His
story
 Since
his birth, Donald is a mentally retarded man. He was sentenced to death
in 1981 for a double murder he committed with three other accomplices.
These men pointed to him as the only person responsible of the crime,
thus managing to avoid the capital sentence. But their declarations
might not be reliable, because they undoubtedly would derive a main
benefit by them. Besides, during his trial the jury was not wholly
informed on the real psychical conditions of Donald, who, when he was
young, was involved in two serious car accidents which caused a hard
worsening of his mental capabilities. In the end, a special local
legislative commission is currently working on a detailed investigation
about the fairness and effectiveness of California’s death penalty
cases. Until that enquiry is concluded –on December 2007- no capital
sentence should be carried out. Nevertheless, Donald’s execution is
dreadfully set on next January 19th 2005.
The appeal to save Donald
The Community of Sant’Egidio invites everybody to share its appeal
aiming to spare Donald’s life from the execution, sending the
following statement to the Governor of California, by e-mail.
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URGENT
APPEAL BROUGHT OUT BY THE COMMUNITY OF SANT’EGIDIO TO SAVE THE LIFE OF
DONALD JAY BEARDSLEE, SENTENCED TO DEATH
Your Excellency
I am writing to express my deep
concern over a ruling that sentenced to death Mr. Donald Jay Beardslee, even
though he is a mentally retarded person, a jury that sentenced him to death
without being aware of his psychical conditions and despite a legislative
investigation on the fairness and effectiveness of death penalties in
California is currently being performed. I urge you to intervene on his
behalf to prevent this cruel and inhuman punishment from being meted out
against him. I implore you to ensure that this cruel and inhuman sentence is
not carried out.
Respectfully Yours
(signature and
date) |
The appeal can be sent to:
Governor Schwarzenegger,
asking him to grant clemency to Donald Beardslee
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
To send an Email, please visit:
http://www.govmail.ca.gov
e-mail:
governor@governor.ca.gov
|
the Community of Sant'Egidio
Abolitions, 