This thread discusses the Content article: Letter to Alabama Germany Partnership by Patrick Swiney
Please write letters to similar to the one Patrick wrote
Send to the German Council General
Dr. Lutz Goergens v@atla.diplo.de
with a copy to Philip Alston philip.alston@nyu.edu at the UN. please bcc
taoss@worldnet.att.net
thanks
Oh, Great Spirit, grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins." - Old Indian Prayer My dad told me!! |
My Letter
www.torley.org
31 August 2008
Re: Human Rights Concerns in Alabama USA.
Dear Dr. Lutz Goergens:
I am writing to you regarding the news article about German companies being at home in Alabama .
As a European citizen, myself, I find it disturbing that German business enterprises and other companies from Europe, do not take into account the many human rights abuses which occur on a daily basis in Alabama .
If you knew what really went on, you would not be bringing your fellow countrymen and their families to start new businesses and supposed new lives.
Surely when companies open in other countries, they have to ensure that their own citizens will be safe and well treated? If Alabama cannot make sure it’s own citizens receive fair and proper justice, then what hope does that give others?
I am a Scottish citizen but I am aware of the history of Alabama injustices from the past and from the present.
The constitution of Germany , the Grundgesetz, which came into effect in 1949, puts a particular emphasis on human rights. Its first sentence, "Human dignity is inviolable", is being interpreted as protecting the sum of human rights.
I know the people of Germany were rightly outraged about the executions of two German brothers, Walter and Karl LaGrand. German people and government officials protested loudly against this.
Germany is known for its excellent stance on protecting human rights.
Please keep that thought in mind. Please also do not think that injustice cannot happen to your family, friends or acquaintances. Sadly it can and it does. Especially in Alabama .
In Alabama right now, Patrick Swiney has been held in prison since 1989, convicted wrongfully. Please see www.patrickswiney.com Please, also see if you can have some German law Students look at Mr Swiney’s case.
All scientific evidence proves that Mr Swiney is an innocent man. Yet not one court in Alabama will allow this evidence to be heard. Mr Swiney is most certainly a political prisoner, held by the State of Alabama wrongfully.
Mr Swiney has suffered great abuses in the 20 years he has been imprisoned. He is now a 64 year old man who has many medical problems, which have not been treated in the proper manner or in a timely manner.
Supporters have had to fight for every thing that should be a legal and moral right for Mr Swiney.
There have been notable people who have stood up to fight for human rights in Alabama . Usually they have ended up in prison for doing what is right.
On 1st December, 1955, Rosa Parks, left Montgomery Fair, the department store where she worked, and got on the same bus as she did every night. As always she sat in the "black section" at the back of the bus. However, when the bus became full, the driver instructed Rosa to give up her seat to a white person. This had happened to Rosa several times before. In fact, the same bus driver had forced her off the bus in 1943 for committing the same offence. Once again she refused and was arrested by the police. She was found guilty of violating the segregation law and fined.
In 1963, Martin Luther King, wrote a letter from Birmingham City Jail in Alabama .
He was confined after being arrested for his part in a non-violent protest conducted against segregation.
The letter includes the famous statement "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," as well as the words of Thurgood Marshall quoted by King: "Justice too long delayed is justice denied."
Sadly nothing much has changed since 1963 with regards to injustices in Alabama.
Another prisoner in Alabama , who endures Alabama injustice is Timothy Davis. Court and prison records describe Timothy Davis as a passive and non-violent person with NO prior criminal record. Convicted at the age of 17, Davis has spent more than 28 years, over half his life, on Alabama ’s Death row, until the death penalty for juveniles was abolished on March 01, 2005 , just days before his 44th birthday. Davis remains in prison serving a life without parole prison sentence. See: http://www.freewebs.com/timcdavis/
Sir, I could go on and on, and list case after case about the injustices Alabama inflicts on its own citizens, but I will not do this. I will remind you however, of many of the wonderful treaties that Germany has ratified.
The U.S. promotes itself as the world’s foremost proponent of human rights but often objects to scrutiny of its own practices.
* The U.S. has failed to ratify many key international human rights treaties and covenants.
* Those treaties it has ratified are encumbered with reservations designed to exempt the U.S. from international standards that go beyond existing constitutional guarantees.
Germany has ratified the following legally binding international treaties:
* 1953: Council of EuropeEuropean Convention on Human Rights
* 1954: UNConvention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
* UNConvention Relating to the Status of Refugees
* 1961: Council of EuropeEuropean Social Charter
* 1969: UNConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
* 1973: UNInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
* 1976: UNInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
* 1985: UNConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
* 1985: Council of EuropeConvention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data
* 1990: UNConvention Against Torture
* 1992: UNConvention on the Rights of the Child (only signed under reserve)
Germany is also a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. It recognizes theInternational Criminal Court. The 2007 Freedom in the World report by US-fundedFreedom House gives Germany a score of "1" (the best possible) for bothpolitical rights and civil rights. Germany has since 1949, been leaders in the fight for Human Rights for All. It is something to be proud of indeed.
Do not let this wonderful human rights record be dirtied by the corruption and injustice that wreaks havoc in the Alabama Judicial System. It is time to make a stand and refuse to do business with countries and States that do not treat their own people well.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.
Yours truly,
Karen Torley
www.torley.org
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. . Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all... " Elie Wiesel Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986.
Oh, Great Spirit, grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins." - Old Indian Prayer My dad told me!! |
To: Dr. Lutz Goergens, German Council General
Cc: Philip Alston, United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2008 7:53 PM
Subject: STATE OF ALABAMA AND ITS PERILS.
Dear Dr. Lutz Goergens,
It is to my great regret to state that very amicable relationship that your country established with the state of Alabama reinforces only the state of injustice existing in Alabama.
Alabama is now home to 50 German industries that state officials say employ upward of 12,000 people, while many innocent people are imprisoned without hope of ever being free.
As an example I would like to draw your attention to the case of Mr. Patrick Swiney, a graduate of the Alabama State Police Academy (1967) and the Huntsville Police Academy (1966).
Patrick was instrumental in exposing a drug smuggling operation resulting in the conviction of the District Attorney in Baldwin County and the Sheriff’s Department chief investigator. He served his country well and today he is in the penitentiary system of Alabama.
Patrick got imprisoned 1989 on a trumped charge of capital murder in the deaths of Betty Snow Swiney and Ronnie Pate near Saginaw in 1987.
In spite of lack evidence of his guilt, he was sentenced to life in prison and all the efforts to revise his case proved to be futile.
His story would be best described by visiting the website : http://www.patrickswiney.com/
From what I hear, Alabama has a $4 billion project getting ready to start and Germany is considering sending many German citizens to Alabama to work on this project.
I think that under the unacceptable conditions in Alabama, German citizens might find themselves in the same situation as Mr. Swiney and therefore I would advise the utmost caution dealing with the State of Alabama and sending German personnel.
I would be happy to answer any questions you might have in this regard. I investigated Mr. Swiney case for a number of years.
Sincerely yours.
Dr. Boris S. deKorczak
Tel: 703.503.4455
Oh, Great Spirit, grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins." - Old Indian Prayer My dad told me!! |
To: Dr. Lutz Goergens, German Council General
Cc: Philip Alston, United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 9:45 PM
Subject: Alabama Germany Partnership
Dear Mr. Goergens,
I am writing to you because of an article that was written by Professor
Alston who is the United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur. His article
revealed what many of us in the United States have known for some time.
The U.S. considers itself the human rights watchdog of the world yet we
allow human rights injustices to proceed unchecked in this country. I'm
sure that you are already aware that the U.S. merely poses itself as
sympathetic to human rights and a worldwide police force before
sovereign nations like Germany.
In the history of the U.S. we have been genuinely sympathetic toward
violations of human rights but those days are in the past. This is no
more obvious than in the State of Alabama where Alabama Germany
Partnership does business. Germans already know through personal,
painful experience that fascism can tear a nation asunder but Germany
has survived these times. In the U.S. we seem to be blind to these
human rights abuses and are fully embroiled in fascism that is akin to
that which overtook Germany decades ago.
The State of Alabama is surrounded by an iron curtain. The State is so
corrupt that it imprisons innocent people at its whim. I worked as a
paralegal for an Alabama attorney. In many cases I've seen how the laws
of Alabama maintain convictions of innocent people so these people's
lives are destroyed. Alabama allows the guilty to go free; they seem to
be interested only in political reputations and not in justice. I have
so much personal experience with the corruption in Alabama that I can't
even begin to tell you how corrupt the state is although I could write
for hours giving specific examples of a system that harrasses,
incarcerates, and even puts to death innocent people. There seems to be
no conscience in the people in power in Alabama. They refuse to look,
refuse to stop these practices.
American civilization is in its fall. The corruption runs so deeply
that this society cannot possibly maintain its standing as a world
power. We have already relinquished our standing as a protector of
human rights. Germany is in a unique position to show your wisdom and
humanity to America by refusing to engage in business with the State of
Alabama due to their vast violations of human rights.
Americans cry out to you. The people of Alabama cry out to you. Your
position on human rights will only be felt when you withhold your good
money from Alabama. That kind of statement would be, as you know, an
honor to Germany. Not to be discounted is the effect your stand will
make for the people of Alabama and of the United States.
Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
Candyce Hawk
U.S. Citizen
Oh, Great Spirit, grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins." - Old Indian Prayer My dad told me!! |
To: Dr. Lutz Goergens, German Council General
Cc: Philip Alston, United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2008 8:15 AM
Subject: Alabama Germany Partnership
Dear Dr. Goergens,
At the end of June I had the great privilige of meeting with Philip Alston, United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur and his team to speak about the injustices surrounding the death penalty in Alabama. Alabama is a small state and yet, per capita, we have the highest number of death row prisoners. There are many reasons for this and I know that you are aware of these from the report. You will have read how cavalier Alabama authorities were about the concerns raised by Philip Alston.
Germany is the biggest trading partner for Alabama and German investments represent an important part of this state's economy. In many ways this means that Germany is in a position to call the shots in Alabama. If there is ever to be an improvement in the criminal justice system in Alabama, it will be because Germany helped us.
I was born in Berlin, Germany in 1933 and I must tell you that I am all too often reminded of what I saw during my first twelve years.
I was the witness of two executions here in Alabama in 1999 and in 2007. I had investigated both cases and can state unequivocally that justice was not done in either. Both men had had all white juries, one was beaten and cattle prodded until he confessed, the other was denied DNA testing despite very strong innocence claims.
Dr. Goergens, we need your help; we need Germany's help!
I look forward to hearing from you,
Sincerely,
Esther Brown
Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty:
www.phadp.org
Oh, Great Spirit, grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins." - Old Indian Prayer My dad told me!! |
----- Original Message -----
From: Franz Kurz
To: Dr. Lutz Goergens, German Council General
Cc: Philip Alston, United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2008 10:25 AM
Subject: faire Justiz in Alabama
Herrn Generalkonsul Dr. Lutz Goergen
Sehr geehrter Herr Generalkonsul Goergen,
als ehrenamtlicher Mitarbeiter in der Straffälligenhilfe BW seit 15 Jahren stehe ich seit etwa 10 Jahren mit der Familie Patrick Swiney, Alabama, inzwischen in freundschaftlicher Verbindung. Ich habe keine bessere Übersicht als AI oder andere vergleichbare Organisationen über die schwächen der Justiz in den Vereinigten Staaten. Die inzwischen höchste Gefangenenquote der USA mit vergleichbaren zivilisierten Ländern ist ein Indiz dafür. Als ich meine Schätzung von unschuldig Verurteilten darin mit 200.000 gab wurde ich mehrfach und deutlich von Fachleuten nach oben korrigiert.
Der Fall Patrick Swiney zählt zu denjenigen, bei denen das Verfahren Zweifel an fairer Justiz in Alabama begründen (http://www.patrickswiney.com). Mir sind Fälle von Deutschen oder Deutschstämmigen in Amerika bekannt, die unter solcher Justiz litten oder noch zu leiden haben. Ich hatte mich in Patrick Swineys Angelegenheit bereits früher an Philip Alston gewandt.
America's Corrupt Legal System - A Danger to Visitors, Travelers as Well as USA Residents by Dr Les Sachs http://www.banned-in-america.net/us-corrupt-legal-system-danger-to-visitors.html ist Ihnen gewiss neben anderen gleichlautenden Quellen auch bekannt und hat mich bereits bewogen, meinen Enkeln keinen Aufenthalt in den Staaten zu empfehlen.
Ich bedanke mich für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit.
Mit freundlichen Grüssen
Franz Kurz
Bergstrasse 35
74392 Freudental
+49 7143 24293
English Translation:
English is not very elegant because German syntax is so very different, but I hope this helps!
Fair Justice in Alabama
Honorable General Consul Goergen,
As a volunteer collaborator of Help for Inmates for 15 years I have been in contact with the family of Patrick Swiney for about the past 10 years. Meanwhile we have become friends. I do not claim to have better insight into the weaknesses of the criminal justice system in the United States than A.I. or other similar organizations. The high rate of inceration of the USA compared with other similar civilized countries speaks for itself. When I cited 200,000 as the number of innocents convicted, I was explicitly corrected by experts on several occasions and had to increase that number.
The case of Patrick Swiney is one of the cases and trials which is the basis for doubts about fair justice in Alabama.( your website) I know cases of Germans or people with German heritage who have suffered under this justice or are still suffering under it. I have already contacted Philip Alston on behalf of Patrick Swiney.
I am sure you are aware of America's Corrupt Legal System- A Danger to Visitors, Travelers as Well as USA Residents by Dr. Les Sachs and other similar sources. They persuaded me to not recommend a visit to the U.S to my grandchildren.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Oh, Great Spirit, grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins." - Old Indian Prayer My dad told me!! |
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