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It’s time to unite our voices!
Any of us who are active for a prisoner on death row, either with a organization or by ourselves, knows that the fight against the death penalty is not only a long tedious struggle but also a very hard one. Everyone fights the fight in their own way and has their own philosophy, but finally, towards the end of the struggle, we all come together to sign a petition or on the day of a execution to voice our protest that a injustice is about to be carried out.
Why wait so long?
I have always asked myself this.
For that reason, myself – Ilona and Tony Medina have come up with a idea to help create worldwide solidarity. We want to show people out there that… hey, we are united as one voice. The people who support the state-sanctioned murders of our loved ones do not always see this, we want to change that. We want to ensure that all organizations and all activists are seen as ONE UNITED FORCE with one common goal, so we have created the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY”.
The original idea for this seal was created by Tony Egbuna Ford, an innocent man on death row in Texas. Tony Egbuna Ford created a drawing (chains and hands) without knowing what he would do with it. Not only was this drawing never used, no – it was even partially forgotten. After many years had passed Tony Egbuna Ford passed this logo on to the man who had become a brother to him, Tony Medina, also a innocent man sentenced to death, and told him to use it for his fight. For that Tony Medina and I are very grateful.
After the incredible drawing made its long way to my mailbox, sent by Tony Egbund Ford’s strong, fighting wife, I had lots of ideas. I saw the logo and had a thousand ideas. But as anyone will know, sometimes ideas are not easily made reality. The different ideas had a long journey as the mail travelled from Texas to Germany then returned, making the trip once more from Germany to Texas as I exchanged ideas with Tony Medina. Again weeks passed and in the meantime I got many emails from other activist with petitions to sign or requests for help. Then I had the idea to make a trademark from the logo. A sign that could be recognized by everyone. So the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” was born, but it was not complete yet, something was missing. Therefore I got in contact with a graphic designer to give the drawing a last polishing. We needed more time for my ideas and the ideas of Tony Medina to come together. There were a lot of hard weeks, but now our baby is born and can be spread over the world, connecting everyone with the same goal.
How Will this work?
There is a SEPARATE SITE established at www.seal-of-solidarity.com that has the name “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY”. Each person that wishes to take part in this action will be sent a code by me along with the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” logo. That code will link your website to the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” site and website-owners will receive the logo with their own web- address underneath. Though each website will have their own web-address under the logo, the code (unchanged) will link everyone to the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” website on www.seal-of-solidarity.com. As more websites become connected by the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” the internet-circle starts to grow. The advantage to this is that all organizations and activists involved in this project become visible to anyone viewing the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” website; all the participants will also receive more visitors to their own website.
Why should you join us in this movement?
As this movement grows we will show everyone our strength and worldwide solidarity. We want to show the world, with one glance, that everyone who is a part of the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” is against the death penalty and are willing to fight to see it abolished. The more people or organizations who become involved with us as we create this network, the more pressure we create. Creating pressure by bringing a united voice to bear on the legal system and government is, in my opinion, the most meaningful way we can help bring a end to the death penalty. This was proven without a doubt last year with Kenneth Foster’s case. The unbelievable pressure brought by the thousands of voices worldwide united to support Kenneth is why he is alive today.
Further goals?
The more that word of the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” is spread by everyone and this project begins to grow, the more signatures that can be collected for anyone’s petitions. This has the additional advantage for us to be able to, at some time in the future, send the list of “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” participants to the most important places to show that we are all UNITED AS ONE AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY. This lets us show our strength in numbers and our willingness to stand up for a world with out Capital punishment.
Another advantage:
Everyone will continue to go forward with their own ideas and actions for their campaigns as usual without being bound to anything. ONLY the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” connects us all.
Important note about this project:
Participating in the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” costs you NO MONEY. This idea was created only as a opportunity to show worldwide solidarity in this struggle and to be used as a rallying sign in our fight against the death penalty. There will be no fees and no mass emailing. There will only be email alerts for petitions and important information. There will be no contract. The ONLY conditions are that the code will be posted on your website without changes and that the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” will not be changed (graphically) or be used on any items you sell or seek donations for. Ilona Leverenz and Tony Medina have the copyright.
Are you interested in taking part?
If so, send me an email to: support@seal-of-solidarity.com with your website-address and within 72 hours you will get a code to post on your website. As soon as the code is posted – the “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY” will show up on your website with your own web-address and will be activated by the founder-page of “SEAL OF SOLIDARITY”. Then the web-circle can start.
In Solidarity,
Ilona
Texas News Links
Associated Press, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, Guardian America, Los Angeles Times, McClatchy Washington Bureau, New York Times , NPR, Real Clear Politics, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post
Legal Reference
AltLaw, FindLaw Legal Dictionary, Legal Information Institute - Cornell Law, Oyez - US Supreme Court Media, Scotus Wiki, The Curiae Project - Yale Law, Wex - Legal Dictionary and Encyclopedia
Death Penalty Information
Capital Punishment Research Initiative - Albany, Death Penalty Information Center, Death Penalty Open Access Research, Death Row USA, LethalInjection.org - Berkeley Law Death Penalty Clinic, MVFHR, MVFR, NCADP, TCADP
Death Penalty Blogs
AIUSA's Death Penalty Blog, Death Penalty Focus, Death Watch North Carolina, Execution Chronicles, Florida Lethal Injection, Journey of Hope, Life and Death Matters - Alabama, MVFHR Blog, NCADP Blog, Texas Death Penalty - DMN
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www.seal-of-solidarity.com
©2009 by I.Leverenz. All text, pictures and graphics are copyrighted. Text, Picture, and graphics, unless otherwise agreed upon, cannot be copied, transferred, produced or saved without prior written permission of the publisher. Changes to the contet of this website are prohibited.
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