Today I had the unique opportunity to do an interview for the Texas After Violence Project. If you ever have any free time, you should definitely check out their website at texasafterviolence.org. They are really getting a different perspective on the death penalty by hearing the stories of people affected by it. We had a representative from the organization come to our Death Penalty class last semester, and it was incredible. We watched as people talked about the loss of their loved ones to state sanctioned murder. They talked about the trial and the grief that they struggle with today. My friend is working on a project with this organization and they asked if they could interview me about my view on the death penalty and my experience with our anti-death penalty group here on campus. I feel like I still have so much to learn about our justice system, but I managed to talk for an hour on film today. I talked about how the group got started here on campus. Basically, Rosey, a student here, realized that the death penalty was something that she didn’t agree with and as students we actually have the opportunity to take action and take a stand. We meet weekly in one of the main traffic areas on campus to say a prayer together and distribute information. One of the most eye opening experiences that has come from that is that people just don’t know the facts. People don’t realize how expensive the death penalty is, that we actually kill our mentally ill, and that is doesn’t actually deter violence. We have also written letters to representatives, which I believe in more than ever after we met with a representative here in San Antonio. We took information to present to him, and he heard us out. He told us that he understood and realized that the death penalty is something that we should work to abolish. However, he made it very clear that he could not directly help us with our efforts, because it would be a career killer for him. The pressure he gets in office is from people who support the death penalty. That means if we are truly serious about abolishing the death penalty here in Texas, we are going to have to take action and put pressure on people in office. Make them realize that we are voting for them and we want justice. I got to talk about my experience in South America and their view on our death penalty system here in the US. We also talked about other countries who have made the move to get rid of the death penalty. All in all, I feel like I talked about the death penalty from all angles that I could possibly have thought of. I feel so honored that they would want to talk to me, and now it makes me feel like I should be working harder than ever for this cause that means so much to me!
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