Anti-Death Penalty Activists to Fast and Vigil for Four Days Outside of U.S. Supreme Court to Mark Historic Court Rulings

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Jun 27, 2011, 11:34 ET

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following event was announced today by the Abolitionist Action Committee:

WHEN:	June 29 and June 30 from 8:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
	July 1 and 2 - around the clock, 24-hour presence (ending at midnight on July 2)
	Evening teach-ins with noted speakers each day from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (SEE BELOW)
	* A public rally will be held Saturday, July 2 at 12:00 p.m. *

WHAT:	A four day liquid-only fast and vigil to mark the anniversaries of the historical 1972 Furman and 1976 Greg Supreme Court decisions involving the death penalty.

WHO:	Exonerated death row prisoners, murder victim family members, over 50 anti-death penalty activists from a dozen or more states and several countries, and leaders of state and national anti-death penalty organizations. This year we also welcome a former Virginia executioner and a delegate to the Maryland House of Delegates.

WHERE:	On the sidewalk in front of the United States Supreme Court in Washington, DC

July 2, 2011 marks the 35th anniversary of the Gregg V. Georgia decision in which the United States Supreme Court upheld laws written in various states to reinstate the death penalty in the wake of the Furman decision in 1972. A special rally and press conference will be held this day as part of the Annual Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty at the U.S. Supreme Court. See a new report on the status of the death penalty 35 years after Gregg at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org.

During the entire event, activists will converge on Washington, D.C. from June 29 through July 2 for four days of activities commemorating the historic 1972 and 1976 Supreme Court rulings that suspended the death penalty in the United States and later allowed executions to resume. This is the eighteenth year in a row that the Abolitionist Action Committee will hold its annual Fast and Vigil between the dates of these two landmark decisions. Activists, many of whom are fasting the entire four days, are travelling to Washington D.C. from across the United States and beyond.

Highlights of this highly visual and interactive annual event include live music and evening teach-ins by death row survivors, murder victim family members, and noted activists and scholars. Please see details at http://www.abolition.org/fastandvigil/schedule.html.

ATTENTION REPORTERS, EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: Consider interviews with activists from your specific state or region. Contact us to arrange for this.

RAIN ALERT: In the event of rain or significant threat thereof, evening events requiring amplification will take part inside the United Methodist Church Building, immediately adjacent (across Maryland Ave. on 1st St).

The Abolitionist Action Committee is an ad-hoc group of individuals committed to highly visible and effective public education for alternatives to the death penalty through nonviolent direct action.

Contact the AAC at: (518) 768-1867, [email protected], or www.abolition.org.

SOURCE Abolitionist Action Committee