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.