10-12-06 TIKKUN's Rabbi MICHAEL LERNER is asked and ANSWERS re: Immediate Moratorium on the Death Penalty in California // Moratoria sobre la Pena de Muerte en California // 拉比是询问和答复重：死刑

 

Tikkun Magazine - to heal, repair, and transform the world

1) Joseph Zernik wrote:


Dear Rabbi Lerner:

Thanks again for your response on a previous question, pertaining to conduct of Bet Tzedek and the Los Angeles Jewish Federation.

Here is another question, which I believe you should and could opine on:

Should California declare an immediate moratorium on the death penalty?

• A recent United Nations Human Rights Council referred to "corruption of the courts and the legal profession" in California.
• Opinions by top US legal scholars support the same opinion.
• Conditions that were documented through the ongoing refusal of California and federal justice agencies to free the Rampart FIPs leave little doubt regarding competence of the California justice system as we see it today.
• For example: Los Angeles Judge JACQUELINE CONNOR - The Central Figure both in court corruption of the Rampart scandal and its cover-up - has sentenced an unknown number of criminal defendants to death.

Posing questions to leading rabbis of the day has been a traditional form of Jewish discourse, going back some 1,500 years. 

The US Jewish community historically has been committed for Civil and Human Rights, and members of the Jewish community are vastly over-represented among judges and attorneys in California and the United States.  Therefore, it is proposed that the Jewish community should hold itself accountable for conditions of the justice system in California and beyond, and initiate reform efforts. 

Your response in this matter may help to heal, repair, and transform California.

Happy Hanukkah to you and your family!

Truly,

Joseph Zernik, PhD
Human Rights Alert (NGO)

Human Rights Alert is dedicated to discovering, archiving, and disseminating evidence of Human Rights violations by the justice systems of the State of California and the United States in Los Angeles County, California, and beyond. Special emphasis is given to the unique role of computerized case management systems in the precipitous deterioration of integrity of the justice system in the United States.

http://www.scribd.com/Human_Rights_Alert
http://inproperinla.blogspot.com/ 
http://human-rights-alert.blogspot.com/
http://www.liveleak.com/user/jz12345  
_____________________________
WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES?
*  "On July 26, 2010, Laurence Tribe, Senior Counsel for the United States Department of Justice, Access to Justice Initiative, delivered an important speech to the Conference of Chief Justices, challenging them to halt the disintegration of our state justice systems before they become indistinguishable from courts of third world nations."
Prof Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School (2010), per National Defender Leadership Institute
http://www.nlada.net/library/article/national_dojspeechto%20chiefjustice07-26-2010_gideonalert
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WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA?
*     "Innocent people remain in prison"
*     "...the LA Superior Court and the DA office, the two other parts of the justice system that the Blue Panel Report recommends must be investigated relative to the integrity of the system, have not produced any response that we know of..."
LAPD Blue Ribbon Review Panel Report (2006)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24902306/
*   "...judges tried and sentenced a staggering number of people for crimes they did not commit."
Prof David Burcham, Dean, Loyola Law School, LA (2001)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29043589/
*   "This is conduct associated with the most repressive dictators and police states... and judges must share responsibility when innocent people are convicted."    
Prof Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Irvine Law School (2001)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/274339
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WHAT DID THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL STAFF REPORT SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CALIFORNIA?
*   "...corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California."
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38566837/

2) At 10:24 PM 12/6/2010, Rabbi Lerner wrote:

Dear Joseph,
While I could not get very much into your previous question, since it required knowing facts about a specific situation of which I was ignorant, this question calls for an ethical principle. I totally oppose the deaith penalty and believe it should be suspended immediately.

Rabbi Michael Lerner
Editor, Tikkun Magazine www.tikkun.org
Chair, the interfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives  www.spiritualprogressives.org
Rabbi, Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in Berkeley www.beyttikkun.org
rabbilerner@tikkun.org

3) Joseph Zernik wrote: 

Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2010 23:13:51
To: Michael Lerner
From: joseph zernik
Subject: Re: TIKKUN's Rabbi MICHAEL LERNER is asked re: Immediate Moratorium on the Death Penalty in California

Dear Rabbi Lerner:

I am grateful for your response, and hope that you pursue action in this matter as well.

Joseph Zernik