From: "Greg Butterfield" Save Address - Block Sender To: youth-4-mumia@egroups.com Save Address Subject: [Y4M] 20 arrested at guvs' meeting Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 11:55:55 EDT ReplyReply AllForwardDeletePreviousNextClose ------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the July 20, 2000 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- 20 ARRESTED AT GOVS' MEETING Fourteen death-penalty opponents chained themselves together and blocked the road leading to the Penn State Conference Center, site of the National Governors Association meeting in State College, Pa., July 9. The activists demanded to speak with the 38 state governors at the conference. According to Pennsylvania Abolitionists, which organized the action, they wanted to tell the governors to enact moratoriums on the death penalty in each state. One hundred supporters chanted "They say death row, we say hell no" while dozens of Pennsylvania State Troopers arrested the 14 activists and dragged them away. Later another protester was arrested. All 15 were charged with blocking a highway--a misdemeanor. "We came out here to demand a moratorium against the death penalty," said Jamie Graham. "This treatment is unconstitutional. We have a right to freedom of speech." (Centre Daily Times, July 10) Earlier that day over 150 people, including supporters of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, joined a multi-issue march through State College. The group Redirection 2000 organized the march. On July 10, five Penn State University students from Redirection 2000 were arrested. They refused police orders to stop protesting outside the "Taste of Pennsylvania" program put on for the governors by their host, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. Ridge has signed 205 death warrants since becoming governor, including two for Abu-Jamal. He's executed three people so far. --Greg Butterfield - END - (Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@workers.org. For subscription info send message to: info@workers.org. Web: http://www.workers.org) ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Stop the execution! New trial for Mumia! Youth & Students for Mumia http://www.mumia2000.org