End the Death Penalty Today on Meet the Bloggers

Posted by Robert Greenwald, Meet the Bloggers at 7:46 AM on December 12, 2008.

In this progressive era, isn't it time for the U.S. to abolish the death penalty? Doesn't everyone know by now the death penalty doesn't work as a deterrent and costs taxpayers more to prosecute than life imprisonment without the possibility of parole? It's uncivilized, ineffective, and inhumane.

This week on Meet the Bloggers, we're discussing the death penalty with actor Mike Farrell -- television's B.J. Hunnicutt on M*A*S*H* -- who has worked for social justice and human rights for more than 40 years. A lifelong opponent of the death penalty, Farrell is president of Death Penalty Focus. He joins show host Cenk Uygur and Liliana Segura, the Rights and Liberties blogger for Alternet.

We'll also talk to blogger Bryna Subherwal about Amnesty International's Global Write-a-Thon, now in progress. Plus, we'll learn about the state of the death penalty in Mexico from special correspondent Axel Woolfolk, as well as the hypocrisy of using the Bible to justify the death penalty from Brave New Films blogger Jonathan Kim.

This episode will be online with a live blog today, December 12, at 1pm ET/10am PT, and will be available anytime after on MeetTheBloggers.org. In the meantime, here's what can you do to help end the death penalty:

• Join: Death Penalty Focus, Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Watch, or another organization dedicated to ending the death penalty worldwide.
• Volunteer: These organizations and others in your area need help to get their message out. Make phone calls, attend vigils, edit a video -- check their websites for volunteer needs and opportunities.
• Organize and Agitate: The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will hold their next national conference in January, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
• Go Local: Pass a city council resolution in your town or city calling for a moratorium on the death penalty. Find out how and why local action matters from Equal Justice.
• Take Action: Write a letter (or five!) on behalf of Amnesty International's Global Write-a-Thon.

Tagged as: death, death penalty, civil liberties, human rights, mike farrell, prisons, brave new foundation, amnesty international, robert greenwald, meet the bloggers

Robert Greenwald is the director/producer of "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" and "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism."