Amnesty International Group 22 Pasadena/Caltech News
Volume XXIII Number 5, May 2015
UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursday, May 28, 8:00 PM. [NOTE NEW
TIME!] Monthly Meeting. We meet at the
Caltech Y, Tyson House, 505 S. Wilson Ave.,
Pasadena. (This is just south of the corner with
San Pasqual. Signs will be posted.) Special
guest Mr. Gary Moody will discuss the social
justice activities the local chapter of NAACP is
engaged in. Everyone is welcome. Tasty
snacks will be served.
Tuesday, June 9, 7:30 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 behind the building. This informal
gathering is a great way for newcomers to get
acquainted with Amnesty.
Sunday, June 21, 6:30 PM. Rights Readers
Human Rights Book Discussion group. This
month we read "Philida" by Andre Brink.
COORDINATOR'S CORNER
Hi everyone,
I hope everyone had a relaxing long weekend
but didn't forget the reason for Memorial Day --
to honor those who gave their lives in service to
our country. We went to my Dad's place,
barbequed some steaks, ate corn on the cob and
watched the National Memorial Day Concert on
PBS. In between the band music and song
numbers, the struggles of individual disabled
veterans were highlighted. It takes guts to keep
going when you're in a wheelchair and
dependent upon others for your daily needs. It
was very moving to see their stories. Their
families deserve a medal too!
Con Carino,
Kathy
RIGHTS READERS
Human Rights Book Discussion Group
Keep up with Rights Readers at
http://rightsreaders.blogspot.com
Next Rights Readers meeting:
Sunday, June 21, 6:30 PM
Vroman's Bookstore
695 E. Colorado, Pasadena
AUTHOR BIO
Andre Brink was born in Vrede in 1935. In his
eventful life he has written over sixty books
which have been published in thirty-three
languages and have received numerous
prestigious prizes.
Andre is the eldest of Aletta and Daniel Brink's
four children. The youngest and Andre's only
brother Johan is a physicist. The younger of the
two sisters, Marita, is a psychologist and
Andre's other sister, Elsabe, also an author, died
in 1998.
Andre's father, a magistrate, was re-posted
every couple of years, so Andre grew up and
went to school in several different villages and
towns in South Africa: Vrede, Jagersfontein,
Brits, Douglas, Sabie and Lydenburg.
His mother, a teacher, inspired his love of
literature, especially the English classics.
BOOK REVIEW
By CERIDWEN DOVEY, FEB. 15, 2013
New York Times Sunday Book Review
"Philida" is the latest offering from the South
African author Andre Brink, whose anti-
apartheid novels -- along with those of such
contemporaries as Nadine Gordimer and J. M.
Coetzee -- have challenged readers to reflect on
the intimate brutalities of a society founded on a
dehumanizing ideology. Like several of Brink's
historical novels, "Philida" probes South
Africa's more distant sordid past, animating real
figures from the Cape Colony's days of white
settlement, when the enslavement and
indentured servitude of local black and
indigenous populations, as well as people
brought over from the Dutch East Indies, were
entirely routine.
This time, however, it's personal. Brink wrote
this book after discovering that a collateral
ancestor of his owned a slave named Philida in
the early 1800s. As he recounts in the
acknowledgments, the real Philida lodged a
brave complaint to the Slave Protector in 1832
about her treatment by Francois Brink, who was
the son of her owner, Cornelis. She claimed that
she had four children by Francois, and Andre
Brink uses this historical record as a launching
pad for his imagined version of Philida's life. In
the novel, she tells the Slave Protector that
Francois reneged on his promise of freedom and
was planning to sell her, in order to follow his
father's orders to marry a white woman.
Philida's resolve to seek justice is strengthened
by the rumor -- soon to become reality -- that the
British are planning to decree the emancipation
of slaves in the Empire, including the Cape
Colony, but her complaint comes two years too
early to save her from further abuse by her
owners, who eventually sell her off with her
children upcountry. Surprisingly, her new
owner turns out to be less cruel, and Philida
eventually finds spiritual sustenance in a local
iteration of Islam introduced to her by another
slave.
The freedom Brink imagines for Philida is both
physical and existential. She is officially released
from slavery in 1834, but more emphasis is put
on her unlikely and rather contrived
transformation from downtrodden slave to
empowered free woman. Philida's growth is set
against the decline in fortune of the Brinks, an
Afrikaans family whose power is waning under
the new social order.
The story is told through multiple narrators,
ranging from Cornelis and Francois to an old
freedwoman who is in fact Cornelis's mother.
Brink used this same device in an earlier
historical novel about a failed slave uprising, "A
Chain of Voices," to suggest the damage a
system like slavery does to perpetrators as well
as victims. Most of the first-person narration in
this new novel, however, is given to Philida.
Brink is not unaware of the minefield he has
chosen to enter, having admitted in an interview
that "there was a particular audacity and bloody
cheek involved as a white person in imagining
yourself into the skin of a black woman," but
that "over so many years, the coming together of
black and white has entered so deeply into my
subconscious that perhaps the effort did not
need to be too extreme."
Unfortunately, Brink's awareness of his own
"bloody cheek" does not make his portrayal of
Philida any less troubling. This comes as a
disappointment, given Brink's characteristically
more complex engagement with the feminist
and subaltern politics of who has the right to
speak for whom. The issue starts with his
questionable use of a stylistic device to
distinguish Philida's voice. She has trouble
conjugating her verbs - "My head remember
this and that and lots of other stuff as well" -
yet she's capable of flights of lyrical description
when the occasion demands it ("the thin
shrilling of the lark like a twine of cotton among
the others"), which makes her voice
inconsistent. Besides, why give Philida a pidgin
"slave-speak/slave-think" while not marking
the voices and thoughts of Cornelis and
Francois, relatively uneducated white men, to
signal their place in society?
Brink's portrayal of Philida becomes even more
problematic when she describes her first rape by
Francois:
"And after some time I no longer cry, and I just
let him do whatever he want, now I can feel him
pushing into me, into the deepest deepness of
myself, and then he begin to shake like a sheep
that got its throat cut, and then I know that this
is it . . . and I cannot and will not stop him any
more, I just go on crying in his ears, no, no, no,
crying no, no, yes, yes, yes, and then I no longer
know or care what is happening. . . . I just do
whatever you wish, you are the Baas, just push
into me, I no longer want or wish anything, just
stay inside me, just keep on, don't stop."
It would be one thing for Brink to describe the
rape in such a way from Francois's perspective,
to show that for certain kinds of ruthless men, a
woman's "no" will always be taken to mean
"yes." But for Brink to present this from her
point of view, in the first person no less, does
symbolic violence to Philida. Throughout the
book, Brink's account of Philida's relationship
with Francois is uncomfortably confused - at
certain times, it comes across as one of power
abuse and repeated rape; at others, a sentimental
romance in which Philida claims to have loved
him. This seems to be Brink's clumsy attempt to
complicate the master-slave relationship and
suggest that the fault lines of domination and
attraction can shift. A more sophisticated
treatment of the power relations between
owners and slaves can be found in Yvette
Christianse's 2006 novel "Unconfessed," based
on historical records of a woman slave in the
Cape who murdered her own child.
Other parts of "Philida" display the same
disconcerting mix of violence and
sentimentality. Each chapter starts with a precis
written in the style of a picaresque novel. These
twee summaries ("In this Chapter Philida's
Thoughts continue to dwell on Zandvliet and the
House of Ghosts and Cats in which she lives with her
Ouma Petronella") and the often jaunty tone of
the narrator-as-picaresque-heroine do not fit
with the litany of horrors the chapters hold:
Cornelis forcing two slaves to rape Philida in
public; a crowd at a slave auction festively
disputing the number of stripes across a dead
slave's back.
The achievement of "Philida" is how it
continues Brink's imaginative search for the
roots of South Africa's later evils in its earliest
settler history. What the character of Philida
warns us about is the importance of not letting
those in power get away with anything; just one
slip-up, a moment of casual cruelty or neglect or
even well-intentioned paternalism, can quickly
fester into something more insidious. To
represent torture or extreme violence in fiction
is, in a context like South Africa, a fraught
undertaking. "For the writer," as J. M. Coetzee
wrote in 1986, "the true challenge is how not to
play the game by the rules of the state, how to
establish one's own authority, how to imagine
torture and death on one's own terms." If, as
Francois at one point admits, the things that are
done to Philida (and by extension to all slaves)
are "unspeakable," then Brink should take more
care when he decides to speak them out loud.
SECURITY WITH HUMAN
RIGHTS
by Robert Adams
AIUSA released the following press release on May
23, 2015:
USA Freedom Act Fails Senate Vote As Patriot
Act Reauthorization Blocked
WASHINGTON - The US Senate failed to pass
a short-term reauthorization of Section 215 of
the USA Patriot Act today, meaning that a major
legal authority on which the U.S. government
has relied for surveillance is poised to expire.
The Senate also failed to pass the USA Freedom
Act today, which had passed the House of
Representatives earlier this month. Amnesty
International USA reiterated its call for true
surveillance reform.
"The Senate's unwillingness to temporarily
reauthorize the Patriot Act is an important
signal that the tide has turned against mass
surveillance. We are one step closer to forcing a
serious conversation about the need for systemic
overhaul," said Naureen Shah, Director of
Amnesty International USA's Security and
Human Rights Program. "Now there must be
further action. In the nearly two years since
Edward Snowden revealed the extent of its
worldwide surveillance, the US government has
avoided any meaningful new limits on the
government's collection of our data. We hope
today's vote will spur real change so people can
again feel confident in their right to live free
from government intrusion into their private
lives."
"The Senate will reconvene on May 31, the day
before Section 215 of the Patriot Act expires. The
US government used section 215 of the USA
Patriot Act to conduct surveillance far beyond
even our worst fears. As governments around
the world consider legislation granting far-
reaching surveillance powers, they should take
note that similar powers are being successfully
challenged in the US."
DEATH PENALTY NEWS
By Stevi Carroll
Nebraska
What's it like to be the only African-American in
a uni-chamber legislature? And for 38 years, to
be the person who introduces legislation to
abolish the death penalty -- 38 times? Ernie
Chambers, a long-time legislator in Nebraska
can answer those questions.
The Nebraska legislature has 47 members in its
unicameral body and this month after Senator
Ernie Chambers once again introduced a bill to
abolish the death penalty, 32 of those members
voted for abolition. Once before, in 1972, the
legislators voted for abolition only to have then
Governor Charles Thone veto it. This time is no
different with Governor Pete Ricketts pledging
to stamp the bill VETOed again.
Nebraska is a conservative state and Governor
Ricketts is sure most Nebraskans continue to
support the death penalty; although, the bill was
co-sponsored by Senator Colby Coash, a
Republican. Mr. Coash's path to abolition began
when he was a college student in 1997. On the
night of the state's last execution, he went to the
penitentiary. In the parking lot, he saw revelers
having a party complete with a band, tailgating,
and a countdown to the execution. He also saw
another group praying on the other side of the
security gate. These images remained with him
as his attitude toward to death penalty changed.
Senator Chambers is unsure he can count on his
colleagues to overturn the governor's veto. He
said, "The work isn't done yet - if the governor
overrides the bill it will be back to us, and you
never know if someone will crumble or stumble.
There are so many ways for politicians to avoid
committing themselves." The bill needs 30 votes
to override the governor's veto and according to
Mr. Chambers most of the people who voted for
the bill have voted for it at least three times in
the past. He, therefore, believes they have cast
"a principled vote based on conviction" and so,
when the governor vetoes it, the legislators will
have just one more vote to abolish the death
penalty in Nebraska.
Perhaps by next month, Nebraska will have
become the 19th US state to abolish the death
penalty.
The Death Penalty in The New Yorker
The April 15, 2015, issue of The New Yorker
magazine has an article, "The Death Penalty
Deserves The Death Penalty," that explores
various arguments for the abolition of the death
penalty. Of course, the challenges faced by the
lack of drugs for lethal injection are discussed.
The following, however, is a fine summary of
the situation.
"Even if lethal injection is fatally flawed, of
course, there are other means of execution
available. Electrocution, asphyxiation by
poisonous gas, shooting by a firing squad, and
hanging are alternatives in states where lethal
injection is currently the primary means of
execution. The inmates' plea may also seem
myopically focused on one means of death
when it is the end-execution as a form of
punishment -- that should be judged. But any
means inevitably connects to the end. It raises
the fundamental question of whether any state
is capable of administering capital punishment
in a way that meets constitutional standards. If
states can't do that, shouldn't the United States
abolish the death penalty?"
To read the entire article, go to
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-
desk/the-death-penalty-deserves-the-death-
penalty
The OK state and its lethal injection drugs
People who want to execute Oklahoma's death
row inmates have hit another challenge. Akorn,
the manufacturer of the sedative midazolam,
have asked the state to return any remaining
supplies of the drug the state may have
purchased to use in executions. Another drug,
hydromorphone, that could be used, but has not
previously been used in Oklahoma, also will not
be available.
Inmates from Oklahoma's death row have taken
a case to the Supreme Court with a ruling
expected by the end of June. As a back-up plan,
Governor Mary Fallin has signed a law allowing
the use of nitrogen gas for executions.
Executing the mentally ill
As we know, we in the USA are no longer
allowed to execute juveniles or the intellectually
disabled (called mentally retarded in the
Supreme Court case), but what about people
who are mentally ill? Although we want the
person being executed to know he is being killed
and why he is being killed, we do not always
allow evidence of mental illness to emerge
during trials.
This month our lone execution is Derrick
Charles. Yes, he committed the crime of which
he was convicted, but when he confessed to the
police, he said he didn't know why he'd done it.
During his trial, none of his history of abuse and
mental illness was investigated by his defense
attorneys or presented at his trial. That he'd
seen his schizophrenic mother stab his abusive
stepfather, suffered from tactile and auditory
hallucinations since childhood, been
hospitalized twice for mental illness by the time
he was 13, and heard voices and asked for
medication while in juvenile detention for
nonviolent offenses (the medication was denied)
were not included in his trial.
The courts allow only 'insanity' as a reason not
to seek the death penalty, but what constitutes
insanity is left up to the states. No universal
guidelines of what insanity is exist within the
United States. As we know, death penalty cases
are very expensive and mentally ill prisoners
may not have the resources available to raise a
claim of mental illness during trials.
For the mentally ill, death row itself produces
problems. Death row inmates are often isolated
in their cells for 23 out of 24 hours and this
isolation leads to further deterioration. In Idaho,
the isolation is for 24 hours a day. Kate Black, a
lawyer for the Texas Defender Service, says the
Supreme Court should ban the execution of the
mentally ill. She said, "the same rationale that
you (the Supreme Court) used in [banning
execution of the intellectually disabled] -
which is that there's no deterrent effect for
someone who doesn't understand it, these
people are at risk for having terrible counsel and
of not being able to help counsel - all those
things are also true about the mentally ill."
Former Georgia Chief Justice Norman Fletcher
As we recall, Troy Davis was executed in
Georgia. Now former Chief Justice Norman
Fletcher says, "Capital punishment must be
permanently halted, without exception. ... With
wisdom gained over the past 10 years, I am now
convinced there is absolutely no justification for
continuing to impose the sentence of death in
this country." He has come to believe that the
death penalty is unethical, that many innocent
people have been killed, that racial disparity
exists in the use of the death penalty, and that
economic and political factors are involved to
determine if and when capital punishment is
used.
Justice Fletcher's voice joins that of the drug
manufacturers as well as medical professionals
and pharmacists who are now prohibited from
participating in executions.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Following is a press release from AIUSA's
executive director regarding the sentencing of
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
PRESS RELEASE
MAY 15, 2015
Amnesty International USA Responds to
Death Penalty in Boston Bombing Case
In response to the announcement that Dzhokhar
Tsarnaev was sentenced to death after being
convicted in the Boston Marathon bombings,
Steven W. Hawkins, executive director of
Amnesty International USA issued the
following statement:
"We condemn the bombings that took place in
Boston two years ago, and we mourn the loss of
life and grave injuries they caused. The death
penalty, however, is not justice. It will only
compound the violence, and it will not deter
others from committing similar crimes in the
future.
It is outrageous that the federal government
imposes this cruel and inhuman punishment,
particularly when the people of Massachusetts
have abolished it in their state. As death
sentences decline worldwide, no government
can claim to be a leader in human rights when it
sentences its prisoners to death."
Amnesty International has documented a steady
decline in the use of the death penalty in the
United States and around the world over the
past several years, though in 2014 there was a
marked increase in death sentences to address a
real or perceived threat of terrorism especially in
Egypt and Nigeria. There remains no evidence
showing that the death penalty deters crime or
has any effect in reducing terrorism.
Annual death sentences in the U.S. have
declined since 2000. In the last eight years the
number of death sentences has been lower than
any time since reinstatement of the death
penalty in 1976. In 2014 there were 72 death
sentences, the lowest number on record since
1976. Executions have declined as well, from a
high of 98 in 1999 to just 35 in 2014, the lowest in
20 years; there were 43 executions in 2011 and
2012 and 39 in 2013.
Amnesty International USA opposes the death
penalty in all cases without exception as the
ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading
punishment. As of today, 140 countries have
abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
The U.S. was one of only nine countries in the
world that carried out executions each year
between 2009 and 2013.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-
releases/amnesty-international-usa-responds-
to-death-penalty-in-boston-bombing-case
The article "Long wait ahead on death row"
from the LA Times ends with
"The process can be particularly difficult for
victims who want to get past the constant
reminders, and was one reason many in Boston
preferred a life sentence over death. With a life
sentence, they argued, Tsarnaev would be
locked away and forgotten.
'It will easily be a decade before the death
sentence is even carried out,' [University at
Buffalo law professor, Charles] Ewing said.
'People looking for closure are not going to get
it. When it eventually happens, this will be way
out of people's consciousness.'"
Nevada, our neighboring state
And now a little irony. It seems the Nevada
Death Chamber is not in compliance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act, so a joint
Assembly and Senate budget subcommittee
finds itself split 5-5 on whether or not to spend
$860,000 for a new one.
Nevada has not executed anyone since 2006, and
for some reason 11 or 12 executions carried out
by the State have been volunteers. Volunteers
are inmates who chose not to exhaust their
appeals, so maybe they do need to comply with
the ADA.
Exoneration
May
4 Willie Manning (#153) MS
Charges Dismissed
Years after conviction: 19
Stays of Execution
May
3 Rodney Berget SD
8 Anthony Reid PA
12 Kimber Edwards MO
14 Jeffery Wogenstahl OH
14 Gregory Lott OH
Execution
May
12 Derrick Charles TX
Lethal Injection 1-drug (pentobarbital)
GROUP 22 MONTHLY LETTER COUNT
UAs 15
Total 15
To add your letters to the total contact
aigp22@caltech.edu
Amnesty International Group 22
The Caltech Y
Mail Code C1-128
Pasadena, CA 91125
www.its.caltech.edu/~aigp22/
http://rightsreaders.blogspot.com
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.