“They have absolutely been gut-punched and now they are having to address and relive the most tragic events in the modern history of their families.
#Deathrow shirt professional#
The LDAA is a professional association that represents all 42 statewide elected district attorneys. The Louisiana District Attorneys Association (LDAA) said the possibility that those convicted of serious crimes would get clemency is disturbing to families who have a multitude of concerns and are now suddenly thrust into the middle of this process. “Do we return a bad deed with another bad deed or do we try a different tack?” “We just can’t see at this point how executing someone is going to bring any kind of closure or any kind of healing from the experience that we’ve had,” Malone told the crowd. For years, he’s been calling on Louisiana politicians to “extend their pro-life values to the people on death row.” “What’s wrong with letting him live?” he asked at the Aug. He doesn’t want the man convicted of his mom’s murder to die.
Under state law, the governor has the ability to grant clemency in capital cases after a recommendation from the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole.įollowing the rally, criminal justice advocacy group, Promise for Justice Initiative delivered a petition with more than 2,000 signatures to the governor’s office, asking him to keep his word.īrett Malone helped deliver the petition. “It doesn’t deter crime it isn’t necessary for public safety and more importantly, it is wholly inconsistent with Louisiana’s pro-life values, as it quite literally promotes a culture of death.” “Our criminal justice system is far from perfect,” the governor told lawmakers in April. In his State of the State speech, Edwards opened the door for the historic, mass clemency requests when he called on the legislature to abolish the death penalty. Several days later, he publicly called for an end to Louisiana’s death penalty before lawmakers. John Bel Edwards puts the finishing touches on his last State of the State address in April. What’s behind the effort to empty death row Twenty-two people sentenced to death in Louisiana had their sentences reduced or were exonerated between 20, according to the corrections department. “I’m not the first person to have been freed from Louisiana’s death row, and I’m sure I won’t be the last,” Cousin said.
The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled prosecutors mishandled his case. “When a lot of us were going to our high school proms or worrying about our bed not being made, unfortunately, I was worrying about whether or not my life would be taken for a crime I did not commit,” Cousin told the crowd.Ĭousin served several years on death row before his conviction was reversed.
He told the crowd he was “a representation of a flawed system.”Īt age 17, Cousin became one of the youngest people in the nation sentenced to death row. Shareef Cousin, who was convicted of murder in New Orleans in 1996, joined the dozens of death penalty opponents and community activists who want to eliminate the practice due to the cost of executions, racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and religious beliefs. Photos courtesy of The Promise of Justice Initiative She holds a sign that asks for “True Justice” and “Commute 56” during the rally. Brenita Softly, on the right, is an attorney who represents the men on death row. They held bright neon signs that read, “The death penalty is not pro-life,” and “Commute the 56” as efforts to empty Louisiana’s Death Row gained momentum.īrett Malone, on the left, holds a sign that reads, “Hear them all” at the Louisiana Capitol in support of the pardon board hearing of all 56 clemency requests from people on the state’s death row. However, the state’s attorney general and others say the dozens of people on death row aren’t eligible to be considered for clemency.Īnti-death penalty advocates gathered on the steps of the Louisiana Capitol in August after the governor spoke out against the death penalty. WATCH: Why dozens of men spent most of their lives in prison after Louisiana reneged on plea dealĮmboldened by Edwards’ comments on capital punishment, all but one of the state’s 57 people on death row asked the governor in June to spare their lives by commuting their sentences to life without parole. John Bel Edwards is using his clemency power to help advance a mass request for commutations after he publicly called on state lawmakers to stop the death penalty months ago.īut time is running out. For the first time, Louisiana is on the precipice of emptying death row.ĭemocratic Gov.
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