PRESS RELEASE DECEMBER 17, 2003
Read the Report (pdf), available at: http://www.mvfr.org/JuvenileBookRevised.pdf

CONTACT:

Renny Cushing, Executive Director[email protected] Cell: 617-930-5196
Kate Lowenstein, National Organizer [email protected] Cell: 202-270-0279

REPORT SHINES NEW LIGHT ON JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY, VICTIMS' FAMILY MEMBERS
"I Don't Want Another Kid to Die" Features Murder Victims' Family Members
Who Oppose Execution of Juvenile Offenders

Dec. 17, 2003 - As the trial of juvenile offender Lee Malvo draws to a close in Virginia and the merits of the juvenile death penalty continue to fuel debate across the nation, a leading national victims' rights group today released a report examining the juvenile death penalty in the United States from a unique perspective: relatives of murder victims whose loved ones were killed by juvenile offenders.

"I don't want another kid to die": Families of Victims Murdered by Juveniles Oppose Juvenile Executions, released today by Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, details the experiences of families of victims murdered by juveniles who oppose the death penalty. The report also details the story of Ireland and Rena Beazley, whose son, Napoleon Beazley, was a juvenile offender executed by the state of Texas in 2002. 

"This report is a statement against state killing of juveniles, made by those who know violent loss most intimately and have been most directly affected by juvenile crime," said Renny Cushing, MVFR Executive Director. "The voices of victims who oppose the death penalty are often ignored and suppressed when capital punishment is debated in the United States today. Legislators, opinion-shapers, and members of the general public need to know that victims do not all speak with one voice on this important public policy issue."

More than 70 juvenile offenders are on death row in the United States, about half of whom are in Texas and Alabama. "I don't want another kid to die" focuses on 10 cases involving juvenile offenders from California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Texas. From the tragic events in 1999 at Columbine High School to the horrific consequences of gang violence, each story featured in this report speaks to how the surviving family members who lost loved ones to murder view the juvenile death penalty and its impact on their lives.

Tom Mauser, a former supporter of the death penalty who lost a son during the attack on Columbine, notes, "I have come to learn that even with the death of my son's killer, even with the pressure of those in society who rush us to 'reach closure,' there is no closure when you lose a child. I believe that a death sentence is merely an attempt to gain revenge, not closure. I believe that a barbaric, violent act of revenge is not a way to
honor the life of our loved one."

A contact sheet for those featured in "I don't want another kid to die" is attached to this release. 

Founded in 1976, MVFR is a national organization of family members of victims of both homicide and state killings who oppose the death penalty in all cases. MVFR supports rograms that reduce the rate of homicide and promote crime prevention and alternatives to violence. Last year, MVFR released a report, Dignity Denied: The Experience of Murder Victims' Family Members Who Oppose the Death Penalty, which broke new ground in documenting the extent to which prosecutors, attorney general offices and victim services offices shun victims' relatives if they voice opposition to capital punishment.