towards that aim until his death.

In Sister Helen Prejean's words: "George was one of the steadiest people by my side in the early '80s when I began this work to end the death penalty. George was the only one in my church who really stood by me as we started this journey. A good, good man.

"George suffered the fatal stroke the day after he had attended our final staff meeting of the year and office party. He gave a wonderful report about the work he's been doing with the Moratorium Campaign, including a medical ethics initiative to get doctors to sign on to refuse to take part in executions in any way. He was in good spirits and still doing excellent work."

Father George had also just completed a short video for the I Want to Serve Project, which is gathering the voices of Louisianans who are willing and able to serve on capital juries but are prevented from doing so because of their spiritual or moral opposition to the death penalty. The process of "death qualification" of juries weeds out all those who are not prepared to vote for death. This link will take you to Father George's video on the I Want to Serve website.

We will miss you, George.

Ever since my first book, Dead Man Walking, was published I have been traveling across the country giving talks, helping people to see through the illusions of the death penalty and call for its termination. Every talk I give ends with an invitation for citizens to sign a petition calling for a moratorium on government killings, and people have signed, in the hundreds of thousands.

Now, the Moratorium Campaign is taking up a new focus, to end participation by doctors in the death penalty process. This is our Professional Ethics Initiative. We invite you to help us in this new campaign.

It's an encouraging time for those who want to see an end to state killings. New Jersey recently abolished the death penalty, Maryland has dramatically narrowed its application, and New Mexico has recently become the latest member of the select group of abolitionist states. We see the number of innocent people exonerated from death row now 130 and growing. We see mounting evidence that convinces even proponents of the death penalty that the system is seriously flawed. We hope our Professional Ethics Initiative will further the discourse about the death penalty.

There is a long history of doctors' involvement with the execution process, an involvement that continues to this day. Yet the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs of the American Medical Association has a clear position against doctor participation in executions.

We invite you to join our campaign to persuade the medical licensing boards in death penalty states to enforce the medical profession's code of ethics and to discourage the participation of doctors in executions.

How can you help?

• Start by reading the invitation to action from Sister Helen Prejean and Father George Lundy. It will provide you with plenty of background information about the Professional Ethics Initiative (PEI), so you'll feel confident approaching others to discuss it.

• Read the Position Statement of the North Carolina Medical Board. Make copies of it and share it with all those you know who hope to end capital punishment.

• Gather signatures for the Professional Ethics Initiative Group petition.

• Gather signatures for the Professional Ethics Initiative individual petition.

• Join or renew your membership in the Moratorium Campaign, so we can continue our work of educating and organizing to end capital punishment. People who join or renew will receive a copy of former Illinois Governor George Ryan’s speech upon the occasion of his commuting all the death sentences in Illinois at that time, as well as a copy of the U.S. Catholic Bishops booklet entitled “A Culture Of Life and the Penalty of Death.” We also have a printable membership form if you'd prefer to join, renew or mail.

• Let us know of any doctor who is interested in the issue and willing to get involved. We will research the law in his/her state, and suggest a model letter that he/she could write to the medical licensing board of that state.

Our postal mail address is:
The Moratorium Campaign
586 Harding Blvd.
Baton Rouge, LA 70807

National Organizations I State Organizations I International Organizations

National Organizations

Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project
http://www.dmwplay.org
The Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project (the Play Project, for short) is an opportunity to broaden discussion about the death penalty and involve schools and their local communities in an inter-disciplinary dialogue about this major social issue.

Witness to Innocence
http://www.witnesstoinnocence.org
Witness to Innocence is spearheaded by former death row prisoners who have been exonerated and released from death rows and who are now actively engaged in the struggle to end the death penalty.

Equal Justice USA
http://ejusa.org
Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) is a national, grassroots organization working to build a criminal justice system that is fair, effective, and humane, starting with repeal of the death penalty and increased services to families of homicide victims. EJUSA has been a longtime leader in the movement to repeal the death penalty, partnering with state organizations to strengthen and train local leadership, provide intensive, strategic support, and build grassroots campaigns that win.

ACLU: Death Penalty Campaign
http://www.aclu.org/capital/index.html

Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org

Citizens United For Alternatives to the Death Penalty
http://www.cuadp.org/

Death Penalty Information Center
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

Friends Committee on National Legislation- Death Penalty
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/cri/deaindx.htm

Human rights watch: the death penalty in the USA:
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/deathpenalty/

The Journey of Hope...from Violence to Healing
http://www.journeyofhope.org

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
http://www.ncadp.org

Murder Victim's Families for Reconciliation
http://www.mvfr.org

Prison Activist Resource Center
http://www.prisonactivist.org

Prison Talk
http://www.prisontalk.com

Students Against the Death Penalty
http://www.studentabolition.org/

State Organizations

Alaskans Against the Death Penalty
http://www.aadp.info/

Campaign to End the Death Penalty
http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/

Coalition of Arizonians to Abolish the Death Penalty
http://www.azabolitionist.org/

Coloradans Against the Death Penalty
http://www.coadp.org/

Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty
http://www.nodp.org/cnadp

Death Penalty Focus of California
http://www.deathpenalty.org

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
http://www.fadp.org

Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty
http://www.icadp.org/

Iowans Against the Death Penalty
http://www.iadp.org

Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
http://www.kcadp.org/

Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty
http://www.mcadp.org/

New Mexico Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty
http://nmrepeal.org/

Ohioans to Stop Executions
http://www.otse.org/index.html

Pennsylvania Abolitionists United Against the Death Penalty
http://www.pa-abolitionists.org/

South Florida Committee Against the Death Penalty:
http://www.sfcadp.itgo.com/images.html

Tennessee Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
http://www.tcadp.org/

Texas Moratorium Network
http://www.texasmoratorium.org

Virginians For Alternatives To The Death Penalty
http://www.vadp.org

Washington Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
http://www.abolishdeathpenalty.org

New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty
http://www.nyadp.org

Washington Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
http://www.abolishdeathpenalty.org/index.html

International Organizations

Moratorium 2000 Community of St. Egidio
http://www.santegidio.org