Amnesty International Group 22 Pasadena/Caltech News Volume XXVI Number 7, July 2018 UPCOMING EVENTS Tuesday, August 14, 7:30-9:00 PM. Letter writing meeting at Caltech Athenaeum, corner of Hill and California in Pasadena. In the summer we meet outdoors at the "Rath al Fresco," on the lawn next to the building. This informal gathering is a great way for newcomers to get acquainted with Amnesty. Sunday, August 19, 6:30 PM. Rights Readers Human Rights Book Discussion Group. This month we read a mystery, "Song of the Lion" by Anne Hillerman. Note: We're taking a summer break and won't have any Thursday monthly meetings in July or August. Letter writing and book group meetings will continue as usual. COORDINATOR'S CORNER Hello everyone, This is Joyce, substiuting this month for Kathy. She and Robert are enjoying a well-deserved vacation in Alaska. Before leaving, Kathy sent me links for the book review and author biography. I would like to take the opportunity now to thank Kathy for her work in editing this newsletter and providing book reviews and author biographies every month. She is also our liaison with Vroman's - she orders our book selections and makes sure that our Amnesty book group continues as one of Vroman's sponsored book discussion groups. Thank you, Kathy! We had very good news from Amnesty on July 10. Patrick Poon, China Researcher at Amnesty International, responded to reports that artist Liu Xia, widow of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, had left China and was traveling to Germany: "It is wonderful news that Liu Xia is finally free and that her persecution and illegal detention at the hands of the Chinese authorities has come to an end, nearly one year since Liu Xiaobo's untimely and undignified death." See the Op-Ed by Patrick Poon at https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/13/liu- xias-freedom-shows-china-can-still-be- pressured-human-rights/ Happy Summer! Joyce Next Rights Readers Meeting Sunday, August 19 6:30 PM Vroman's Bookstore 695 E. Colorado Blvd Pasadena Song of the Lion by Anne Hillerman KIRKUS REVIEW Review Posted Online: Feb. 5th, 2017 Tribal divisions cause tensions that result in a car bomb-or is the motive something closer to home? The world around Navajo Police Officer Bernadette Manuelito is literally rocked while she watches the annual alumni basketball game at local Shiprock High School, and it isn't because of the talent on the court. When Bernie goes to the parking lot to inspect the apparent sonic boom, she finds that a car has exploded, presumably the result of an improvised device. Though she's been attending the game while off duty, Bernie kicks into work mode and tries to keep attendees safe while simultaneously investigating. When things settle down and she's able to return home to her husband, fellow officer Jim Chee, he's the one who has to work the case. The car's owner is Aza Palmer, a mediator working on some tensions between the Hopi and DinŽ tribes out in Tuba City, and Chee serves as an informal bodyguard to Palmer in the midst of the tense talks. Chee can't wait for the assignment to end because Palmer's in no mood to be guarded despite being otherwise friendly, and both Chee and Bernie know things will go back to normal once they crack this case. The secret may lie in the failing memory of former Lt. Joe Leaphorn, friend and mentor to both Chee and Bernie and a character whose link to the past could break the case open. The latest from Hillerman (Rock with Wings, 2015, etc.) continues worldbuilding in a tale that will reward long-term readers. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book- reviews/anne-hillerman/song-of-the-lion-a- leaphorn-chee-amp-manuelito-nov ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anne Hillerman Biography From a family of six children, Anne Hillerman is probably the most like her father, renowned mystery novelist Tony Hillerman. Like her Dad, Ms. Hillerman's long-time foray into writing began with writing non-fiction, and like her dad, she worked as an investigative journalist, technical writer and editor for the Santa Fe New Mexican, and various other news outlets. As a food critic writing for The Albuquerque Journal, Ms. Hillerman's descriptive and forthright prose heightened appreciation for the region's unique culinary traditions. The beloved and prolific author began publishing non-fiction books in 1983, including The Children's Guide to Santa Fe, and Santa Fe Flavors: Best Restaurants and Recipes. She collaborated with her photographer husband Don Strel on Gardens of Santa Fe, and Tony Hillerman's Landscape: On the Road with An American Legend. The landscape book is a lovely coffee table book that intersperses Anne's deep knowledge of the history and geography of the Four Corners regions with spectacular photography, and memorable quotes from the Leaphorn and Chee detective series. In 2013, Anne Hillerman picked up the threads of her father's substantial legacy with the publication of Spider Woman's Daughter. The novel progresses the plot line of DinŽ detectives Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito. Hillerman sought to provide a corrective in her father's work. Anne notes she was bothered by the narrative of Bernadette "mostly getting rescued" and endeavored to pen a western "where Bernie saves the day." Ms. Hillerman continues her literary efforts, publishing Rock with Wings in 2015, another in the Leaphorn and Chee series set against the magnificent backdrop of Monument Valley. Song of the Lion, her third work of fiction, will be available soon. Spider Woman's Daughter made the New York Times book list, and won the 2014 Western Writers of America Spur Award for best first novel. In 2015, Ms. Hillerman delivered the Rudolfo and Patricia Anaya Lecture on Literature of the Southwest, entitled "Why Stories Matter." In co-founding and directing the Tony Hillerman Writer's Conference, and numerous other community writing endeavors, conferences, and award ceremonies, Anne Hillerman embraces a Southwest tradition that knows and appreciates the value of a story. She has strong and loving memories of growing up as the eldest in a busy household of six children. Although she teased in a Albuquerque Journal column that Janet, her sister, displaced her as the family princess, she concluded that, "when I open my metaphorical treasure chest these days, I realize my parent's investment in love paid dividends that any princess would cherish. Growing up in a big family taught me about differences and commonalities, about compassion and fairness, about the purpose of tears and the healing power of humor." Anne lives with Don in Santa Fe. She has one son and a granddaughter. http://ehillerman.unm.edu/author- annehillerman#sthash.qzM53bMf.8lXueXvf.dpbs PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE Narges Mohammadi By Joyce Wolf Group 22 continues our efforts on behalf of Narges Mohammadi, our adopted Prisoner of Conscience in Iran. Center for Human Rights in Iran reported that Narges was transferred to a hospital from Evin Prison on June 30. Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, said that she was in intense pain. A few days later, ICHRI tweeted, "Prominent imprisoned human rights activist Narges Mohammadi underwent a gallbladder operation on July 3." If you are on Twitter, use hashtag #FreeNarges to urge that Narges be allowed to remain in the hospital to recuperate from the surgery as long as her physicians advise. https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2018/07/imprisoned- human-rights-defender-narges-mohammadi-hospitalized- in-tehran/ https://twitter.com/ICHRI/status/1014246765602787329 DEATH PENALTY NEWS By Stevi Carroll Scott Dozier Scott Dozier is a volunteer. He is on death row in Nevada and has given up his appeals so that he can be executed because "Life in prison isn't a life. It's just surviving." He was sentenced to die on July 11, 2018, but alas, the manufacturer of midazolam, one of the drugs used in the Nevada execution protocol, sued the state and a judge disallowed its use. What's a volunteer and the state authorities of that volunteer's death to do? Ah yes, the solution: use fentanyl. Many of us are aware of fentanyl because of the part it plays in our nation's opioid dilemma. For some reason, pharmaceutical companies have started realizing they (and their shareholders?) do not want themselves connected to state sanctioned murder. And if drugs become unavailable, states need to decide other forms of murder they want to use. Some states have already made this decision. Utah, for instance, has as its back-up plan the firing squad. Three states, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Mississippi, decided nitrogen gas is the way to go. I don't know if they called Tennessee's electric chair Old Sparky, but TN threw the switch for their Old Sparky. Options - this is the United States of America and options are what moves everything right along. I wonder what the state of Nevada will do with Scott Dozier. Mr Dozier is on suicide watch. Arizona's Terrific Solution Those killer drugs used in executions are becoming scarce. Let's say you're having a party, and you know you are going to be unable to provide something you know one of your invited friends really likes. You call the person up, explain the situation, and suggest the person bring the 'fixin's'. She says A-Okay. People will have different reactions to the behavior of both the host and the guest. But they seem all right with the situation. Now let's say you're on death row and the date for your execution has arrived. Arizona correction (really?) officers tell ('invite' in the news article) defense attorneys "to come to executions equipped with their clients' own deadly cocktail of drugs." The only fly in the ointment is "Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, we cannot imagine a way to obtain the drug. Those that obtain controlled substances illegally go to prison." What plan. Recent Exonerations Robert Bouto - State: IL - Date of Exoneration: 6/25/2018 In 1996, Robert Bouto was sentenced to 45 years in prison for murder in Chicago, Illinois. He was exonerated in 2018 by evidence that a detective threatened witnesses and manipulated the identification process. Jerome Johnson - State: MD - Date of Exoneration: 7/2/2018 In 1989, Jerome Johnson was sentenced to life in prison for a murder in Baltimore, Maryland. He was exonerated in 2018 after evidence came to light that he was elsewhere at the time of the crime, and the prosecution's primary witness against him recanted her testimony. Stay of Execution July 11 Scott Raymond Dozier NV Temporary restraining order granted by the Clark County District Court on July 11, 2018 barring Nevada from using midazolam manufactured by Alvogen Pharmaceuticals in any execution. Stay granted by the Clark County District Court on July 11. Execution June 27 Danny Bible TX Lethal injection, 1-drug (Pentobarbital) 14 years from sentencing to execution GROUP 22 JULY LETTER COUNT UAs 24 POC 5 Total 29 Amnesty International Group 22 The Caltech Y Mail Code C1-128 Pasadena, CA 91125 www.its.caltech.edu/~aigp22/ Amnesty International's mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.