Abolish The Death Penalty Now!

Joe Swanson, a veteran industrial unionist, correspondent and supporter of “The Militant,” a newsweekly in print since 1928, explains his commitment: The death penalty is a class question. Meaning, it’s not the capitalists’ employers and their political and institutional apologists who suffer from the death penalty in the United States today. It’s those of us in the working class, especially the most oppressed sectors that are condemned under this dehumanizing act.   

The Militant is under attack by the Florida Department of Corrections for their impoundment of the newspaper, a violation of the First Amendment, which protects “freedom of speech” and of the press. The prison has banned copies of the Militant to inmates based upon coverage including amnesty for immigrant workers without papers and calling for “US hands off Cuba!”

For those arguing for the death penalty, to convict others of committing a heinous act, promoting an eye for an eye, or laws used for retaliation, need to be made aware of the 400,000 workers killed on the job. Those deaths since 1970 are because of unsafe working conditions caused by the employers heralded for always putting their profit system first. The toothless government agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration bound to the employers and their government have only filed charges against 84 companies for those deaths. If found guilty, no death penalty, or prison sentence, only a financial penalty is owed.

How can those that claim the right to exploit working people have any moral authority to order the execution of any human being? When the death penalty is a weapon the employers’ class uses to increase the economic and social crisis for workers. Historically, the police and courts terrorize working people from resisting the brutality of their system of profit.  That resistance is growing today.

As working people become more class conscious, we will increasingly demand the end of the death penalty. We will gain confidence through our struggles and will come to see our own self-worth and understand the need to use our class power based on human needs and not the dog-eat-dog system of exploitation and oppression.

Joe invites you to become more aware, to speak up for workers, welcoming you to join him and the growing group of abolitionists against the death penalty standing weekly vigil from 12-1 p.m. on Mondays at the state capital in Lincoln.