My husband was given a life sentence plus 15 years to run consecutively and charged with 2nd degree murder for a fatal car accident. This is the prime example of excessive/harsh sentencing. With no priors, there's nothing to suggest he's a violent or habitual/career criminal. Please help my family and I put a stop to the injustice shown in cases like my husband's. Please help to give my husband the opportunity to come home one day and prove he can be a productive citizen again. Each and every signature is very much appreciated.

I work overseas and the torture done by the U.S. and the continued existence of the prison at Guantanamo are a stain on this country's reputation as a democratic society. All citizens of this country would hopefully be in accord with this.

Demetrius is my only Grandson, he was 16 years old when he was framed and sent to Prison. My heartache every day is because I can't hug him and tell him I love him or kiss his handsome face. I can Pray that God will keep safe and send him home soon. With this Petition I hope no Mother or Grandmother will have to suffer the pain that Demetrius Family has.

Georgia set an execution date for Andrew Brannan for next Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 7:00pm.

To bring awareness to the unjust sentencing in the state of Oklahoma. Violent criminals are being set free while the nonviolent drug offenders are serving life and life without parole.

Fight for freedom, equality, justice and liberation!!

I’m starting this petition because after being sexually assaulted in Asheville, NC I became aware of the state’s negligence on the subject. Most women in Asheville, NC acknowledge that local rapes occur every weekend, and of the many female residents that I’ve met, every one of them has either experienced sexual assault, or can name a loved one who has. Due to current NC law, women in situations like mine are usually unable to prosecute their assailants. I am currently prosecuting for Sexual Battery, which is a misdemeanor, because I’m unable to prosecute for Rape or Sexual Assault, which are felonies. Below are statistics about sexual assault in NC, I will soon add a list of current laws. Statistics: According to the NC Department of Health and Human Services, in North Carolina 1 in 5 women have been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives. Over 20,000 North Carolinians were affected by sexual violence last year. (Oct 2006 NC Council for Women) In 2003-2004 the local county programs served 7,265 clients. The 2004-2005 total number of clients served represents a 16% increase in the total clients served. Women compromised 87% of the total number of clients served while men accounted for 13%. A majority of clients were assaulted by either an acquaintance or relative while 15% of the clients served did not give this information to the local county program. In 2004-2005, 31% of the offenders were a relative of the victim while 35% were an acquaintance. False accusations of sexual assault are estimated to occur at the low rate of 2 percent—similar to the rate of false accusations for other violent crimes. (First Response to Victims of Crime: A Handbook for Law Enforcement Officers on How to Approach and Help. ((2000) Office for Victims of Crime p.8-9) Rape, childhood sexual abuse, and domestic violence are among the most common causes of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in women. The chances that a woman will develop PTSD after being raped are between 50% and 95%. Sexual assault is also closely associated with depression and anxiety disorder. (Population Information Program. (2000) Population Reports: Ending Violence Against Women. Center for Communication Programs, The John Hopkins School of Public Health and Center for Health and Gender Equality) In 2004-2005 Madison county had 34 sexual assaults. (Above Information provided by the North Carolina Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission-2006) 75% of date and acquaintance rapes involve alcohol or drug use by the assailant.

My son was in a bar fight, another person got hurt and my is now incarcerated for making a bad decision. He is being unjustly mistreated by prison staff, had his belongings stolen, purchased new things only to have those stolen as well, is afraid of the other prisoners (they call him names and have even threatened him for not standing up to the first inmate that stole from him). However, I know that I am not the only one concerned about this and that is afraid for their loved one's safety. Many other family members and friends are afraid to complain because they worry that those complaints will result in the inmates being punished. This also involves companies making huge profits from the inmates, their families, and taxpayers: the healthcare facilities that are supposed to be there to help sick inmates (my son gets medication for seizures) and have let inmates die, the phone service company that profits by allowing inmates to call us, the company that allows us to send money to an inmate's account and then provides very overpriced merchandise for the inmates to purchase at the prison canteen, while making huge profits from this, the company that allows us to buy the inmates some additional clothing so they can dress for the seasonal weather conditions. This inhumane treatment needs to stop.

Corrections officers routinely violate prisoner’s rights and have created a system of abuse through ignorance and lack of sanitation. Some of the human rights violations and complaints from prisoners are: 1. Overcrowding occurs regularly with no individual pods for women. Over 30 women in a pod crammed into approximately 22 beds. 2. There was only one shower for over 30 women. A violation of State of Tennessee Rule 1400-1-.04 paragraph 7. 3. There were over four women forced to sleep on the floor in each cell. There were only 8 beds but 12 women in cell E-4. 4. Lice infested, no lice combs given, only toxic pesticide shampoos given. 5. No socks given, only shower thongs. 6. Mice were coming up through a drain in women’s shower. 7. Mattress pads were thin ¼ -½ inch thick. 8. Women weren’t given any outdoor time or exercise area and were forced to stay locked in a small area without any fresh air or sunlight for months at a time. When they were allowed out, it was at odd hours like 6 am. 9. No soap or shampoo given except a packet of toxic chemicals because of claims that prisoners were using bars of soap as a weapon, yet jail personnel had no problem passing out razors. 10. Family members were not allowed to donate books to the library because they claimed people were smuggling in drugs in books when all they had to do was flip through the books. 11. The court is charging prisoners $15 a day to stay in jail for drug use instead of putting them into a rehabilitation program. Over 90% of the prisoners were in there for drug use. There is no mental health assistance for prisoners with psychiatric issues, which Petitioner estimates accounts for at least half of the population. 12. Prisoners are literally being starved to death and inmates are spending 25-$50 a week on commissary food with no actual healthy food available to purchase. Greene County is estimated to be making over $100,000 a year on commissary. Diet consisted of: Breakfast, 5 am: gravy, non-fat watered down milk, 8oz, two slices of bread, spoiled mandarins and one boiled egg. Lunch, 10:30 am: 2 slices of wheat bread and one slice cheese and one 2x2 in. white cake. Dinner: Powdered milk if you could call it that; mostly water, beans, spoiled collard greens, 2 slices bread. 13. The temperature inside the cells was freezing cold at around 40-50 degrees and inmates are only given a short sleeve jumpsuit to wear with thongs, one blanket, and one sheet. a. Visitors are forced to visit through glass; they can’t see or hear the other side, even when they are non-violent. 14. In order to visit or to write to a prisoner, a prisoner has to put the person on visitation list which how would they know someone wanted to visit them in the first place if they can‘t contact them? 15. No bottled water for sale or given out. Tap water contains poisons of toxic sodium fluoride, chlorine, and arsenic, the same chemical formulation that was alleged by John Kerry to have been used to gas the Syrians. 16. Only two tables that seat 4 people each for 30+ females and one television with nowhere to sit and watch. There are no tables in F pod and inmates are forced to eat on the floor. 17. There is black mold growing on the showers and walls. The mold had been painted over and black mold was still coming through. Only one shower and two toilets for 30 inmates in F Pod. 18. Several Prisoners had sinus problems related to mold exposure, nutritionally deficient diet and poisonous water. 19. The overcrowding and unsanitary conditions led to increased illnesses with no proper cleaning sprays. 20. No access to a clock so inmates could prepare for court or other appointments. 21. No access to law books or library for inmates to assist them in preparing for court or to conduct research. 22. Prisoners had witnessed another girl who was brought in a few weeks prior to Petitioner who had overdosed and was foaming at the mouth. Instead of taking her to the hospital, prison staff put her in the drunk tank. 23. Toilets are placed in direct line with the beds so you have no privacy when going to the bathroom and other inmates can see your private parts. 24. Fluorescent lights are left on all day and all night long creating an unhealthy environment. 25. No access to a doctor or Naturopathic Doctor. The doctor only comes on Mondays. 26. No posted menu as they aren’t following it anyways and don’t want any evidence showing the prisoners that. 27. Staff is inattentive to prisoner’s needs and is not doing checks every hour as State of Tennessee rules state. 28. Bunk beds are unsafe with no guard rail on top and top bunk is hard to get to with no ladder or assistance to get up there. 29. Violation of 1400-1-.10 section 8 as there are only two benches that seat 4 people each so almost all prisoners must eat at their bunk bed. 30. Ice chest in cel unsanitary as prisoners dip dirty cups into it. 31. Complete violation of 1400-1-.12 32. No library services, I was told we could donate books and magazines, but jail personnel said all library services had been discontinued because they claimed drugs were being smuggled in books! Well then they should check them. 33. Phone service hours were not posted and there was no privacy. 34. No outdoor light or access to exercise at all. State of Tennessee Rule in Paragraph 2 in .12 35. Complete violation of rules 1400-1-.15 as prisoners are being denied soap, TP, unacceptable footwear, no socks, no comb per paragraph 2 and instead are being told that someone had used it as a weapon so they had to take it away, yet they are being given sodas in plastic bottles that can also be used as weapons and no access to bottled water. 36. Also paragraph 5 says inmates are to have a mattress in good repair. The mattresses are under ½” thick and blankets were torn leaving inmates to freeze to death. 37. Inmates are supposed to have access to a phone. However, you need to have a pin number in order to use the pay phone. CO’s routinely did ...

People are appealing to the courts and not being heard. The Judges and DA's in Smith County Texas are known for not going through all of the procedures of the legal system. Families need for the Federal Government to look into these 50yrs to life sentences and see if the time is merited. My husband received a life sentence for an alleged misdemeanor assault that all the evidence pointed towards his innocence, but yet he was convicted of the crime. We need someone to look at this county's cases that are being appealed, but not being heard. Injustice anywhere is a threat everywhere

Christopher Rossing was brutally beaten and taken against his will on the early morning hours of August 23, after bars closed Friday August 22, 2014 in Howard Lake, MN. His family and volunteers searched for Christopher for nearly two months, and on October 11, 2014, charred human remains were found spread out in a corn field directly across from the accused kidnapper's property. Authorities were notified and a further search of the accused property by the sheriff's office revealed more severely charred human remains and teeth in their fire pit. We the family and the public have significant concerns if persons such as this are able to roam our streets with not one but several prior violent assault charges still open and past domestic assault charges including domestic assault misdemeanor charges on two minors. We want justice in this murder, and are asking our state elected officials to ensure that the Wright County authorities and the BCA to have all available resources and available manpower to help assist in any way possible to ensure that all DNA evidence is processed as submitted as evidence in the case of kidnapping as well as the highest degree of murder charges are brought against this violent repeat offender and the accused co-offender Gwen Butcher so no other person or family can be harmed or victimized by these repeat criminals. We are desperately seeking Justice for Christopher Rossing, who lost his life tragically at just 25 years old. Help us ensure justice in the murder and cover-up of the murder in the case of Christopher Rossing. JUSTICE FOR CHRISTOPHER 2015

From Marjorie Cohn, writing in Truthout: Reading the 499-page torture report just released by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence was a disgusting experience. Even after many years of writing books and articles about the Bush torture policy, I was unprepared for the atrocious pattern of crimes our government committed against other human beings in our name. One of the most hideous techniques the CIA plied on detainees was called "rectal rehydration" or "rectal feeding" without medical necessity - a sanitized description of rape by a foreign object. A concoction of pureed "hummus, pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins" was forced into the rectum of one detainee. Another was subjected to "rectal rehydration" to establish the interrogator's "total control over the detainee." This constitutes illegal, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and a humiliating outrage upon personal dignity. Several detainees were waterboarded, a technique whereby water is poured into the nose and mouth to cause the victim to think he's drowning. One detainee in CIA custody was tortured on the waterboard 183 times; another was waterboarded 83 times. Waterboarding has long been considered torture, which is a war crime. Indeed, the United States hung Japanese military leaders for the war crime of torture after World War II. Other "enhanced interrogation techniques" (EIT) included being slammed into walls, hung from the ceiling, kept in total darkness, deprived of sleep - sometimes with forced standing - for up to seven and one-half days, forced to stand on broken limbs for hours on end, threatened with mock execution, confined in a coffin-like box for 11 days, bathed in ice water, dressed in diapers. One detainee "literally looked like a dog that had been kenneled." The executive summary of the torture report was made public, but the 6,700-page report remains classified. The summary depicts the CIA at best, as keystone cops, at worst, as pathological, lying, sadistic war criminals. The CIA lied repeatedly about the effectiveness of the torture and cruel treatment. Interrogations of detainees were much more brutal than the CIA represented to government officials and the American public. Bush's CIA directors George Tenet, Porter Goss and Michael Hayden should be charged with crimes, along with their minions who carried out the torture. In light of the gruesome revelations in the torture report, it is high time President Barack Obama fulfilled his constitutional duty to enforce the law. The US Constitution states the president "shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed." Yet Obama refuses to sanction prosecutions of those responsible for the torture. When the United States ratified the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Geneva Conventions, we promised to prosecute or extradite those who commit or are complicit in the commission of torture. The report documents torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, all of which violate US and international law. The War Crimes Act punishes torture as a war crime. The Torture Statute (Statute) provides that whoever "outside the United States" commits or attempts to commit torture shall be imprisoned for not more than 20 years "and if death results to any person from conduct prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life." The statute defines torture as an "act intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering upon another person within his custody or physical control." When the United States ratified the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Geneva Conventions, we promised to prosecute or extradite those who commit or are complicit in the commission of torture. A ratified treaty is part of US law under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause. Yet the Obama administration persists in its refusal to bring the culprits to justice.