Have you reserved your tickets for next Thursday's 4th Annual MaryRuth Weir Memorial Dinner and first Silent Auction on May 12th at 6:00pm at Central Presbyterian Church? If not, you have until Saturday, May 7th to rsvp.  This is GFADP’s biggest fundraising effort and we need YOU to help make it a success. Please consider buying a ticket today to join us for what we know will be a wonderful evening and will help sustain the work of GFADP in the coming year and beyond. 

If you would like to reserve a ticket, please email Mary Catherine Johnson TODAY at mcjohn7@emory.edu and let her know. You can bring your check to the dinner on Thursday. 

 I am particularly excited about the dinner –  one reason is because we are honoring one of Georgia's most extraordinary activists, Rev. Murphy Davis. Many of you know Murphy through her years of tireless work at the Open Door Community and on behalf of those on Georgia's death row.  After hearing Murphy speak, I don't know of one person who leaves that space without feeling empowered and energized to work for justice.

Another reason I’m excited for the dinner is because the keynote speaker is Jeremy Schroeder, Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. As you all know, Illinois became the 16th state in the United States to abolish the death penalty earlier this year. The campaign was 20 years in the making. The victory in Illinois gives us hope for the future because, like Georgia, they were an active death penalty state, but went further to halt executions and have now, simply rejected it. We look forward to that day as well.

Please join us to celebrate the work of Murphy and honor the life of MaryRuth Weir.  If you cannot attend, please consider making a donation to GFADP in honor of these fine women’s work. Please see below for more information about the dinner and how to send donations to GFADP.

See you on Thursday!  With hope,

Kathryn Hamoudah, for the Board of GFADP

We are so excited to invite you to join us for the fourth annual MaryRuth Weir Memorial Dinner and first Silent Auction.

In 1999, MaryRuth Weir and other abolitionists resolved that Georgia needed to organize a statewide anti-death penalty coalition, again.  MaryRuth dedicated her life to shining a light on the injustices of the death penalty. The work that she carried out for over 20 years at New Hope House provided comfort and support to families who had been discarded and disregarded by virtue of having a loved one on Death Row.  On this night, we remember her spirit and recommit ourselves to struggling for an end to the death penalty. Please join us on May 12 at 6:00pm to honor and celebrate her life.

Here are the details:

Central Presbyterian Church, Tull Fellowship Hall

201 Washington Street, Southwest, Atlanta, Georgia 30303
$50.00 Individual tickets ~ $500.00 Table (seats ten)

Justice Benefactor - $1500 Fairness Patron - $1000 Human Rights Advocate - $750
Please R.S.V.P. with attached form by May 7, 2010

This year, the recipient of the MaryRuth Weir Human Rights Award is Rev. Murphy Davis. As co-founder of the Open Door Community, Rev. Davis has advocated for the past 35 years for those on Georgia’s death row.  She skillfully and eloquently brings understanding and compassion for men who are often met with hostility.  We are delighted to honor someone whose life has made such a significant impact on the death penalty in Georgia and the lives of people on our Death Row.

We are thrilled that our keynote speaker this year is Jeremy Schroeder, Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. A tireless human rights activist, Mr. Schroeder skillfully lead the coalition in their successful efforts to pass a bill to repeal the death penalty in March of this year, making Illinois the 16^th state to abolish the death penalty in the United States.  He is also an attorney with extensive lobbying and organizing experience.  

We hope you will join us on May 12 to honor the lives of MaryRuth Weir and Murphy Davis.

With hope,

Martina Correia, Katey Brown, Edward DuBose, Patrick Dyer, Margaret Eskew, Senator Vincent Fort, Kathryn Hamoudah, Peggy Hendrix, Suzanne Hobby-Shippen,  Tabatha Holley, Mary Catherine Johnson, Laura Kagel, Mary Palmer Legare, Em McNair, Bill Moon and Sara Totonchi

Board of Directors, Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty