This action is on behalf of two men and a teenager who face possible execution in regard to the death of a Syrian boy during a schoolyard brawl.

The attached sample letter is in MS Word. If you take this action, please adapt it to your needs and send it so that it arrives before 20 May 08; the action will be unavailable as of 13 May. Please also send a copy to Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia601 New Hampshire Avenue N.W.Washington, D.C. 20037.

New Jersey Abolishes Death Penalty
TRENTON, N.J., Dec. 17, 2007 (CBS/AP)

New Jersey on Monday became the first state in four decades to abolish the death penalty under a bill signed by Gov. Jon S. Corzine, a move being hailed across the world as a historic victory against capital punishment. Corzine signed the bill at a Statehouse ceremony.

"We have seized the moment and are poised to join the ranks of other states and countries that view the death penalty as discriminatory, immoral and barbaric," said state Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo, D- Essex. The bill, approved last week by the state's Assembly and Senate, will replace the death sentence with life in prison without parole.

A special state commission found in January that the death penalty was a more expensive sentence than life in prison, hasn't deterred murder and risks killing an innocent person. "The state is taking a painful but necessary step," said Corzine, a Democrat.

Among the eight spared is Jesse Timmendequas, a sex offender who murdered 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994. The case inspired Megan's Law, which requires law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex offenders living in their communities.

MISSISSIPPI----execution stayed Justices Stay Execution, a Signal to Lower Courts

Moments before a Mississippi prisoner was scheduled to die by lethalinjection, the Supreme Court granted him a stay of execution on Tuesdayevening and thus gave a nearly indisputable indication that a majority intends to block all executions until the court decides a lethal injectioncase from Kentucky next spring.

There were 2 dissenters, Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel A. Alito Jr.,but neither they nor the majority gave reasons for their positions. Because only five votes are required for a stay of execution, it is notclear whether all the remaining seven justices supported it.

The stay will remain in effect until the full court reviews an appeal filed Monday by lawyers for the inmate, Earl W. Berry, who is on death row for killing a woman 20 years ago. While there is no schedule for that review, it will almost surely not take place until the court decides the Kentucky case, Baze v. Rees, which will be argued in January.

This action is on behalf of two Darfurian women who face imminent execution by stoning after being convicted of adultery.

The attached sample letter is in MS Word. If you take this action, please adapt the letter to your needs, send it before 27 April 07, and mail a copy to Ambassador Khidir Haround Ahmed, Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan, 2210 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008.

From the Wilmington News-Journal:

All Delaware executions put on hold

All executions in Delaware are now officially on hold.

Today, a federal judge granted class action status to a lawsuit charging the state's method of lethal injection amounts to unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.

This means a May 2006 stay, which blocked convicted ax murderer Robert Jackson's execution, now applies to the other 15 inmates on Delawares death row.

"It [the judge's order] has formally included these other inmates and based on this today, there will be a formal stay on executions until this case is resolved," said Andy Amsler, spokesperson of Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden.

The state had opposed class action status, arguing that it was possible for attorneys to contact each death row inmate to get them to sign onto the lawsuit.

At a hearing earlier this month, Deputy Attorney General Gregory Smith also argued that class action status might deprive any inmate of the right to "volunteer" for execution.

In September 2006, we wrote on behalf of Mirza Tahir Hussain, who faced execution for the murder of Jamshid Khan on 17 December 88.

Jamshid Khan was a taxi driver who was taking Mr. Hussain from Rawalpindi to Bhubar. During the trip, Mr. Khan stopped the car, drew a gun, and tried to physically and sexually assault Mr. Hussain. The gun fired during the resulting struggle, killing Mr. Khan.

We expressed our concerns about reports that the trial did not meet common and established standards of fairness, along with our opposition to the death sentence.

Happily, President Pervez Musharraf has commuted Mirza Tahir Hussain's sentence. Because he had already served 18 years in detention, the commutation resulted in his release. Mr. Hussain has already moved to the United Kingdom.

There is no way to say that one letter or another led to this outcome, but we can say that we participated in a global effort that probably saved a life.

Attached, in MS Word, is our death penalty action for May 2006 for Egypt. Ezzat Ali Hanafi and Hamdi Ali Hanafi could be executed at any time for growing drugs and obstructing a police raid. Please adapt the letter to your needs and send copies to: National Council for Human Rights, 1113 Corniche al-Nil, NDP Building, Cairo, Egypt; and Ambassador M. Nabil Fahmy, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Washington, DC 20008-2023.

The attachment, in MS Word, is for our May 2006 death penalty action for Iran. Ne'mat, age 17, could be executed at any time. Please adapt the letter to your needs and send a copy to the Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007.

Amnesty is asking Pennsylvania residents to contact their representatives and ask for a NO vote on House Bill 698, at least in its present form.

Here are the basics:

Please oppose House Bill 698, which, in its current form, would require that a determination of a defendant's mental retardation be made by the jury after it has convicted the defendant.
This legislation is opposed by professionals in the mental retardation field, civil libertarians and learned counsel, as well as by faith communities.
Post-trial determination would cause the Commonwealth to incur the costs of an unnecessary capital trial, if a defendant is then found to be mentally retarded and therefore ineligible for the death penalty.
This bill runs counter to national trends: Of the eight states that have implemented standards since the Atkins decision, seven have opted for pre-trial determination (18 death penalty states passed statutes before Atkins ).
We must pass legislation that truly protects the constitutional rights of those with mental retardation – House Bill 698 will not accomplish that objective.