Join a

Public Vigil to Oppose the 101th Execution

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Vigil starts at noon,
outside the Charlottesville City Circuit Court
315 E. High Street
Charlottesville

Join us in protesting the execution of Kent Jermaine Jackson, scheduled for 9 o'clock that evening

There will also be a vigil at the Friends Meeting House at 1104 Forest St. at 8:45 p.m.,

and at Jarratt, the site of the execution 8:30 p.m.

Join us in calling for a state-wide Moratorium Now!

Vigil sponsored by:
Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice,
Charlottesville Friends Meeting (Quakers),
Charlottesville/Albemarle Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Sowers of Justice,
Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Peace & Justice Committee Westminster Presbyterian Church
Amnesty International Group 157

For more information, call Betty Gallagher, (434) 979-9263,
cell (434) 825-1860 or visit www.vadp.org [1]

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Kent Jermaine Jackson
At 9 p.m. on Thursday evening, the Commonwealth of Virginia will inject a lethal substance into Kent Jackson with the intention of ending his life. Jackson was 18 years old on April 18, 2000, when Beulah Mae Kaiser, 79, was found in her Newport News apartment beaten, stabbed and anally sodomized with her cane.

DNA testing of saliva on a cigarette butt found at the crime scene led police to Gary Gaskins. Gaskins in turn led police to Jackson and Joseph M. Dorsett, who had been roommates at an apartment across the hall from Kaiser. Jackson admitted to being a party to Kaiser’s murder, but during trial asked that his admission of guilt be quashed. Jackson claimed that his confession had not been freely given because “it was not the product of his free and unconstrained will.”

Detective Larry P. Rilee testified that Jackson had been informed of his Miranda rights and chose to verbally waive his rights. The trial court allowed the self-incriminating confession into the trial record.

Both Jackson and Dorsett maintained that they were not responsible for stabbing or molesting Kaiser, even if each had confessed to being involved in the crime. During forensic testing, DNA of a sock at the crime scene linked six of eight loci to Jackson. However, criminal DNA testing usually examines 13-16 loci.

Prior to the trial’s conclusion, one of two defense lawyers asked permission from the court to withdraw due to “irreconcilable differences “ with Jackson. The court consented – a possible violation of petitioner’s constitutional right of counsel.

On the basis of Jackson’s confession and DNA evidence, he was found guilty of capital murder by a Newport News jury. Dorsett was also found guilty of murder and sentenced to 135 years. Jackson, on the other hand received the death penalty.

We are a coalition of religious and citizen groups that oppose the death penalty on grounds of conscience. We believe that human life is not something that belongs to any government. We believe that if a government kills a person, that sends a powerful message that killing people is acceptable. We believe that all human beings, including those who commit terrible crimes, have the potential for moral growth, and that one purpose of punishment should be to allow that growth to take place. Capital punishment puts that process to death.

We join those who mourn the loss of Beulah Mae Kaiser and are determined to eliminate the violence that brought about her senseless murder. We pray for Kent Jackson and his family on a day of anguish for them. And we pray for the citizens, legislators, and Governor of Virginia: may all Virginians re-examine in our hearts and prayers whether our Commonwealth ought to be in the business of inflicting death.
We invite you to join our actions and our prayers.