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MVFHR |
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Download MVFHR's handout for speaking events
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Murder Victims' Families for
Human Rights
2161 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
(617)-491-9600
info@
murdervictimsfamilies.org
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Link to Photos of the MVFHR Launch on December 10, 2005
PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: Renny Cushing, MVFHR executive director 2161 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140 SURVIVORS OF MURDER VICTIMS OPPOSED TO THE DEATH PENALTY TO LAUNCH NEW GROUP ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY Dec. 8, 2004 – Survivors of murder victims who oppose the death penalty will observe the launching of a new organization at 11 a.m. Friday at the United Nations in New York City. The new organization, Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights, will be unveiled as part of International Human Rights Day, celebrated Dec. 10 of every year. On hand to welcome the new organization will be leaders of the abolition movement, both in the United States and abroad. Renny Cushing, executive director of Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights and himself a murder victim survivor, said the decision to launch the new organization was made at the Second World Congress Against the Death Penalty, which was held this past October in Montreal. At that conference, a recommendation was made to launch an international network of family members who oppose the death penalty. “Our organization is both pro-victim and anti-death penalty,” said Cushing, a former New Hampshire state legislator whose father was murdered. “When I was a lawmaker, I was an advocate for laws that benefited victims. And I also sponsored legislation to abolish the death penalty. I believe in victims’ rights and I believe in human rights. Both go hand in hand.” The new group will include relatives of murder victims as well as relatives of those who have been executed. Among the speakers at Friday’s event will be Bud Welch, whose daughter Julie died in the Oklahoma City bombing; Robert Meeropol, whose parents, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, were executed during the McCarthy era for allegedly spying; and Bill Pelke, chairman of the board of directors of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, who lost his grandmother to murder. At the ceremony, national abolition leaders will discuss the important role MVFHR will play in the abolition movement as well as the importance of bringing a national and international human-rights focus to the death penalty debate in the United States. NOTE TO REPORTERS: The founding ceremony will take place on the top floor of the Church Center for the United Nations at 777 UN Plaza. To get there, enter the building on the 44th Street side of the UN Church Center Building, sign in with the security guard and take the elevator to the 12th floor.
MURDER VICTIMS’ FAMILIES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Founding Celebration
Founding Ceremony Against the backdrop of the United Nations building, family members of homicide victims who oppose the death penalty will mark International Human Rights Day with a ceremony founding of a new organization, Murder Victims Families for Human Rights. The event will take place on the top floor of the Church Center for the United Nations at 777 UN Plaza. Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights and its members new organization will be welcomed to the international human rights community by representatives of NGO’s working to end capital punishment. The ceremony will include background on the organization, its vision for the future work, and the testimony of members of the Organizing Board and other leaders of the organization. Members of the Media and folks attending the Murder Victims Families for Human Rights Founding Ceremony should enter the building on the 44th Street Side of the UN Church Center Building and sign in with security guard, then take the elevator to 12th Floor. The room is reserved under the name of the Amnesty International United Nations Office. Contact person for AI is Sara Sullivan,6th Floor 212 867 8878 Ext 4. ssullivan@amnesty.org. Contact people for this event are Renny Cushing, MVFHR 617-491-9600 and Marc Jacquand, ECPM, 917 207 4342
"Victims' Voices for Human Rights" Family Members of Murder Victims Speak Out Against the Death Penalty.
New York Society for Ethical Culture This public event will feature members of Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights sharing their experiences and the reasons for their opposition to the death penalty. MVFHR members believe that survivors of homicide victims--victims of criminal murder, victims of state execution, victims of extrajudicial killings--have a recognized stake in the debate about how society responds to killers, and have moral authority to speak for a consistent human rights ethic in expressing opposition to the death penalty. We hope to help change the public debate about the death penalty from one that takes place in a criminal justice context and reframe it into a debate that takes place in a human rights context. In articulating a victim-centered opposition to the death penalty, we hope to find common ground with others concerned about victims and promote efforts to meet victims needs in harmony with human rights. We hope to help create a political climate where it will be possible for lawmakers and policymakers to be both "pro-victim" and "anti-death penalty This event will take place at an important time for those who are concerned about human rights and the death penalty in New York. Hearings on legislation to reinstate the death penalty in New York will take place in NYC on December 15 and in Albany in January. Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights is working closely with New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and others to block reinstatement of the death penalty in New York. Contact People: Susan Schindler 212 475 7035 Renny Cushing 617 491 9600
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