| Opening Statement |
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Death penalty protest trial, June 28, 2007, Jack Payden-Travers
Good morning your honor. My name is John Michael Payden-Travers. I reside in Lynchburg, Virginia and I am here as a pro se defendant in this case and am standing before this court to deliver the Opening Statement on behalf of my co-defendants who come from KS, MA, NC, SC, VT, and VA. Those of us on trial here are charged with violating two statutes: Title 40 United States Code § 6134: which says among other things that It is unlawful to make a harangue or oration, or utter loud, threatening, or abusive language in the Supreme Court Building or grounds. and Title 40 United States Code § 6135. which among other things says It is unlawful to parade, stand, or move in processions or assemblages in the Supreme Court Building or grounds, or to display in the Building and grounds a flag, banner, or device designed or adapted to bring into public notice a party, organization, or movement. We deny these charges. We are not guilty of committing a crime. Jan 17th was the day of our arrest, and it is the anniversary of the first execution in the modern era of the death penalty. Jan 17, 2007 marked three decades since the death by firing squad of Gary Mark Gilmore by the state of Utah. Some 1059 state executions later, nine of us would gather on the plaza of that same building where the death penalty was reinstated. We were there to commemorate, to remember the individuals who had been killed by electrocution, firing squad, gassing, hanging, or lethal injection since 1976. Nine pairs of hands held a message reading STOP EXECUTIONS, and read a Prayer to Abolish the Death Penalty written by Sister Helen Prejean, and we issued a call to end the death penalty. In spite of our First Amendment rights in such a public area, and our non-violent nature, one by one the nine were arrested. Without the police offering us the sidewalk, a few feet away- which we know to be a place where First Amendment rights are respected. This group of nine prayed. We did not orate. We did not parade or process. We did not discharge explosives. We chanted: "What do we want? Abolition! When do we want it? Now!" We did not harangue. We did not blocking ingress or egress of the building. We stood as a witness to the state homicides of capital punishment. We did not attempt to bring into public notice a party or organization. We wish we were, but are not part of and did not attempt to create a movement. Our witnesses will testify that no threatening or abusive language was uttered. We did not use "loud" language in such an open and public space. We used no amplification. We did not scream or harangue. The nine of us were are among a crowd of hundreds talking among themselves, and talking on cell phones and passing the time while awaiting admission to, or viewing the Supreme Court building. We engaged in a prayer as follows: "God of Compassion, ...expand and deepen our hearts so that we may love as You love even those among us who have caused the greatest pain by taking life." The defense will prove that these nine were there merely to pray for an end to the killing, to freely exercise their religious beliefs, to speak the truth, to petition the government of the United States for a redress of grievances regarding capital punishment. Have we reached a time in the post-911 world where the peaceful assembly of nine people exercising their First Amendment Rights by unfurling a banner on a public plaza is now considered criminal in violation of 2 federal statutes? I ask that you find us not guilty and uphold the right of free speech. Thank you your honor. |
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