Kerry Lyn Dalton and Victoria celebrate Christmas Eve 2016

Visiting Kerry

 22 Thanksgivings on Death Row--Without ever getting her automatic appeal yet.

Victoria and Kerry

Kerry, Raymond, and Victoria

Hate Never Cures Hate

The conversation rises and falls in our country; 

why the death penalty?

 In a nation which claims to be advanced, the world leader, where human rights are why we go to war (wow, that sounded contradictory.), we remain one of the few nations to retain such a barbaric practice. This practice continues to align the U.S.A. with countries whose politics and philosophies we judge harshly for their lack of human rights.

The United States is in company with North Korea, China, Yemen and Iran, as the top countries for executing their own citizens.

The United Nations has declared the death penalty to be inhumane.

In Nebraska this Fall they will be voting on this subject, their legislature outlawed the death penalty last year, however some Nebraskans, like attorney Bob Evnen, decided it was worth the cost to try to reinstate state sanctioned killings. California will also have the death penalty on their ballots; both the opportunity to end the wasteful system and the option to speed up the process (CA has not executed any one since 2005, an elderly Native American. Nebraska hasn’t used it’s killing machine in 20 years.)

A recent article on Nebraska’s choice interviewed Mr. Evnen, leading the fight to keep the death penalty. He looks to the Bible first, “… you'll find capital punishment is prescribed for certain crimes. And so we begin with capital punishment is morally required.” Evnen was referring to The books of Moses. (1)

 Mr. Evnen has left out some vital details.

In his Bible, death was also a remedy for infidelity, magic, cursing God’s name, violating the Sabbath, and even disrespecting your parents.

Does he want us to follow those directions too?

The following conditions are a few of the requirement before imposing a death sentence  found within the Talmud, which is the Jewish instruction to accompany the Torah, or what Evnen and Christians refer to as the Bible, the Old Testament in particular:

*The person accused must have been warned just prior to their actions, and acknowledge they understood.

*There must be at least two eye-witnesses, who both testify to the same story exactly, and they cannot be interviewed together or hear the other’s story. They also must be warned they will be the ones to receive the death penalty if they lie. There could be no benefit to either eye-witness for their testimony or in the sentencing of the accused.

*A court of at least 23 judges were required to agree. (3)

Another point Mr. Evnen states, “…law enforcement overwhelmingly supports the death penalty. That it is something that helps protect them…” including that “… it's reserved for the most heinous crimes and the most vicious criminals.”

Neither of these statements are true. Statistics from the FBI have proven the death penalty is not a deterrent (2), and how do we explain Gary Ridgeway living in Walla Walla Prison (convicted of killing  48  women) while Cal Brown was executed in 2010 (convicted of killing one).

“…At some point I think justice requires that the person that did that horrendous act pay the ultimate price,” Evnen said.

This touches on the most important point in this whole issue; humanity. When we kill people under the guise of “justice”, doing-to-them-what-they-did-to-us, we lose our own humanity. We become the perpetrator. There is no way around it. No matter how you dress it up it is killing when killing is not the only option, and not the best option for humanity.

First we play God and take away their humanity, then we throw away our own by jumping into the killing machine. There is such a tragic cost, and I don’t just mean money!

There are deep tragedies we cannot explain or fix, and some lives will never be the same. I ask us to think about avoiding more suffering, to seek ways of healing and the communal good. More killing never builds a strong close community. As Martin Luther King Junior said, only love outshines hate.

Let us chose mercy and compassion.

End the death penalty.

References:

(1) http://netnebraska.org/article/news/1038169/campaigns-intensifying-against-death-penalty-nebraska

Campaigns Intensifying For, Against The Death Penalty In Nebraska

by Mike Tobias, Senior Producer/Reporter, NET News    August 24, 2016

(2) Death Penalty Information Center
(3) Rabbi Michael Goldstein

What a fantastic day visiting with Kerry Lyn!

Victoria, Kerry, Carla, Adam, and Toni

Dear friends visit her for the first time, July 23rd, 2016
Carla and Toni come from Brazil and Spain. We all drove 1,169 miles over the last 2 days just to spend time with Kerry this weekend. We all love her and believe in her innocence. We all work towards her exoneration and bringing her home.

Toni, Adam, Carla, Kerry, and Victoria

Vacation with Kerry Lyn, June 4th and 5th.

It gets more difficult each time we leave without her. 21 years this weekend she has endured on Death row. She is innocent--could that be why she has never had her automatic appeal reviewed? Still waiting...

Kerry Lyn Dalton Continues to Wait for Her First Appeal after 21 years

This was the 21 year mark for when Kerry was sentenced to death for a crime that has never even been proven to happened. She still waits for her 1st State level appeal.
She is innocent.
We need people to care about this huge injustice. I spent the two visiting sessions available over the weekend with Kerry, I love her company!

 Please take time to look through this blog for details on her innocence, wrongful conviction, and the process she has been stuck in for over 21 years

  Peace to your day.

156 people have been exonerated from death rows in the U.S.A. - mistakes do happen! Purposeful actions to gain a conviction happen also.
These 156 are the lucky ones to have their convictions overturned - some have been executed before the truth came out (these innocents spent many many years stuck in a system that doesn't work ; most 15 plus years, many 18 - 30 years even!)

A few have even had a second or third trial convict them again before finally receiving relief and freedom. This shows how difficult it can be to get the truth to prevail after a conviction.

 
I continue to challenge the public to think rationally: Kerry's case should never even have gone to trial: 

NO body,
NO blood,
NO weapon,
NO forensics at all,
NO crime scene...

Consider the facts, look into the case and FACTS.

A lot of false information was spread, a trial of hearsay evidence, snitches gaining favors, and false reports of confessions given to the press by law enforcement is all this case was built on. Every law enforcement who testified at the trial admitted there was absolutely no physical evidence of a murder - or even any other crime.
The alleged victim was NOT EVEN DECLARED DECEASED during Kerry Lyn's trial - nearly 6 1/2 years after the alleged incident.  

We have no forensics to test, or to examine. But, we have an abundance of facts of perjury, favors given, recanted testimony, and more. Our system promises an appeal - yet Kerry Lyn has never even had her first level appeal reviewed. 

Give Kerry her day in court, we ask the CA Supreme Court to review her appeal which has been waiting, fully briefed, since 2009. 

Look through this blog for more information, trial transcripts, and submit questions. 

Thank you.

Link to list of exonerated: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row

Kerry Lyn Dalton Case has Similarities -

Prosecutor who sent innocent man to death row                     is disbarred   (from Chron/Houston Chronicle) Updated 9:03 am, Tuesday, February 9, 2016

"AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A former prosecutor who used false testimony and withheld evidence to send a now-exonerated man to Texas' death row has lost an appeal to overturn his disbarment."

When Kerry Lyn's case finally is reviewed (still at its first level after over 20 years...) we may see these same results.
The prosecutor was aware of the numerous discrepancies and Brady violations in her case. 
All this added to a case WITHOUT any physical evidence:
No body
No blood
No weapon
No crime scene
No forensics at all
There should never have been a trial - could this be WHY her case is not getting reviewed? There are so many issues with her case it must be addressed and cannot simply be stamped and denied. If it was as cut-and-dried as prosecutor Dusek claimed, it would have passed on long ago. Give Kerry Lyn her day in court; ask the appellate court to read her appeal and rule on it. 



Read full article on death row exoneree Anthony Graves here:
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Disbarment-of-Texas-prosecutor-of-ex-death-row-6817491.php