Urgent Action 2-17-10

URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA

To read the current Urgent Action newsletter, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
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17 February 2010

Further information on UA 27/10 (29 January 2010) - Death Penalty

USA Martin Grossman (m)

Martin Grossman, aged 45, was executed in the US state of Florida shortly after 6pm on 16 February for a crime committed when he was 19 years old. He was convicted of murder in 1985, and had been on death row for nearly a quarter of a century.

Martin Grossman was sentenced to death for the murder of Margaret Park, a 26-year-old woman employed as a wildlife officer by the Florida Game and Fish Commission. She was shot dead while on patrol on 13 December 1984.

In his final statement before being put to death by lethal injection, Martin Grossman expressed his remorse to members of Margaret Park's family, who were there to witness the execution: "I would like to extend my heartfelt remorse to the victim's family. I fully regret everything that happened that night, everything that was done, whether I remember everything or not. I accept responsibility". He then recited a Jewish prayer.

Jewish leaders, as well as the Vatican, were among those who appealed for clemency. Florida’s governor, Charlie Crist, is reported to have received about 49,000 letters, telephone calls and emails on the case. An online clemency petition to the governor was signed by more than 34,000 people.

Martin Grossman is the seventh person to be put to death in the USA this year, and the 1,195th since executions resumed there in 1977. Sixty-nine of these executions were in Florida.

No further action is requested. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.

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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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