Protest the 200th Execution Under Texas Governor Rick Perry

Today, June 2, 2009, the 200th execution under Texas Governor Rick Perry is scheduled to take place. Since he became governor of Texas in December 2000, Perry has allowed more executions to proceed than any other governor in U.S. history. There are protests planned in cities in Texas, Canada and Europe.

In Texas demonstrations will be carried out in Austin, Huntsville and Houston. Other demonstrations will be held in Albuquerque; Paris, France; Leipzig, Germany, Brussels, Belgium, and Montreal, Canada.

In Houston, activists will gather at “The Old Hanging Tree” located at the former site of a county courthouse. This 400-year-old oak tree was likely the site of lynchings in the 1800’s and is now a recognized historic site by the City of Houston. In Huntsville, the protest will be held outside of the death house, the Walls Unit, where the execution will be carried out. In Austin, a demonstration will be held at the Texas Capitol on the sidewalk at 11th and Congress.

In Paris, there will be a protest June 3 on the Place de la Concorde, Tuileries/US Consulate side from 6pm to 7pm.

In Leipzig, Germany, activists organized by Amnesty International will place 200 white paper crosses and 200 candles outside the US Consulate on June 2. Leipzig is a sister city of Houston. In Brussels, Belgium, protesters with banners will be in front of the US Embassy between 6:00 and 7:00 pm. In Montreal there will be a Die-In organized by Amnesty International where the 200 executions will be reenacted.

The Texas anti-death penalty community asks people around the world to focus your attention on Texas and join us in protesting the 200th execution carried out under Rick Perry. Altogether, Texas has executed 438 people since 1982, including 152 under former Texas Governor George W. Bush.

How you can protest the 200th execution under Texas Governor Rick Perry

1) On the day of the 200th execution, call Governor Perry at 512-463-1782 and tell him your opinion on the death penalty. If you live in the U.S., you can use his the form on his website to email him. We suggest you both call him and email him.

2) Attend a protest in your city either on the day of the 200th execution or sometime before. If a protest is not scheduled, you can organize a protest. If you live outside the U.S., organize a protest at the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Send us a photo or video of your protest by email and we will post it on this website and on YouTube. Or you can upload your photos and videos yourself to our social networking site or directly to our group on YouTube. If your organization is planning a protest, please let us know so that we can list your protest on this site.

3) Sign the petition and add your name to the list of people who are raising their voices to protest the 200th execution under Texas Governor Rick Perry.

4) Donate a symbolic 200 cents towards helping us organize against the Texas death penalty. That is one penny for every execution under Rick Perry. We are asking everyone to donate $2, which is the equivalent of 200 pennies. You are welcome to donate more if you can afford it, but everyone can afford to donate $2.

The artwork at www.protest200executions.com is by German artist Jasmin Hilmer and represents the isolation of Texas in the world community. While most of the rest of the world, including all of Europe, have turned their backs on the use of capital punishment, Texas continues to execute people at a shocking rate.

This campaign is sponsored by Texas Moratorium Network, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, Campaign to End the Death Penalty – Austin and Albuquerque chapters, Students Against the Death Penalty, Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center, Amnesty International – Leipzig, the DP Coordination Team of Amnesty International Canada Francophone and the Abolish the Death Penalty Project on Amazee.

Share →

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: