Christopher Emmett, VA, June 13

September 02, 2010 Subject: I wish to appeal to you on behalf of CHRISTOPHER EMMETT, who is due to be executed on June 13, 2007. My sympathies go out to the family and loved ones of Christopher Langley, and I agree this was a very tragic event that cannot go unpunished. However, the death penalty—which only serves to create more victims and perpetuate a cycle of violence—is not the right punishment for CHRISTOPHER EMMETT. Virginia should not execute Emmett for his role in this crime. Executing Emmett would violate the right to life as declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and constitute the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Furthermore, the Supreme Court of Virginia unanimously found that “it is clear that [Emmett's] trial counsel was ineffective” at the penalty phase of his trial. The death penalty must never be carried out when the trial was marred by inadequate legal representation. In addition, this attorney never requested records from Emmett’s childhood mental health counseling, never requested relevant social service documents, and never interviewed six of Emmett’s seven siblings. Consequently, Emmett’s trial attorney failed to present mitigating evidence about Emmett's abusive and neglectful childhood and mental health history, and the jurors who were asked to determine whether the death penalty was appropriate for Emmett were not told the truth about his childhood and background. Thank you for your time and consideration in this important and urgent matter. We will add your signature from the information you provide.		First Name* Last Name* Email* Street* Street 2 City* State/Province* Select a state Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Armed Forces (the) Americas Armed Forces Europe Armed Forces Pacific Alberta British Columbia Manitoba Newfoundland New Brunswick Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon Territory Other Zip/Postal Code* Send an Email