On Saturday, Robin, Mary, and I decided to go to the Death Penalty Protest. Robin works for GRACE- Gulf Region Advocacy Center. Her organization helps represent people on Death Row. We decided to go to the protest to learn more about the Death Penalty and support Robin and her work.
There are currently 3,500 men and women on Death Row. In Texas, one of the states with the highest rate of executions, has 356 people currently on Death Row; many of those people are innocent. Some people on Death Row were sentenced under the Law of Parties. This basically means if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time you could be sentenced. One of the speakers at the march was a former Death Row inmate. He worked as a janitor in a high school. He was cleaning the school in the evening when he stumbled upon the murder of a girl. When the police came the janitor was taken to prison, unjustly tried, and put on Death Row for simply being at the scene of a crime he did not commit. The majority of people on Death Row are poor and cannot afford proper representation. Robin’s organization tries to help these people. We also learned that the average Death Penalty case costs $1 million to $3 million, while housing an inmate for life only costs about $500,000. So the Death Penalty wastes tax payer money.
There are also moral reasons why the Death Penalty should be abolished. It’s a way of playing God and deciding who lives and who dies. It’s not our decision as humans to condemn and punish others. I highly recommend reading/watching “Dead Man Walking.” You can also visit www.nodeathpenalty.org for more information.
Paz,
Stephanie
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Fall Retreat
This past weekend was our Fall JVC Retreat. We rented a 15-passenger van and the 7 of us plus the 5 girls from El Paso drove out to Hazlehurst, Mississippi. It was great getting to see all the other JVs, and the retreat site was beautiful. There was a big lake with paddleboats and a dock to lie out on. The focus of the retreat was community, which was good because a lot of communities were already having issues. Luckily everyone in my house gets along really well. If we could survive the hurricane together then everything else seems like a minor problem. As one of our activities on retreat, we played “Community Feud” to see which community was the strongest. Mobile won, San Antonio lost, and we were in the middle, but I think the real test of community comes when the members need to bail you out of a sticky situation.
I was one of the main drivers for the 15-passenger van. It was a lot easier to drive than I thought, and I had no problems until after we had returned to Houston and had dropped El Paso off at the airport. I was driving the van with Mary and we stopped at the gas station next to our house to fill up before returning the van in the morning. As I pulled up to the pump I must have cut the corner a little to close and we heard a loud crunch and then a scrapping noise. I slammed on the breaks and Mary jumped out to see what happened. Somehow I had gotten the upside down U-shaped pole by the pump wedged between my back wheel and the metal of the car. I couldn’t go forwards or backwards. The van was stuck. As the two of us stood there just gawking at the van, a black lady pulls up, takes one look at the van, laughs, and says, “Shit girl, you did a number on that van.” Mary then calls the house and tells everyone to come to the gas station quickly and to put on clothes they can push in. Seconds later the 5 other housemates come running down the street. Now all 7 of us are gathered around the van laughing. Since the van won’t go forwards or backwards we decide to push the van to the side. So we all lean against the van and start pushing. Obviously nothing happens. Then this black guy comes running over to us. He said he had been on the phone, but was laughing so hard he had to hang up and come help us. He asked, “Do you girls seriously think you can push a 15-passenger van?” and then he asked, “What are ya’ll, some type of street gang? Are ya’ll from the ‘hood, ‘cause one phone call and you got your whole posse backin’ you up.” He then told me to get back in the van, put it in the lowest gear, and floor it. I did and the van popped free. As soon as I was free I started reversing and the guy yells, “Everyone get out of the way!” Everyone started yelling stop, stop, but I told them I still needed gas. We filled the van up with gas and Mary drove home.
We may not have won “Community Feud” on retreat, but I think the fact everyone came running to push the 15-passenger van makes us a pretty strong community.
Paz,
Stephanie
I was one of the main drivers for the 15-passenger van. It was a lot easier to drive than I thought, and I had no problems until after we had returned to Houston and had dropped El Paso off at the airport. I was driving the van with Mary and we stopped at the gas station next to our house to fill up before returning the van in the morning. As I pulled up to the pump I must have cut the corner a little to close and we heard a loud crunch and then a scrapping noise. I slammed on the breaks and Mary jumped out to see what happened. Somehow I had gotten the upside down U-shaped pole by the pump wedged between my back wheel and the metal of the car. I couldn’t go forwards or backwards. The van was stuck. As the two of us stood there just gawking at the van, a black lady pulls up, takes one look at the van, laughs, and says, “Shit girl, you did a number on that van.” Mary then calls the house and tells everyone to come to the gas station quickly and to put on clothes they can push in. Seconds later the 5 other housemates come running down the street. Now all 7 of us are gathered around the van laughing. Since the van won’t go forwards or backwards we decide to push the van to the side. So we all lean against the van and start pushing. Obviously nothing happens. Then this black guy comes running over to us. He said he had been on the phone, but was laughing so hard he had to hang up and come help us. He asked, “Do you girls seriously think you can push a 15-passenger van?” and then he asked, “What are ya’ll, some type of street gang? Are ya’ll from the ‘hood, ‘cause one phone call and you got your whole posse backin’ you up.” He then told me to get back in the van, put it in the lowest gear, and floor it. I did and the van popped free. As soon as I was free I started reversing and the guy yells, “Everyone get out of the way!” Everyone started yelling stop, stop, but I told them I still needed gas. We filled the van up with gas and Mary drove home.
We may not have won “Community Feud” on retreat, but I think the fact everyone came running to push the 15-passenger van makes us a pretty strong community.
Paz,
Stephanie
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