Kevin Stanford with CCK staff, Scott Wegenast
DEATH ROW In 2002, various states
INMATE FACING have executed a total
EXECUTION of 55 persons.
Kentucky is on the
verge of adding one more to the list. Kevin
Stanford was convicted of murdering Ms.
Baerbel Poore on January 7, 1981 and sen-
tenced to death in September of 1982. He
was 17 years of age at the time he committed
his crime and was tried as an adult.
The United States remains the only Westem
industrialized nation continuing to use the
death penalty. Pope John Paul II has called
on Catholics to seek an end to the death
penalty. In his homily while visiting St.
Louis, Missouri in 1999, the Holy Father
stated, “A sign of hope is the increasing
recognition that the dignity of human life
must never be taken away, even in the case of
someone who has done great evil. Modern
society has the means of protecting itself,
without definitively denying criminals the
chance to
reform.” In the
November 2000
statement,
Responsibility,
Rehabilitation,
and Restoration:
A Catholic
Perspective on
Crime and
Criminal Justice,
our U.S. bishops
wrote, "It is time to abandon the death penal-
ty - not just because of what it does to those
who are executed, but because of how it
diminishes all of us... We ask all Catholics -
pastors, catechists, educators and parishioners
-- to join us in rethinking this difficult issue
and committing ourselves to pursuing justice
without vengeance. With our Holy Father, we
seek to build a society so committed to
human life that it will not sanction the killing
of any human person."
CCK and a large coalition of youth advocacy
groups have long supported passage of legis-
lation in Kentucky to prohibit the execution
of juvenile offenders. Polling data released
by the University of Kentucky in June of
2000 indicated that 79.5% of Kentuckians
olled agreed
that juvenile “Tt is time to abandon the
offenders death penalty - not just
Sib because of what it does to
Tecelve a those who are executed,
Gea but because of how it
: diminishes us all...”
Kevin
Stanford’s final appeal to the United States
Supreme Court was partially rejected on
October 7, 2002. The Court is still consider-
ing a Habeas petition and a decision is
expected in a few days. CCK and the
Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty are supporting efforts to persuade
Governor Paul Patton to use his Executive
Clemency powers to commute the death
sentence of Kevin Stanford. Govern Patton
has it within these special powers to change
Kevin's sentence.
Act now and join in this effort to stop the
cycle of violence. Governor Patton needs to
hear from citizens across the Commonwealth.
Take a few minutes to contact Governor
Patton and urge him to grant Kevin Stanford
clemency rather than kill him in our name.
Governor Paul E. Patton
700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 100
Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: (502) 564-2611
Fax: (502) 564-2517
Email: governor@ mail.state.ky.us
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For more information go to
www.ccky.org or www.kcadp.org
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