Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 7, No. 23
Needle executions
The ‘civilized’ way to kill
By Scott Christianson
Pacific News Service
With America’s first legal
execution by lethal injection
scheduled to occur in Texas
this month, knowledgeable
opponents of the death penalty
fear that growing acceptance of
the new “civilized” killing
method could plunge the
country back into capital
punishment on its largest scale
in decades.
Bills replacing electrocution
with drugs were introduced last
spring in several states Gov.
David Boren of Oklahoma
signed the first such measure
A look at
the candidates
Editorial
This year’s candidates for city council pose an
unfortunate dilemma. We are generally displeased
with the incumbents, but the challengers offer
little hope for improvement.
The city council, in our opinion, has earned its
reputation as a rubber stamp council. And neither
the mayor nor the council has been aggressive in
their leadership where the Black community is
concerned.
In the Seventh Ward race, there is no incumbent.
One candidate, Frank Christian, is the mayor’s
candidate and former campaign manager. We see
no reason to expect strong independent action
from a candidate who is so closely tied to the
mayor.
While his opponent, Herbert Elliot, has the
opportunity to be independent, we find his views
on social and economic equity for Blacks totally
unacceptable. Forexample, he told the News-Review:
“We can’t be held responsible for the sins of our
forefathers. Let’s deal with die present, and hire
and promote on the basis of qualification and
merit.”
In spite of the afore stated doubts about Frank
Christian, we found him to be more sensitive to the
plight of the poor and believe that he will probably
be more progressive on issues concerning the
welfare of the Black community.
In the Sixth Ward race incumbent William
Calhoun faces B. J. Hawkins. Calhoun is the
Mayor’s floor leader and while we know of nothing
that he has done against the Black community, we
know of nothing in particular that he has done for
the Black Community either.
Hawkins is unknown to us. We realize that
candidates will usually tell you what they think
you want to hear, yet we were impressed with the
challenger’s concern for poorer working people.
Hawkins was unusually forthright in his
approach to solving the low percentage of Blacks
employed by the city. He said he favors hiring
overwhelming numbers of Blacks until equalization
is achieved. “If you have 15 jobs available and all
the applicants are qualified. I’d say hire 12 Blacks,”
he said.
The Fifth Ward choice is for us a little easier.
Incumbent K.Z. Johnson is ultra-conservative. And
while his opponent, Henry Grant, is not known for
his liberal views, Black leaders report that he has
often worked behind the scenes effecting changes
desired by the Black community.
In the Second Ward B. L. Dent is opposed by
Charles G. Harris Sr. We believe that Dent is very
capable, but, attitudinally, we have seen little
concern for the Black community.
Mr. Harris has not held public office before. And
we have no opinion as to whether he would be an
improvement over the incumbent.
We urge you to vote for your choice in the Oct.
12 election.
Attends conference
Mr. Earl H. Thurmond, Sr.,
Principal of Charles T. Walker
Elementary School, attended
the National Association of
Elementary School Principal’s
(NAESP) Fall Leadership
conference in Arlington, Va.,
held Sept. 23 to 25.
Mr. Thurmond, who is the
state president of the Georgia
Association of Elementary
School Principals, convened
with other principals from
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I
into law on May 10, and a
similar law was enacted the
next day in neighboring Texas.
Another so-called “needle bill”
was introduced, but not acted
upon, in Florida a few weeks
later.
Lawyers for the American
Civil Liberties Union and the
NAACP Legal Defense and
Education Fund say the lethal
injection idea may well take
hold in many more states this
year.
The Oklahoma statute
provides for’ execution by a
dual injection of drugs-one to
make the prisoner unconscious,
the other to kill. The Texas law
around the nation and was the
only one from the Augusta
area.
Mr. Thurmond also attended
the Congressional Black Caucus
Dinner held on Saturday, Sept.
24, at nearby Washington
Hilton Hotel, where Jimmy
Carter, Ambassador Andrew
Young, Author Alex Haley,
and Congressman Parren
Mitchell spoke, among other
dignitaries.
P.O. Box 953
calls for criminals to be stuck
with a lethal dose of an
“ultra-short-acting barbiturate”
when still conscious.
Texas has 59 convicted
murderers at the Ellis Unit near
Huntsville, ranking it behind
Florida (87), Ohio (71) and
Georgia (60) in death-row
populations. Its convict-built
electric chair has killed 361
men since it was first plugged
in 53 years ago. But the last
execution was carried out
nearly 18 years ago.
Texas state Rep. Ben Grant
and state Sen. Bill Braechklin
sponsored the latest death
measure. Grant called the
Charging libel
Rev, Washington sues
Chronicle for $300,000
By Kwame Karikari
The Rev. George Richard
Washington, pastor of Mt. Zion
A.M.E. Church, this week filed
a $300,000 civil suit against
the Southeastern Newspaper
Corp, which owns the Augusta
Chronicle.
The suit, according to Rev.
Washington’s attorney, John D.
Watkins, is in connection with
a news item that appeared in
the Sept. 17 issue of the
Augusta Chronicle. The
SIOO,OOO festival suit dismissed
The SIOO,OOO class action
suit brought against the
Richmond County Board of
Commissioners in connection
with the county’s $12,000 gift
to the Augusta Black Festival
Inc., was dismissed last week
by U.S. District Court Judge
Anthony Alaimo.
The News-Review is
presenting below the responses
city council candidates
submitted to the League of
Women Voters which we hope
will give voters some
background on the candidates.
Candidates in the first, third,
fourth and eighth wards are
unopposed in the Oct. 12
election.
The League of Women
Voters, a non-partisan
organization, does not support
or oppose candidates, so does
present, as a public service,
biographical information and
answers to questions on
political issues. This
information is presented, as
nearly as possible, in the exact
words of the candidates.
Questions asked candidates:
1. City taxpayers think they
are paying an unfair tax share,
for example: paying for county
services they do not receive.
Do you think this is true?
Please answer yes or no and
explain your answer.
2. Many people agree that
consolidation or annexation of
some or all of the
unincorporated area is
necessary if Augusta is to
prosper. How can a councilman
help to accomplish a modem
streamlined and efficient
government if they reject the
current annexation proposal?
3. The printed media has
accused the City Council of
“Rubber Stamping” the
mayor’s programs and
proposals. Do you think this
accusation is true in whole or
in part, or do you think it is
electric chair a “medieval
torture chamber” that “creates
a sensational atmosphere that
makes heroes out of
criminals.” He ascribes his
interest in lethal injection to
some testimony he once heard
on the liquidation of unwanted
pets.
James Estelle, the Texas
director of corrections-and the
official responsible for
executions actually being
performed-called “a more
civilized way of carrying out
our responsibilities.” And
prison chaplain the Rev. Clyde
Johnston said, “I hesitate to
use the word pleasant, but it
minister claims that the article
was damaging to him.
The alleged Chronicle
article, two paragraphs long,
claimed that a “Rev. Geoige
Richard Washington” had been
“sentenced to 12 months
probation” after pleading
guilty “to a charge of theft by
deception.”
It claimed that the charge
was in connection with an
alleged issuance of “a bad
The County Attorney
Robert C. Daniel Jr. and U.S.
Treasury Secretary W. Michael
Blumenthal had also been
named as defendants in the
dismissed complaint in which
IraN. Davis, president of the
Richmond County Property
Owners Association. had
Candidates compete for four council seats
untrue? Please state your
opinion and explain your
answer.
2nd WARD
B. L. Dent, 1117
Laney-Walker Blvd. Furniture
dealer. 65 years
1. Yes. We are paving for
many services that we do not
receive and especially for city
streets that the County should
pay for!
2. We will annex the sections
that are willing to come into
the City, and leave the other
sections out.
3. Not true: all programs
must come through the various
committees.
Charles Goodwin Harris, Sr.
1710 Laney-Walker Blvd.
Co-owner of Harris Catering
and Banquet Service. 67 years.
1. YES! Because the city
taxpayer is paying for many
services, but can receive in
return from the county taxes
he pays, in part such things as
the School’s and Hospitals, the
other services are not received
by the city taxpayers.
2. YES! I believe that as a
councilman, I would and could
work with any and all groups
who wish to save the city from
a double tax standard, by
—1977
would be just like someone
going in, laying down and
going to sleep.”
Opponents insist that
execution in any form is
wrong, regardless of how
painless it may appear to
legislators or witnesses.
Public opinion, which in
recent years has gradually
swung back in favor of capital
punishment, could be pushed
even higher by the assumption
that drug executions are
somehow more humane-and
more healthful for
society-than the firing squad,
the rope, the gas chamber or
the chair.
check for $60.85” by the Rev.
Washington.
“They are false and untrue,”
stated Atty. Watkins of the
statements in the Chronicle
article. The attorney further
said that the address given in
the news item was that of his
client.
“There is no other Rev.
George Richard Washington in
Augusta that I know of,” Atty.
Watkins said.
attempted to have the
commission stripped of its
authority. The complaint had
also asked that a federal
receiver be appointed to govern
richmond County instead.
The case can be filed again
since it was dismissed without
prejudice.
A
consolidation or annexation of
any or all of the
unincorporated areas of our
city. The main point would be
to explain to taxpayers all of
the benefits they would
receive.
3. YES! I would say yes as a
whole, because of five or six
members the Mayor has
appointed out of the sixteen
members of Council the Mayor
would always have control of
Council.
Sth Ward:
K.Z. Johnson
1. Yes, the County
government for years has been
delivering services *in the
unincorporated area only-
Should looters be shot,
jailed or put to work?
By Sharon Caldwell
and Kwame Karikari
When on July 13, the lights
went out in New York City,
the two brightest elements
visible in the dark were the
looters and the police.
The looters were there
scrambling for things they
probably could not afford
otherwise--most being
unemployed, as the over 2,000
arrested by the New York
oolice indicated.
The police, who responded to
the “vandalism”, were there
and literally threw a net to
grab anyone in the vicinity of
the looting spree.
Sections of the media,
reaping a harvest of sensation,
initiated a general propaganda
of subtle and overt racism,
advocating blind methods of
“punishing” looters.
Few sought the causes of the
problem in the social and
economic context. Some, such
as the New York Amsterdam
News, blamed it on “the
vacuum of leadership in the
Black community,” while
others found the easy escape
route of insulting, such as
injecting racist genetical
Black Caucus to write
weekly column for NNPA
WASHINGTON (NNPA) -
Fresh from a confrontation
with President Jimmy Carter
over the staggeringly high level
of unemployment among
Blacks, members of the
Congressional Black Caucus are
beginning a weekly column for
newspapers belonging to the
National Newspaper Publishers
Association (NNPA) - Black
Press of America.
Their columns, written in
weekly rotation under the title
“Congressional Black Caucus
Reports to the People,” will
cover the many facets of the
legislative activities of Capitol
Hill as they relate to Black
Americans.
funded by County wide
revenue.
2. Continue working for
another plan which would
accomplish the vital necessity
of expansion of City limits.
3. Untrue. The Mayor’s
programs and proposals are
usually originated in Council
Committees and developed by
consultation with City Council.
W.H. Grant, Sr. 1905 Heckle
Street. Retired, former Ticket
Agent S.C.L. Railroad. 67
years.
1. Yes. The average city
taxpayer receives no services
Mt
WK'”
i
“**
from the c ounty in return for
taxes paid. Most of the larger
shopping centers are in the
county and city residents
spend more money in these
centers than they do in the
city. I believe city taxpayers
should receive the same
benefits from the one per cent
sales tax as the county
residents receive.
2. I am an optimist and I
believe we are going to have
annexation; however, I believe
the present administration is
calling for a referendum too
Less Than 75% Advertising
theories > like “Looters are
bom, not made.”
“ ‘Animals’ was the
most-quoted word used by
New Yorkers to describe the
looters. Others included
‘rabble,’ ‘parasites,’ and
‘piranha,’ ” wrote a New York
Times columnist a month later.
Following the “public
opinion” about the mostly
Black and Spanish-speaking
arrested looters, the logical
remedies vented out was not a
demand for employment. The
propositions ranged from “the
gas chamber,” “firing squads,”
to the relatively moderate
position of putting looters to
work to pay for what they had,
as a looter reportedly called it,
“liberated,” or damaged in the
process.
The July blackout in New
York could happen anywhere.
There are poor and
unemployed everywhere.
Should it happen here what
would be the attitude of our
leading officials?
The News-Review sought out
the views of some of Augusta’s
leaders.
While those interviewed
oppose killing looters by any
“Thus, for the first time in
history,” says Dr. Carlton B.
Goodlett, president of the
NNPA, “the Black community
will have access to the national
legislative prespectives of all 16
Black members of the House of
Representatives.
The first four columns will
be written by the officers of
the Caucus - Rep. Parren J.
Mitchell of Baltimore, the
chairman; Rep. Shirley
Chisholm, New York, vice
chairman; Rep. Ronald V.
Dellums, California, secretary;
and Rep. Cardiss Collins,
Illinois, treasurer. See
Mitchell’s column on page
soon since they have no
program to present to the
people. We must show the
people of the county it is to
their advantage, as well as to
the people of the city, to be a
part of the city. We must
assure them that they will
receive more efficient police
and fire protection, better
garbage collection, lower water
rates, etc. We must convince
them that the one per cent
sales tax revenue will be used
to hold property tax in line.
3. 1 think it would be unfair
to some members of Council to
accuse them of being “rubber
stamps”, however, 1 do believe
it is true that an overwhelming
majority of the members are
nothing more than “yes men”
to the Mayor.
6th WARD
William C. Calhoun,
Attorney at Law. 58 years.
1. Yes. Property taxpayers
in the City of Augusta now
pay 48 per cent of all property
taxes going to the county
government and schools, and
100 per cent of property taxes
going to county commission
operations. However, as it has
done in past years, the county
spends only an insignificant
amount of the money it
means, they generally hold that
looters must face die judicial
process squarely and fairly.
Mayor Lewis Newman
thought “looters as well as
other people who commit
crimes should be punished, but
on an individual basis. They
should be indicted and tried in
the judicial system and
punished according to the law.
However, I don’t think people
should be hung for
non-hangable offenses.”
Chief of Police Allen L.
Scott said, “I definitely don’t
feel that looters should be
shot. The punishment should
fit the crime. Although they
shouldn’t go scot free, I feel a
little time in jail would
probably be the maximum
punishment.”
“AU criminal offenders
should receive a fair trial,
under the judicial system and
in accordance to the law.
Punishment should be handed
down only in court,” said
Attorney John Ruffin.
Another Attorney, Roy
Harris, said “ah circumstances
differ from one to another
See ’’LOOTERS”
Page 2
tour.
The other members of the
Caucus will write their columns
in alphabetical order:
Representatives Yvonne B.
Burke, California; William L.
Clay, Missouri; John Conyers,
Jr., and Charles C. Diggs,
Michigan; Walter E. Fauntroy,
District of Columbia; Harold E.
Ford, Tennessee; Augustus F.
Hawkins, California; Barbara
Jordan, Texas; Ralph H.
Metcalfe, Illinois; Robert N. C.
Nix, Pennsylvania; Charles B.
Rangel, New York; and Louis
Stokes, Ohio. Each member of
the Caucus will write a column
every 16 weeks.
receives from city taxpayers
for the benefit of residents of
the city. Byway of illustration,
the county spends no money
whatsoever on the streets in
the city, whereas, it spends
millions on county roads. Also,
the county spends over two
million dollars annually on the
Sheriff s Department, who
operate solely in the county.
City taxpayers derive no
services from the Sheriffs
Department other than the
service of legal processes
subpoenas.
2. It is a known fact that
during the past two decades
the population of the City of
Augusta has diminished each
year. Therefore, it is not only
advisable but a necessity that
the population of Augusta
expand by virtue of
annexation. If the people in
the county reject the current
annexation proposal, the
councilmen should operate the
city government within its
budget, cut expenses, and
make its operations so efficient
that the outlying residents
would not be against
annexation.
3. I do not think this
accusation against the city
council is true. Augusta is
operated by a committee form
of city government and most
dissents are ironed out in
committee meetings before
they reach the council floor. It
is true that relations between
the members of city council
and the Mayor are harmonious,
but this does not substantiate
See “CANDIDATES”
Page 2
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