Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, January 25, 2012, Page 4, Image 4

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    lanuary 25. 2012
Page 4
NAACP Takes Aim at the Death Penalty
Fights for repeal
in key states
M otivated by the tragic execution
ofT roy Davis in G eorgia last Septem ­
ber, the N A A C P has renewed its fight
to make the death penalty a part o f
S"u b s c"ri î, eT“0” 288"«’’ " ’
J U U d tllU V '
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W hile A frican A m eri­
Am erica’s past. O ver the next
cans m ake up less than 13
year, state representatives o f
percent o f the total U.S.
the civil rights group in sev­
population, they com pose
eral key states will urge their
42 percent o f those aw ait­
legislators to take the neces­
ing execution on death row,
sary steps to repeal the ulti­
and 35 percent o f defen­
mate punishment.
dants executed in the U.S.
“ People in this country
since 1976.
care about justice and fair­ Benjamin
The FBI U niform Crim e
ness,” said Benjam in Todd Todd Jealous
Report from 2008 show ed
Jealous, N C A A P president
and chief executive officer. “U nfor­ that Southern states had the highest
tunately, Troy D avis’s case and too m urder rate, but also accounted for
many other cases in our country dem ­ over 80 percent o f executions. C o n ­
onstrate that these elem ents are sorely versely, the N ortheast, which has
lacking in the application o f capital less than 1 percent o f all executions,
had the low est m urder rate.
punishm ent in this nation.”
“There is no evidence to show
Jealous said, “A frican A m ericans
and the poor are disproportionately that the use o f the death penalty
handed this extrem e punishm ent for prevents crim e,” said Ed D ubose,
the same offenses as their wealthier N A A C P G eorgia State C onference
president.
or white counterparts.”
D ubose also noted that the death
penalty im poses an ultim ate finality
that cannot be reversed if innocence
is later confirm ed. M ore than one
hundred inm ates have been exoner­
ated after being sentenced to death in
the U nited States.
A dvocates o f repealing capital
punishm ent have also argued that
using the death penalty is fiscally
irresponsible. Statistics provided by
states with the death penalty indicate
that the punishm ent can cost more
than $ 1 million m ore than the cost of
a non-death penalty trial.
As Jealous suggested in a m eet­
ing with com m unity leaders, “The
resources saved from abolishing the
death penalty could be used to pay
for additional police officers to patrol
the streets and for support services
for victim s o f violent crim es.”
Philip Morris to
Pay Damages
Dr. Billy R. Flowers (above center) and his skilled sta ff are ready to help those in need.
THE
SPINACOUJMN
An ongoing series of questions and answers about Americas natural healing profession.
T h e to b a c c o m a n u f a c t u r e r
P h ilip M o rris has fin a lly a g re ed to
p a y th e re m a in d e r p lu s in te re st o f
a 1999 p u n itiv e d a m ag e aw ard . A s
a re su lt, th e O re g o n D e p a rtm e n t
o f C rim e V ic tim s ’ C o m p e n sa tio n
F u n d w ill re c eiv e $ 5 6 m illio n .
“T h is w as a h isto ric w in fo r th e
D e p a rtm e n t o f J u stic e an d fo r O r­
e g o n ,” said A tto rn ey G e n era l Jo h n
K roger.
A p o rtio n o f the m o n e y w ill be
n e e d e d to fu n d c rim e v ic tim s p r o ­
g ram s, b u t a m ajo rity o f th e m o n ey
w ill be a v a ila b le to h e lp th e L e g is ­
la tu re d eal w ith th e b u d g e t d e fic it.
U n d e r O re g o n la w , 6 0 p e rc e n t
o f p u n itiv e d a m a g e a w a rd s g o to
the C rim e V ic tim s’ C o m p e n sa tio n
Fund.
In 1999, a M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty
ju r y o rd e re d P h ilip M o rris to pay
$ 7 9 .5 m illio n in p u n itiv e d a m ag e s
in a la w su it b ro u g h t by th e fa m ily
o f a P o rtlan d c ig arette sm o k er w ho
d ie d o f c a n c e r.
A fte r m o re th a n a d e c a d e o f
a p p e a ls , th e O re g o n S u p re m e
C o u r t in D e c e m b e r u p h e l d
O re g o n ’s sh are o f th e aw ard .
T h e O re g o n S u p re m e C o u rt re ­
je c te d a re q u e st b y P h ilip M o rris
a tto rn e y s to re c o n s id e r th e ir d e ­
c isio n an d la st w e ek an a tto rn e y
fo r th e c o m p a n y sa id th e to b a c c o
m a n u fa c tu re r w ill pay .
■
Part 20. It’s Just Your Nerves:
Chiropractic’s answer to an age old answer
Invasion Robbery at College
W h en p re ssu re o r irrita tio n g ets s u b lu x a tio n s , r e le a s in g th e
o n n e rv e s (s c ie n tific a lly k n o w n irrita-tio n from th e n erv e fibers.
as s u b lu x a - tio n ) , te n s io n in M u sc le s can re la x . T h e b o d y
one
m u sc le s w ill re su lt. In th e n eck , w ill no lo n g e r sen d a m e ssa g e
th is te n sio n w ill w o rk its w ay up o f p a in an d y o u r h e a d a c h e s
to th e skull. N est, b lo o d flow w ill w ill b e go n e fo r good! I f y o u ’re
b e a lte re d . B efo re y o u k n o w it, tire d o f h e a rin g th a t y o u r p ro b ­
n e rv e s. A n in -d e p e n d e n t r e ­ y o u w ill h a v e a n o th e r th ro b b in g lem is “ju s t n e rv e s,” call us
search team recently an-nounced h e a d a c h e . In C h iro p ra c tic , w e to d ay . W e ’ve g o t th e a n sw e r
w ith
r e d u c i n g to th e “ju s t n e rv e s ” a n sw er.
that betw een 90% and 95% o f all w o r k
head-aches w ere due to pressure
on the nerves. Y our do cto r w as
probably talk-ing ab o u t e m o ­
2124N.E Hancock Street, Portland Oregon97212
tio n a l n e rv e s. T h e r e s e a r c h
te am , o f c o u rse , w as ta lk in g
a b o u t th e n e r v o u s s y s te m .
T he P ortland Police B ureau, in w ith a shotgun. N one o f four vic­
cooperation w ith C rim e Stoppers, is tim s that w ere inside the apartm ent
seeking the assistance o f the public w ere injured.
to solve a hom e invasion robbery
C rim e Stoppers is offering a cash
on the cam pus o f W arn er Pacific rew ard o f up to $ 1,000 for in fo rm a­
College.
tion, reported to C rim e Stoppers,
On Dec. 19,at3:05a.m., police were that leads to an arrest in this case, or
called to the scene o f the crim e in the any unsolved felony, and you can
2200 block o f Southeast 66th A v­ rem ain anonym ous.
enue. A s officers w ere enroute, they
Leave a Crime Stoppers tip online
received inform ation that three black at crimestoppersoforegon.com, text
males with m asks covering their faces CRIMES (274637) and in the sub­
entered the apartm ent and stole the ject line put 823HELP, followed by
victim 's property at gunpoint and your tip, or call 503-823-HELP
then fled the apartm ent on foot.
(4357) and leave your tip informa­
O ne o f the suspects w as arm ed tion.
: I have been to see a num
ber o f doctors ab o u t my
headaches. T he m ost recent
said it w as, “ju s t nerves” C an
C hiropractic help?
A : Y our doctor was prob ably
/ A r i g h t . C hances are it is yo u r
Q
Flowers' Chiropractic Office
Phone: (5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 *5 5 0 4
t
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