To Whom it may concern :

    My name is T. Scott Cothren.  I am a 26 year old Alabama death row inmate.  I've
been incarcerated since December 19, 1992...the day before my 20th birthday.  In these
past six years I've learned much about the so-called "Wheels of Justice."
    I would like to take this opportunity to pass along one of the ideas I've had, but no
forum with which to convey them.  I hope you find this thorough and informative.
    On December 10, 1998, President Bill Clinton signed "Executive Order 13107". The
order instructed all states, territories, and people of the United States to come into
compliance with the U.N Declaration of Human Rights, signed into effect December
10, 1948, 50 YEARS AGO.
    The document was originally signed to promote the recognition of the worth of
every human life and the dignity that everyone is entitled to maintain.  The U.S, in
effect, ignored it entirely.
    When the U.S signed onto this declaration, they agreed to observe and uphold the
articles therein.  The U.S government has blatantly disregarded the standards sent out
in it, time after time...with the practice of capital punishment alone, over 500 times
since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1977.
    The Death Penalty isn't the only aspect of Criminal Justice in the U.S in violation of
Human Rights.  There is also the ever increasing occurrences of police brutality, the
common practice of not disclosing exculpatory evidence in criminal investigations,
the manufacturing of false evidence by prosecutors, even the refusal to acknowledge
the confession of another to a crime in which a person who proclaims innocence is
being punished.
    My God! People, these are the officials we have entrusted with the responsibility of
protecting our safety and well being!  If they are so incompetent as to be able to do
their job correctly the first time, then they are completely ineffective and little more
than a minor hindrance to criminal activity.
    It is not as if these people have to guess as to what they are and are not allowed to
do.  The Constitution of the United States of America is a standard.  The US Supreme
Court routinely distributes their rulings which affect police procedure.  There's no
excuse for their abhorrent behavior!
    Back to the death penalty, there's yet another, even simpler, but important
nonetheless, reason for its abolition!  Every human being on the face of this earth is
redeemable! No matter what horrendous acts he's accused of, no matter how
psychologically damaged, no matter what.  With enough time and devotion from a
caring person, all are redeemable.
    Maybe it is due to my being on the receiving end of it, but it seems to me that as
more and more death row prisoners are able to prove their innocence, more and more
bills are passed to speed the appeals process and block very valuable avenues of
relief.  This tends to prove that politicians refuse to depart from their most effective
platform from which to incite a pointless bloodlust and send death penalty advocates
running to the polls...regardless of the factual reliability (or lack thereof) of the
politician and his rantings.
    I can sum up the entire mentality of the capital punishment scheme and its
supporters with the name of a single town, state, and date.  Salem, Massachusetts,
1692.  A mob of townspeople slaughtered several women and girls as suspected
witches.  The only proof to support this claim-a lone, trusted public officials claim,
that he could prove they were witches. Unfortunately, the "proof" was that they could
not survive the test of being set on fire.
    To all the abolitionists out there, let me say that I truly appreciate all your efforts, as
does everyone directly and indirectly affected.
    Having said that, forgive my forwardness, but I'd like to see a more concerted effort
of ALL the abolition groups of the world.  Here's where the idea I mentioned earlier
comes into play.  Keep in mind that Clinton's Executive Order 13107 is the driving
force of this concept and makes it plausible.
    When Clinton signed the aforementioned Executive Order, he opened the US
Justice System to the UN General Assembly Scrutiny.  This should give the World
Court located at The Hague jurisdiction for any claims that the US stands in violation
of several human rights issues.
    The Justice System doesn't only violate the rights of death row prisoners, but, by
the very aspect of your being opposed to capital punishment, they refuse you the right
as a citizen of the International Community, to carry out a dignified existence, by
killing your fellow man.
    If you are a citizen of the US, then you are forced to carry the stigma of a country
who so frequently kills its own, even when the rest of the free world has abandoned
the practice and is thriving.
    If a list can be made of all death row prisoners (and kept updated) and everyone
involved in abolition work would sponsor a prisoner, we could conceivably recruit a
few volunteers and file a class action lawsuit in the World Court.
    The reason action is required of abolitionists is due to communication among
various death rows is limited at best, and more often entirely banned.
    If you have questions, comments. or, even more important, input on what you've
just read, feel free to write me.  Thank you kindly for your time and attention in this
matter.  I remain, yours truly,        T.  Scott  Cothren
 
   To Whom it may concern.... (April, 1999)
   Me again.  I am still on my "soapbox" about abolitionists pulling together.
    Has it occurred to anyone out there that without solidarity, slavery would never
have been abolished?  I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the efforts put forth by
each and every group out there.  It just seems to me that without each other, we are all
just spinning our wheels.
    Here's an example of the effect of one large voice as opposed to several small
ones...earlier this year in the state of Missouri, a young man by the name of Mease
was living the final days before he was to be executed.  The Pope spoke on his behalf
and the man spared.
    Granted, none of us are Pope John Paul, but together we are a formidable opponent
against capital punishment.
    Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the US, several abolition groups
have formed and attempted to end the killing.  How many executions have been
stopped by these divided efforts of isolated groups?
    The US is well past the 500th execution mark.  Legislation is being passed (virtually,
by the week.) to make more and more crimes punishable by death.  Prisoners coming
to the row are younger and younger each time a new one comes in.  It is utterly
sickening that there are kids here that, by US law, are too young to buy cigarettes, but
are old enough to be executed.  Seriously, people, there are several guys here who
aren't allowed to purchase tobacco products from the commissary!  They aren't old
enough!
    All arguments in support of the death penalty have been brought down over the
years.  It doesn't deter other criminals, its far more expensive to execute than
imprison, I have yet to hear a victims family member express satisfaction or comfort
after having viewed an execution...only have I heard expressions of sadness,
disheartenment, disturbance, and (in one case) even a "sickening" feeling.
    Many times, the term "closure" is used.  Having lost two people I loved very dearly,
one of them to murder, it is my belief that closure can never be found in what happens
to another person...it can only be found within.
    I do not wish to "minimalize" the pain and agony a victims's family goes through...it
is incomprehensable to someone who hasn't experienced that loss.  I do, however,
believe that it is this pain that enables otherwise kind and gentle people to think they
can find solace in the death of another human being.
    Ms. Sue Norton, a woman I greatly respect and admire, is a member of Murder
Victims Families For Reconciliation.  She spends much of her time educating people
about forgiveness and the death penalty.  She has come to the realization that there is
no way that  the death of the man that killed her parents can ever alleviate her loss.
    Here's a challenge for any death penalty supporters who may read this...imagine, if
you will, that tomorrow the police barge into your house and arrest one of your family
members, or even yourself.  You're accused of a horrible crime because someone saw
a person that looked kind of like you.  You fit the description given the police by a
witness.  You cannot afford the 75, 000 fee a decent lawyer wants to take your case.
So you're appointed an attorney with little or no experience in capital defense. Just
over a year later you find yourself standing before a judge as he sentences you to
death.
    Okay...now you have your appeals process.  Somewhere down the road, the actual
perpetrator comes forward and confesses to the crime you're convicted of.  Guess
what...if you're in the state of Virginia, it doesn't matter.  There's a 21 day time limit on
presenting new evidence. (Two men have lost their lives because of this rule!)
    It is easy to believe in the reliability of a justice system when it is viewed from afar.
When you have to experience it "up close and personal,"  the lack of integrity is quite
obvious.
    There will be people who point to the nine men from Illinois who were released after
proving themselves innocent. First, what about the guys who haven't been so lucky?
Also, there have been bills passed (specifically the Anti Terrorism  / Effective Death
Penalty act) which now limit avenues for relief that were available to those guys.
    Once convicted, the burden of proof shifts greatly onto the defendant. Its no longer
"innocent until proven guily," its the exact opposite.  In short, if something isn't done
soon, the likelihood of more innocent men and women being put to death is greatly
multiplied.  It is in inevitable that some innocents will be executed.  The limitations on
avenues meant to impede the guilty also impedes the innocent.  !
    In closing, I will leave you with a lesson I heard as a child.  At the time it was in
reference to brothers, but applies quite well here :  if you have three sticks of the same
length and thickness, anyone of them can be easily broken.  If two are held together
they become harder to break, but with just a little more pressure, they will break.
When all three sticks are held together, they can withstand virtually any amount of
pressure.  The sticks become almost invincible, but more importantly, they hold up far
better as a whole than they do as three.
Be well,        T. Scott Cothren