WHO ARE WE ?

. We are a non-profit, all volunteer run,  human rights organization.

· We have no political or religious affiliations.

· We know that capital punishment is not a deterrent.

· We are an inclusive organization composed of activists, professionals,
crime victims and their families, persons working within the justice system
opposed to capital punishment, persons opposed to capital punishment on
religious and moral grounds, and other concerned citizens opposed to
capital punishment.
 

OUR MANDATE AND GOALS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

· We aim to provide a Canadian voice to add to the European countries who
are actively opposing the death penalty.  We attempt to provide emotional and
practical support to inmates, their families and families of murder victims.

· Our intent is to prove the death penalty an unworkable and a counterproductive
response to the problem of crime and violence. Taking another human life is the worst
of crimes, whether committed by an individual, a State or country.

· Common ground must be found where understanding, compassion, forgiveness,
reconciliation will rule instead of anger, rage, revenge and the further
destruction of life.

· We make arrangements for Canadian nationwide bookstores to be admitted on
the prison mailing list in order to purchase reading and educational material to send to
inmates.

· We seek penpals and support  for inmates, since often their loneliness is intolerable
and their immediate families have no means of support or transportation to visit them.
Our major initiative in this regard is through the use of the internet, and our website
CCADP.ORG, where we encourage our members, the legal community, and other
interested citizens and activists to contact the prisoners to let them know that their plight
is a human rights issue and that their are groups working on their behalf.

We also provide free webspace to anyone sentenced to death so that they might
bring  their case issues, which may include issues of innocence or wrongful conviction,
to the attention of the public.  We also allow death sentenced prisoners, through us,
to post their writings, essays, additions to the death penalty debate, and artwork on
our pages in an attempt to allow people to see the human being behind the news stories,
the individuals being executed in the name of the public.

· We work on some basis with the European Coalition To Abolish The Death Penalty,
Texas Coalition Against the Death Penalty (TCADP);  Association In Defense Of the
Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC); Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty;
Murder Victim’s Families for Reconciliation (MVFR), and other death penalty and prisoner
justice groups from around the world.

· In Canada we speak regularly as acknowledged experts on the death penalty as a
human rights issue to mainstream media, we speak at schools, universities and events
and educate against a return to the death penalty, the history of the death penalty and
abolition in Canada, and the continued fight internationally to eradicate capital punishment.

· We do not approach this endeavor from a political or religious viewpoint,
but only from a human rights point of view. Where rehabilitation within the prison system
is preferable to vengeance; and the protection of society is assured without further cruelty and barbarity.

· We conduct letter writing campaigns in conjunction with other European
and United States of America abolition groups, when there is a need.  E.g
upcoming execution alerts, or demanding proper medical care and treatment
of prisoners.

· We work to ensure that persons are not extradited from Canada to any country where
the death penalty may apply.
 

· All the members of the CCADP are volunteers.  We operate out of pocket and with occasional
membership donations.  The webspace has been donated to us, and most other costs (related long distance, mailing expenses etc) are paid for personally by the directors, and with occasional help from other members.
 

·We are seeking to establish a Memorial/Cemetery for inmates who cannot afford a
burial.  (Perhaps in Europe.)
 

OUR CONCERNS:

· The death penalty is an act of violence that degrades and brutalizes our
society.

· In a civilized society, one killing does not justify another killing.

· The death penalty is unnecessary for the protection of Society. Long term
incarceration both protects society and punishes the offender.

· The death penalty targets racial minorities and those of low income status.

· The death penalty is applied to persons with mental retardation and
mental illness.

· The death penalty is applied to juvenile offenders in direct violation of
international law and standards.

· Misconduct by prosecutors has been recorded in a number of cases.
Innocent people have been sentenced to death.

· We continue to discuss and educate to ensure the death penalty never
returns to Canada.

· In future, we hope to introduce educational materials into the prisons where
permitted, as many inmates express a wish to further their knowledge and
education.

FACTS ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY:

· Proven in all civilized countries NOT to be a deterrent. Countries that
retain the death penalty have seen an increase in violence. While the
opposite is true for countries that have abolished the death penalty.

· After an execution has taken place, the following few days has shown a
trend to increased homicides.

· Abolition of the Death Penalty has been called for by Canada and other
countries , the Texas Conference of Churches, The Vatican,  the American
Bar Association, Amnesty International,  the United Nation Commission on
Human Rights and numerous other organizations around the world.

· Support for the death penalty drops significantly below 50% in the USA
when alternative sentences are presented to jurors  which are protective of

                 The CCADP offers free webpages to over 500 Death Row Prisoners
                                               Contact us for more information.

                                                       "The Eyes Of The World Are Watching Now"