In Remembrance

40 years ago today our society lost a great force for change and an amazing person.

The 947 Years Campaign

According to the Innocence Project, more than one-third of the 215 people that have been exonerated due to DNA evidence were between 14 and 22 years of age when they were convicted. These kids have spent a combined 947 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. To raise awareness and engage young people in the fight to free the innocent and prevent wrongful convictions, the Innocence Project has launched a national campaign called 947 Years. In their Prime. In Prison. Innocent..

The campaign's website includes a two minute video, a petition to support universal access to post-conviction DNA testing, and multimedia accounts of the kids who were sent to jail for crimes they did not commit. Click here to sign the petition today, and please spread the word on your blogs and/or in your lives about this campaign as they are counting on you to keep it going.

A Letter from Mama

Over at A Booblog there is a touching letter that I suggest you read in its entirety. It is a wonderful testament to the importance of talking about PPD. Below are some key excerpts.

Recently, I realized something. If something were to happen to me, my own daughter may not know the truth. She may see this blog some day and think that everything turned out fine. She may some day, have a child of her own. She may some day, struggle with postpartum depression. I would be horrified to think that she might say "well, my own mother dealt with it stoically, therefore I must as well".

Anjukutty, I do not expect us to be friends. Ever. I want to be your mother - the one to guide you and share life with you. But not as your friend. You will have many, many friends in your life. I might be a sort of friend, on a lesser scale, but I will always, always be your mother first. This means that I may tell you things that you do not want to hear. On the other hand, friends have to a tendency to tell you only the things you want to hear. You can always come to me for an honest opinion, that you may or may not desire. But it will be honest and only with pure intentions for I only have your best interest at heart.

I have been taking Zoloft and that has helped. In addition, I am still trying my best to eat healthy, go for walks and keep active while I wait for my body to get back to normal. Reading, writing and knitting have taken on an even greater importance for me as a means for relaxation. Lately, I have felt that I am getting more normal and that my hormones are settling down. I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

She's right to write this letter to let her daughter know she isn't alone if she experiences PPD. There is so little common knowledge out there about postpartum depression. Even though as much as 20% of mothers experience it, many women feel like they are all alone and that there is no "light at the end of the tunnel." No matter what our story is about we have a responsibility to share it. We need each other and your experience matters.

Call for Submissions

We recently posted an ad that has been getting a favorable response, and I wanted to make sure to share it with our readers, in case there was confusion about participation.

Make a difference (and money) doing what you love! Giving by Design, an up and coming arts organization is seeking submissions for their on-line gallery which is set to launch this Summer.

Giving by Design is a Georgia non-profit formed with the aim of offering a cost-efficient launch pad for self-represented student and emerging artists. A portion of every sale will go to the non-profit organization of the buyer's choice from our growing list of partner organizations.

We encourage artists in all mediums to submit work, there is no application fee. We are accepting works on a rolling basis, but the deadline for the May board meeting is April 25th.

For more information you can e-mail us, or visit our blog at http://givingbydesign.blogspot.com.

Due dates for consideration will fall on the 25th of every month. For example, the deadline for the June meeting will be May 25th. The application packet can be found by clicking here, or on our sidebar. We're really excited to see what you can do!

Yay for Small Victories! Wisconsin amends housing rights to include domestic violence victims

Govenor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin has officially signed the Safe Housing Act into law! This new law allows victims of domestic violence to break rental agreements without penalty if they provide their landlord with documentation such as a criminal complaint or a restraining order. The law also makes leases void if landlords punish tenants for calling police or emergency services and prohibits municipalities from enforcing ordinances that charge fees to property owners when tenants call police for help in domestic violence situations.

While supporters have praised this latest effort to reduce the number barriers to leaving domestic violence situations, Kathy Kintopf, account executive with Start Renting and board member of the Fox Valley Apartment Association opposes the legislations and believes that it would place an undue burden on landlords. She issued this charming statement.

“I don’t know if it really protects anyone else in the building if that victim moves out,” Kintopf said. “Where does it stop? Would the bank let me out of my mortgage? Landlords are in favor of helping people, but I’m not convinced this is the best way.”

There are a lot of things wrong with this quote. First, the primary victim is the only one who is in need of protection. The rest of the tenants are only in tangential danger. For example, if the abuser decides to set the apartment on fire, or ends up in a hostage taking situation or shootout with the police then the other people in the building are put in harms way. But that sort of problem is solved if the victim is allowed to move out.
As far as the question of "Where does it stop?" goes, that single sentence truly encapsulates the horrific amount of societal bias against victims of domestic violence. It insinuates that these are people who are either lying or who in some way deserve what they get. The scenario of the bank letting Ms. Kintopf out of her mortgage is not comparable and she must know that. In most areas of the country, finding a new tenant is no more than a minor inconvenience. Basically it seems that she would rather have blood on her hands than be "burdened" by a little lost money.

Tillman Family Protest

Black and Missing but not Forgotten has a post up about the family of Janet Tillman who are protesting what they view as police inaction in the case of Tillman's disappearance. According to Suburban Journals Tillman, who worked as a prostitute in Belleville, MO, was last seen October 16th 2007 getting into a solicitor's vehicle. Essentially, the family believes that it is Ms. Tillman's profession that has made her a low priority for the Belleville Police Department.

Her younger sister, Vickie Tillman, said the family believed the police investigation had been wanting from the beginning and demanded police work harder to find Janet.
"They don't think that she's a priority," Vickie Tillman said. "I have to try something; I can't just give up on it."
Family members allege police had failed to properly investigate because Janet Tillman was a prostitute and updates on the case were few and far between.
"She was my sister, she was my kids' aunt," she said. "It's no excuse for what they did. Is she any less of a person because of what she did? Is she any less of a human being? Their job is to protect and serve - at least I thought they did."

Belleville Police Capt. Donald Sax who did not work the case but who agreed to speak on the Department's behalf denies that any wrongdoing has occured in this investigation. He stated that the case would remain open and had just gone cold due to a lack of leads.

The family counters this claim with the startling fact that a month went by before investigators searched Tillman's residence. It seems to us strange as well the the Police Department is insinuating that she may have just left of her own accord while the family has repeatedly stated that she always called regularly to check in and would not have just left without packing, notifying them, and arranging care for her animals.

Please visit Black and Missing for further information on this story. No matter their profession a missing person is a missing person with family and friends who are desperate to find them. They all deserve the same level of respect and protection under the law and this kind of systemic class prioritization is wrong and can't be allowed to continue.

Innocence in South Carolina

South Carolina is one of only six states in the US that does not currently have a law allowing inmates to request DNA testing for purposes of exoneration. Recently, Democratic state Senator Gerald Malloy, introduced a bill known as the Post-Conviction DNA Procedures Act that would give an inmate the right to apply for DNA testing of evidence in the county in which they were convicted. The Innocence Project has been heavily involved in lobbying for this bill's passing, but today there was an editorial in The Herald, a South Carolina newspaper, that concisely explains that passage of this bill is long overdue.

If a DNA test can free an innocent person from prison, the state should provide a path for inmates to request a test.

"Simply put, nobody wins when an innocent person is convicted," Scheck said. "Not the victims, the police, the prosecutors, the courts or the public."

That sentiment seems unassailable. We hope that DNA testing becomes commonplace in any case where evidence could provide an answer as to the guilt or innocence of a prisoner.

I couldn't say it any better than that.

Via Innocence Blog