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Activists Call on President Biden to End the Federal Death Penalty Before Leaving Office

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A conversation with Death Penalty Action Co-founder and Executive Director Abe Bonowitz. Now that Joe Biden is a lame duck president, activists are holding him accountable to make good on his promise to end the federal death penalty during his remaining six months as president. Biden’s election campaign in 2020 had pledged to end the federal death penalty and incentivize the remaining 27 states that still allow executions to do the same. While he made history as the first president in the United States to openly oppose the death penalty, there has been no movement to actually end federal executions during his nearly four years in office.

New billboard hopes to attract more attention to Alabama death row inmate Toforest Johnson’s case

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Toforest Johnson has been on Alabama’s death row since 1998. He was convinced of killing a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy, a crime he says he didn’t commit. 

For years, advocates have worked to share Johnson’s story, hoping to have a new trial for his case. 

A billboard now standing over downtown Birmingham is working to get more people behind that movement. 

The billboard, at 22nd Avenue and 1st Street, states: “How did an innocent man end up on Alabama’s death row?” and features the cover art for the podcast “Earwitness.” The 8-episode series tells Johnson’s story. 

Johnson’s youngest daughter, Akeriya Terry, hopes the billboard will attract new people to learn more about her dad’s case. She said the billboard is a dream come true. 

“This billboard attracts a lot of attention because people can speak out more. The more people that notice, the more people that’ll be able to speak out and be like ‘okay this is wrong.’ And we can get more help on the back end,” said Terry. 

Earlier this year, District Attorney Danny Carr filed a brief with the court for a new trial, citing thin evidence. 

Source: WBRC news, Staff, August 14, 2024

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde



Location: Alabama, USA
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