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Jan. 19th, 2012
More death penalty work
Jan. 19th, 2012 03:02 pmYesterday I spoke at Stanford Law School, part of an organizing event for SAFE California Campaign, that would put an initiative on the November ballot to replace the death penalty with life without possibility of parole, plus some provisions for work to pay restitution to families and earmarking funds from savings in the first few years for investigating unsolved murders and rapes.
The talk went great -- well attended by law students and the public. This stillness settles over me -- plus I've done so much public speaking at science fiction conventions over the years, I love talking to an audience. My own story and perspective changes the conversation from academic arguments and statistics to a human dimension. What I hear back is how valuable this is -- and the power of the moral authority to say, "I'm the family member of a murder victim and I oppose the death penalty."
I always get lost driving to these things, and last night was no exception. But my Prius has a GPS and I eventually get there. So there's a sigh of relief once I walk in the door -- the hard part is over!
The talk went great -- well attended by law students and the public. This stillness settles over me -- plus I've done so much public speaking at science fiction conventions over the years, I love talking to an audience. My own story and perspective changes the conversation from academic arguments and statistics to a human dimension. What I hear back is how valuable this is -- and the power of the moral authority to say, "I'm the family member of a murder victim and I oppose the death penalty."
I always get lost driving to these things, and last night was no exception. But my Prius has a GPS and I eventually get there. So there's a sigh of relief once I walk in the door -- the hard part is over!