July 22, 2008

 

Caryn called the meeting to order in place of Bruce who is on vacation.

 

Mike gave the invocation.

 

Happy Dollars

 

Linda was sorry to have missed the demotion party but had a wonderful time with her sister in Placerville.

 

Barbara told us that yesterday was her birthday and they paid of their mortgage....whooohoooo!!!  Both of her sons and her best friend came to dinner....What a great Birthday!!!!

 

  Sandi said the demotion party was so much fun and thanked Mike and Barbara for being such gracious hosts.  Diana also thanked Stan for the use of his yacht....which is certainly the way to travel to Discovery Bay....My thanks again Stan!  Caryn and Jim also expressed their thanks for both the party and the yacht trip.....

 

Caryn went to San Leandro with Diana to a Jewelry party and is happy that she like the jewelry so much and plans to have one here in Pittsburg.

 

Mike and Barbara are celebrating their 25th anniversery.....Congratulations!!!

 

Speaker

 

Elizabeth Zitrin is an attorney and death penalty abolitionist. She is California Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator for Amnesty International. In addition to the DPF Board, she serves on the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Northern California and the Advisory Board of the Northern California Innocence Project.

She represents Death Penalty Focus on the Steering Committee of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, where she chairs the USA Working Group. She is a frequent speaker against the death penalty. Elizabeth holds a B.A. From Oberlin College and a J.D. From Northeastern University School of Law.

The High Cost of the Death Penalty was the main subject.

The death penalty is much more expensive than life without parole because the Constitution requires a long and complex judicial process for capital cases. This process is needed in order to ensure that innocent men and woman are not executed for crimes they did not commit, and even with these protections the risk of executing an innocent person can not be completely eliminated.

If the death penalty was replaced with a sentence of Life Without the Possibility of Parole*, which costs millions less and also ensures that the public is protected while eliminating the risk of an irreversible mistake, the money saved could be spent on programs that actually improve the communities in which we live. The millions of dollars in savings could be spent on: education, roads, police officers and public safety programs, after-school programs, drug and alcohol treatment, child abuse prevention programs, mental health services, and services for crime victims and their families.

*More than 3500 men and woman have received this sentence in California since 1978 and NOT ONE has been released, except those few individuals who were able to prove their innocence.

There was a very lively question and answer session which a lot of members participated in.

To find out more about this subject go to: www.deathpenalty.org

Caryn will be the greeter next week.

Next week the speaker will be Robert Giannicola who will talk on a Green Lifestyle.  Much easier than you think.
 

 

Lunch

Chicken Parmesan or Chicken Salad and Banana Cake

See you all next week!!!

SLee