democracynow--2020-11-30--The Lame-Duck Executioner: Trump Prepares to Execute Five Prisoners in Closing Days of Presidency

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : “ Lisa ’ s Song ” by Veronica Cinibulk , about Lisa Montgomery , who is facing federal execution on January 12th .
The execution was put off because her lawyers had COVID .
This is Democracy Now !
, Democracynow.org , the Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , as we look further at the unprecedented five federal executions President Trump ’ s Justice Department has scheduled before Inauguration Day .
On December 10th—that ’ s International Human Rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 40-year-old black man named Brandon Bernard .
He was 18 years old when he was allegedly an accomplice to a murder of a young white couple .
During his trial , his attorneys did not make opening statements .
At the penalty stage , they called no witnesses .
Out of the 12 jurors , all but one was white .
Now , five of the jurors say they think Bernard should be not be executed .
A former assistant U.S. attorney who helped secure his death sentence wrote in The Indianapolis Star @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a terrible stain on the nation ’ s honor.
” That ’ s one of the prosecutors who prosecuted him .
On the day after Bernard is set to die , Alfred Bourgeois , another black man , is scheduled to be federally executed December 11th .
As we reported , January 12th , Lisa Montgomery is scheduled to be the first woman executed by the federal government in nearly 70 years .
The Trump administration has rejected her request for a reprieve .
On January 14th , Cory Johnson , another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put to death .
According to Johnson ’ s attorneys , he has an IQ of 69 , which means he is below the standard the Supreme Court used to determine if an execution would be cruel and unusual punishment .
And on January 15th , Martin Luther King Jr. ’ s birthday , the federal government is expected to execute Dustin Higgs , another black man , who was sentenced to die for his role in the murder of three women even though he did not kill them , under the so-called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we continue with sister Helen Prejean , one of the world ’ s most well-known anti death penalty activists .
Sister Helen Prejean , if you can comment on this unprecedented—not in 100 years has a lame-duck administration executed one , let alone five , prisoners in this period .
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN : It just shows when you give absolute power over life and death to government officials , they can really do what they want .
One interesting thing about Grover Cleveland , in the lame-duck time when he executed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Erie , New York and carried out executions , so he had it in his blood .
And then for this to happen , it ’ s just—see , I ’ ve accompanied six people to execution .
It ’ s this absolute power to take a human being who is alive and make these inscrutable decisions all along the way , as I was mentioning earlier .
First of all , to even assume that out of all the murderers , you ’ re going to be able to pinpoint the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by their character—by their very nature , they are evil people—or by what they have done , to determine they are in a special category all their own and you can distinguish them .
And then to believe that you can set up a system of the jury , the trial .
And the basic flaw in all these things is that in trial , you are supposed to have an adversarial way of coming to truth .
So you have prosecutors that present— ” There ’ s forensic evidence .
Here is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are supposed to have defense , that ’ s supposed to be able to say to this jury the side , the whole story of the person who did the crime .
You always have to look at culpability—like Lisa Montgomery , culpability of somebody who is psychotic , who was brutalized and tortured her whole life .
And then to pinpoint the—identifying her by the crime , that she should be killed , it is so flawed .
And the suffering is so great .
And here is the thing .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Man Walking .
And here is why I just wrote River of Fire about waking up to these injustices and then being an active citizen , doing something about it .
All of this is a secret ritual .
The public is not going to be anywhere near and can not be near Lisa Montgomery and what she is suffering now , and what it ’ s going to mean when she is put in an all-male prison .
If we didn ’ t have people like Democracy Now !
, if we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if we didn ’ t have activists and witnesses in there seeing these things , the people would just go , “ Oh , that ’ s a terrible crime .
She deserves to die.
” It is such a superficial thin-souled way of approaching a deeply moral issue .
So you and I , what we ’ re doing now , in bringing the public close to this , and that we ’ ve got to find an alternative—which in fact the people are doing .
We are shutting down the death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 2 % of counties where prosecutors still somewhat go after the death penalty , side-by-side with other prosecutors who never go for it .
Because it is up to the discrepancy of the person to choose death or not .
Take Brandon Bernard .
I ’ ve gotten involved with his case .
And just two times now , I ’ ve been able to be on conference calls with him and with his lawyers , trying to save his life .
He described—this would be like three Fridays ago .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Terre Haute .
He was just 18 when the crime happened .
Has expressed remorse .
Can ’ t even imagine .
He was just a young kid when this crime happened of these people being killed .
And he did play some part in it , but anybody who knows Brandon knows he would never have consented to killing people as what happened .
At his trial , supposedly an expert on future dangerousness , which has widely been debunked now as totally unpredictable .
The jury was told that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He wasn ’ t the leader .
He was a low guy on the totem pole .
So they have an image of him as this mastermind , this leader who gave all the directions for these people being killed .
And let ’ s get back to three or four Fridays ago .
It ’ s a regular day in his life .
He gets along with everybody at the prison .
AMY GOODMAN : We just have 30 seconds , Sister Helen .
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN : Anyway , two guards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t say a word .
He usually jokes with them .
They put handcuffs on him , walk him down the hall where the warden is waiting and says , “ Here is the warrant for your death .
You will be dead by this date.
” And of course he—then his whole life—it ’ s torture .
It ’ s unseen .
We have to get the word out , and to the American people , shut this down .
AMY GOODMAN : Sister Helen , before we go , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who you have worked with over the years , Bill Pelke , the anti death penalty activist who died earlier this month at the age of 73 .
Cofounded the group Journey of Hope , partnered with you to campaign against the death penalty .
On May 14th , ’ 85 , his grandmother Ruth Pelke was murdered by then 15-year-old Paula Cooper .
Paula was later convicted and sentenced to death , making her the youngest person on death row .
Pelke was among those who pleaded for her life to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spoke on Democracy Now !
.
AMY GOODMAN : So that was Bill Pelke , on Democracy Now !
, with you in 2013 .
In fact , he was able to help get Paula Cooper off of death row , although she would ultimately take her own life .
Your final thoughts in this last 20 seconds , Sister Helen Prejean ?
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN : Bill Pelke is one more example of someone who , instead of being dehumanized by violence that happened to his beloved grandmother , took that courage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life .
And he fought for it his whole life , to end the death penalty .
He was the one waiting for Paula Cooper when she was released from prison , and it played such a role .
Because he believed in life , and that all human beings could be redeemed .
AMY GOODMAN : Sister Helen Prejean , I thank you so much for being with us , one of the world ’ s most well-known anti death penalty activists .
And as we end today ’ s show , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Democracy Now !
produced with Renée Feltz , Mike Burke , Deena Guzder , Libby Rainey , Nermeen Shaikh , Maria Taracena , Carla Wills , Tami Woronoff , Charina Nadura , Sam Alcoff , Tey Marie Astudillo , John Hamilton , Robby Karran , Hany Massoud and Adriano Contreras .
Special thanks to Julie Crosby .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
Thanks for joining us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman, as we look further at the unprecedented five federal executions President Trump’s Justice Department has scheduled before Inauguration Day.
On December 10th — that’s International Human Rights Day — the federal government plans to kill a 40-year-old Black man named Brandon Bernard. He was 18 years old when he was allegedly an accomplice to a murder of a young white couple. During his trial, his attorneys did not make opening statements. At the penalty stage, they called no witnesses. Out of the 12 jurors, all but one was white. Now five of the jurors say they think Bernard should be not be executed. A former assistant U.S. attorney who helped secure his death sentence wrote in The Indianapolis Star, quote, “Executing Brandon would be a terrible stain on the nation’s honor.” That’s one of the prosecutors who prosecuted him.
On the day after Bernard is set to die, Alfred Bourgeois, another Black man, is scheduled to be federally executed December 11th. As we reported, January 12th, Lisa Montgomery is scheduled to be the first woman executed by the federal government in nearly 70 years. The Trump administration has rejected her request for a reprieve. On January 14th, Cory Johnson, another Black man, is set to be put to death. According to Johnson’s attorneys, he has an IQ of 69, which means he’s below the standard the Supreme Court used to determine if an execution would be cruel and unusual punishment. And on January 15th, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, the federal government is expected to execute Dustin Higgs, another Black man, who was sentenced to die for his role in the murder of three women even though he did not kill them, under the so-called law of parties theory.
For more, we continue with Sister Helen Prejean, one of the world’s most well-known anti-death-penalty activists.
Sister Helen Prejean, if you can comment on this unprecedented — not in a hundred years has a lame-duck administration executed one, let alone five, prisoners in this period.
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN: It just shows when you give absolute power over life and death to government officials, they can really do what they want. One interesting thing about Grover Cleveland, in the lame-duck time when he executed people — he had once been a sheriff in Erie, New York, and carried out executions, so he had it in his blood.
And then for this to happen, it’s just — see, I’ve accompanied six people to execution. It’s this absolute power to take a human being who’s alive and make these inscrutable decisions all along the way, as I was mentioning earlier — first of all, to even assume that out of all the murderers, you’re going to be able to pinpoint the “worst of the worst,” either by their character — by their very nature, they are evil people — or by what they have done, to determine they are in a special category all their own, and you can distinguish them, and then to believe that you can set up a system of the jury, the trial.
And the basic flaw in all these things is, is that at trial you’re supposed to have an adversarial way of coming to truth. So you have prosecutors that present: “There’s forensic evidence. Here’s the scenario of the crime.” But you’re supposed to have defense, that’s supposed to be able to say to this jury, “Decide the whole story of the person who did the crime.” You always have to look at culpability, like Lisa Montgomery, culpability of someone who’s psychotic, who was brutalized and tortured her whole life, and then to pinpoint the — identifying her by the crime, that she should be killed, it’s so flawed. And the suffering is so great.
And here’s the thing. Here’s why I wrote Dead Man Walking. And here’s why I just wrote River of Fire about waking up to these injustices and then being an active citizen doing something about it. All this is a secret ritual. The public is not going to be anywhere near and cannot be near Lisa Montgomery and what she’s suffering now, what it’s going to mean when she’s put in an all-male prison. If we didn’t have people like Democracy Now!, if we didn’t have the media, if we didn’t have activists and witnesses in there seeing these things, the people would just go, “Oh, that’s a terrible crime. She deserves to die.” It’s such a superficial, thin-souled way of approaching a deeply moral issue.
So, what we, you and I — what we’re doing now in bringing the public close to this, and that we’ve got to find an alternative — which in fact the people are doing. We are shutting down the death penalty in states. We’re down to 2% of counties where prosecutors still somewhat go after the death penalty, side by side with other prosecutors who never go for it, because it’s up to the discrepancy of the person to choose death or not.
Take Brandon Bernard. I’ve gotten involved with his case. And just two times now, I’ve been able to be on conference calls with him and with his lawyers, trying to save his life. And he described — this would be like three Fridays ago. So, he’s grown up on death row in Terre Haute. He was just 18 when the crime happened. Has expressed remorse. Can’t even imagine. He was just a young kid when this crime happened of these people being killed. And he did play some part in it, but anybody who knows Brandon knows he would never have consented to killing people as what happened.
At his trial, supposedly an expert on future dangerousness, which has widely been debunked now as totally unpredictable. The jury was told that he was the leader of a gang. He wasn’t the leader. He was the low guy on the totem pole. So they have an image of him as this mastermind, this leader who gave all the directions for these people being killed. And let’s get back to three or four Fridays ago. It’s a regular day in his life. He gets along with everybody at the prison. Twenty —
AMY GOODMAN: We just have 30 seconds, Sister Helen.
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN: Anyway, two guards come to his door. They don’t say a word. He usually jokes with them. They put handcuffs on him, walk him down the hall where the warden is waiting and says, “Here’s the warrant for your death. You’ll be dead by this date.” And, of course, he — then his whole life — it’s torture. It’s unseen. We have to get the word out, and to the American people: Shut this down.
AMY GOODMAN: Sister Helen, before we go, I wanted to ask you about someone else who you have worked with over the years: Bill Pelke, the anti-death-penalty activist who died earlier this month at the age of 73, co-founded the group Journey of Hope, partnered with you to campaign against the death penalty. On May 14th, ’85, his grandmother Ruth Pelke was murdered by then 15-year-old Paula Cooper. Paula was later convicted and sentenced to death, making her the youngest person on death row. Pelke was among those who pleaded for her life to be spared. In 2013, Bill Pelke spoke on Democracy Now!
BILL PELKE: But I knew immediately — when my heart was touched with that compassion and forgiveness took place, I knew, from that moment on, whenever I would think about my grandmother again, I would no longer picture how she died, but I would picture how she lived, what she stood for, what she believed in, the beautiful, wonderful person she was. And I knew it wasn’t something that happened just so I’d feel good for a period of time, but it was something to be shared with other people.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that was Bill Pelke on Democracy Now!, with you, in 2013. In fact, he was able to help get Paula Cooper off of death row, although she would ultimately take her own life. Your final thoughts in this last 20 seconds, Sister Helen Prejean?
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN: Bill Pelke is one more example of someone who, instead of being dehumanized by violence that happened to his beloved grandmother, took that courage that she had and brought it into life. And he fought for it his whole life, to end the death penalty. He was the one waiting for Paula Cooper when she was released from prison, and it played such a role, because he believed in life and that all human beings could be redeemed.
AMY GOODMAN: Sister Helen Prejean, I thank you so much for being with us, one of the world’s most well-known anti-death-penalty activists.
And as we end today’s show, a very happy birthday to Deena Guzder. Democracy Now! produced with Renée Feltz, Mike Burke, Deena Guzder, Libby Rainey, Nermeen Shaikh, María Taracena, Carla Wills, Tami Woronoff, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton, Robby Karran, Hany Massoud and Adriano Contreras. Special thanks to Julie Crosby. I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks for joining us.


democracynow--2020-11-30--Trump Races to Kill Lisa Montgomery In First Federal Execution of a Woman in Almost 70 Years

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : Sandra Babcock , if you can also respond to the Trump administration quietly attempting to expand the ways they can kill prisoners to poison gas , electrocution and firing squad ?
SANDRA BABCOCK : It is a paroxysm of violence that we are seeing right now .
And one of the things that is so hard to digest is that the people that they are choosing to subject to these methods of execution are not , as Sister Helen just said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are the most broken of the broken .
And Lisa Montgomery is a good example of that .
She is somebody the federal government intends to execute on January 12th .
And she was a victim of incest , of gang rape , of child sex trafficking , of unimaginable violence for her entire life before she committed the crime for which she was sentenced to death .
She is profoundly mentally ill. She began to dissociate when she was a teenager , when her stepfather built her a special room off the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his buddies could go in and rape her .
Her mother sold her to the plumber and to the electrician , told her that she had to earn her keep .
And so she obtained services after these men raped Lisa .
And Lisa was left , from these experiences , as somebody who has the most fragile grip on reality , because she had to escape from her reality in order to survive .
This is the kind of person that William Barr intends to put to death in January .
Why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Montgomery among all of these other people ?
That to me , illustrates the brutality of what we are witnessing right now .
AMY GOODMAN : And this would be the first woman executed in 70 years , the examples of her own life history not brought up at the trial .
Why ?
SANDRA BABCOCK : Well , they weren ’ t brought up because she was represented by a male defense team that had never been trained and didn ’ t know how to interview a woman .
She was left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ floor of her prison cell during one of the interviews , a couple of the interviews that her male lawyer conducted with her .
And so the jury never heard about the scope of her abuse or the impact that it had .
And the prosecutors trivialized it .
They called it the abuse excuse .
This is not an excuse .
Anyone who has been the victim of sexual violence and the kind of sexual torture that Lisa Montgomery endured knows that this is not something that can be trivialized .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it meant that she is somebody who is broken .
She is the most broken of the broken .
She is somebody who has a very difficult time understanding what is real and what is not , because of what she endured .
And so the people who were supposed to defend her did not do their job , and as a result , she is now scheduled to be executed for a crime that no other woman has ever been executed for in this entire country .
We know that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ committed very similar crimes , and prosecutors in those cases recognized that these are crimes that are the product of trauma and mental illness .
But the federal government under Albert Gonzales decided that they were going to seek the death penalty in this case .
She really is unique and she really is not the kind of person the death penalty was intended for .
AMY GOODMAN : Even former prosecutors are saying she should not be put to death .
SANDRA BABCOCK : That ’ s right .
A number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sex crimes prosecutors , people who have tried to put away the criminals who raped Lisa .
And no one ever intervened to help Lisa .
Her sister was taken out of the home , but Lisa was left there .
And that ’ s why— AMY GOODMAN : Let me read the letter sent to President Trump by more than 40 current and former prosecutors , in support of Lisa Montgomery .
They write , quote , “ Our experience prosecuting human traffickers and those who commit sex crimes against children has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ profound physical and psychological harm that victims like Lisa suffer .
In this case , mental health professionals have concluded that the sexual violence and cruelty she suffered was directly related to the crime she committed .
They have also diagnosed Lisa with organic brain damage and serious mental illness that requires her to be heavily medicated at all times .
A history of being victimized is not an 'abuse excuse ' as the jury was told at her trial .
We view this kind of evidence as critically relevant to determining the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Again , that was a letter written by former prosecutors .
SANDRA BABCOCK : That ’ s right .
And there was also a letter from two prosecutors who had prosecuted women for virtually identical crimes , who also said these are crimes that are committed by women who are profoundly mentally ill , and we recognize that , and that is why we did not seek the death penalty in those cases .
So this is a really different case , Amy .
We don ’ t see these kinds of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calling for mercy .
We don ’ t see anti-violence activists , the people who have spent their entire lifetimes combating domestic violence committed against women , child sex trafficking , the kind of people who have spent their lives fighting against child sex traffickers , are coming out , because these are the people who know what damage this does to a child , and to a person who has survived this .
It is lifelong trauma that can not be overcome without the kind of counseling that Lisa Montgomery never received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ill .
Her mental illness is controlled by a complex regimen of antipsychotic medication .
But since she learned of her execution date , her mental health is deteriorating daily .
They took away her underwear after she was told that she had an execution date , which for a trauma survivor of sexual violence , somebody who was a victim of sexual violence , put her over the edge .
She has been told that she is going to be transferred to an all-male prison where she will be executed there .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ room with a man without breaking out into hives , and they intend to transfer her to an all-male prison .
That in itself is torture .
Even setting aside the government ’ s plans to subject people to poison gas , even if you take Lisa Montgomery to an all-male prison to subject her to lethal injection , that is torture .
This woman has been tortured her entire life .
And all that we are asking for is that her sentence be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was sentenced after the killing of , and convicted of , of a 23-year-old eight-month-pregnant woman .
And explain what she did .
SANDRA BABCOCK : She killed Bobbie Jo Stinnett , a woman who was pregnant .
And this came after Lisa herself had been subjected to a coerced sterilization procedure , by her stepbrother , whom she had married at her mother ’ s instigation .
And she was pressured into this sterilization when she was very mentally ill. After that happened , her mental illness became worse and worse until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the grips of this psychosis , she befriended Bobby Jo Stinnett , she killed her , she carved the fetus out of the woman ’ s abdomen and she took it home and pretended that it was her own child , and cared for the baby as if it were her own baby .
This is the kind of crime that is so unbelievably tragic , and nothing that I ’ m saying diminishes that tragedy .
But we have to understand that a crime like this can not be separated from Lisa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mentally ill person who was involuntarily sterilized and who was brutalized for her entire life .
This is not an abuse excuse , as the prosecutors said ; this is an explanation .
This helps us to understand why she did what she did .
And again , we ’ re not asking that she not be punished .
We are saying that this is not the kind of person who should be exterminated from the human race .
AMY GOODMAN : We are going to break and then come back to this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Babcock for joining us , faculty director of the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide .
And we ’ ll continue with Sister Helen Prejean .
We will be looking at the four other executions that are scheduled .
Again , five executions scheduled in the lame-duck period between presidencies .
The last time this happened was over a century ago .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Sandra Babcock, if you can also respond to the Trump administration quietly attempting to expand the ways they can kill prisoners to poison gas, electrocution and firing squad?
SANDRA BABCOCK: You know, it is a paroxysm of violence that we’re seeing right now. And one of the things that is so hard to digest is that the people that they are choosing to subject to these methods of execution are not, as Sister Helen just said, the worst of the worst; they are the most broken of the broken.
And Lisa Montgomery is a good example of that. She is somebody the federal government intends to execute on January 12th. And she was a victim of incest, of gang rape, of child sex trafficking, of unimaginable violence for her entire life, before she committed the crime for which she was sentenced to death. She is profoundly mentally ill. She began to dissociate when she was a teenager, when her stepfather built her a special room off the side of their trailer so he and his buddies could go in and rape her. Her mother sold her to the plumber and to the electrician, told her that she had to earn her keep. And so she obtained services after these men raped Lisa. And Lisa was left, from these experiences, as somebody who has the most fragile grip on reality, because she had to escape from her reality in order to survive.
This is the kind of person that William Barr intends to put to death in January. Why the rush to execute someone like Lisa Montgomery, among all of these other people? That, to me, illustrates the brutality of what we are witnessing right now.
AMY GOODMAN: And this would be the first woman executed in 70 years, the examples of her own life history not brought up at the trial. Why?
SANDRA BABCOCK: Well, they weren’t brought up because she was represented by a male defense team that had never been trained and didn’t know how to interview a woman. She was left curled in a fetal position on the floor of her prison cell during one of the interviews — a couple of the interviews that her male lawyer conducted with her. And so the jury never heard about the scope of her abuse or the impact that it had.
And the prosecutors trivialized it. They called it the “abuse excuse.” This is not an excuse. Anyone who has been the victim of sexual violence and the kind of sexual torture that Lisa Montgomery endured knows that this is not something that can be trivialized. This has lifelong consequences. And for Lisa, it meant that she is somebody who is broken. She is the most broken of the broken. She is somebody who has a very difficult time understanding what is real and what is not, because of what she endured.
And so, the people who were supposed to defend her did not do their job, and as a result, she is now scheduled to be executed at a time — for a crime that no other woman has ever been executed for in this entire country. We know that there are at least 16 women who have committed very similar crimes, and prosecutors in those cases recognized that these are crimes that are the product of trauma and mental illness. But the federal government, under Alberto Gonzales, decided that they were going to seek the death penalty in this case. She really is unique, and she really is not the kind of person the death penalty was intended for.
AMY GOODMAN: Even former prosecutors are saying she should not be put to death.
SANDRA BABCOCK: That’s right. There’s a number of former prosecutors have come forward, former sex crimes prosecutors, people who have tried to put away the criminals who raped Lisa. And no one ever intervened to help Lisa. Her sister was taken out of the home, but Lisa was left there. And that’s why —
AMY GOODMAN: Let me read the letter sent to President Trump by more than 40 current and former prosecutors in support of Lisa Montgomery. They write, quote, “Our experience prosecuting human traffickers and those who commit sex crimes against children has given us a unique understanding of the profound physical and psychological harm that victims like Lisa suffer. In this case, mental health professionals have concluded that the sexual violence and cruelty she suffered was directly related to the crime she committed. They have also diagnosed Lisa with organic brain damage and serious mental illness that requires her to be heavily medicated at all times. A history of being victimized is not an 'abuse excuse' as the jury was told at her trial. We view this kind of evidence as critically relevant to determining the appropriate punishment for a serious crime.” Again, that was a letter written by former prosecutors.
SANDRA BABCOCK: That’s right. And there was also a letter from two prosecutors who had prosecuted women for virtually identical crimes, who also said these are crimes that are committed by women who are profoundly mentally ill, and we recognize that, and that’s why we did not seek the death penalty in those cases. So, this is a really different case, Amy. We don’t see these kinds of people coming out and calling for commutation, calling for mercy. We don’t see anti-violence activists, the people who have spent their entire lifetimes combating domestic violence committed against women, child sex trafficking, the kind of people who have spent their lives fighting against child sex traffickers, are coming out, because these are the people who know what damage this does to a child and to a person who has survived this. It is lifelong trauma that cannot be overcome without the kind of counseling that Lisa Montgomery never received.
And she is now very mentally ill. Her mental illness is controlled by a complex regimen of antipsychotic medication. But since she learned of her execution date, her mental health is deteriorating daily. They took away her underwear after she was told that she had an execution date, which for a trauma survivor of sexual violence, somebody who was a victim of sexual violence, put her over the edge.
She has been told that she’s going to be transferred to an all-male prison, where she will be executed there. She cannot even be in a room with a man without breaking out into hives, and they intend to transfer her to an all-male prison. That in itself is torture. Even setting aside the government’s plans to subject people to poison gas, even if you take Lisa Montgomery to an all-male prison to subject her to lethal injection, that is torture. This woman has been tortured her entire life. And all that we are asking for is that her sentence be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, she was sentenced after the killing of, and convicted of, a 23-year-old eight-month-pregnant woman. And explain what she did.
SANDRA BABCOCK: So, she killed Bobbie Jo Stinnett, a woman who was pregnant. And this came after Lisa herself had been subjected to a coerced sterilization procedure by her stepbrother, whom she had married at her mother’s instigation. And she was pressured into this sterilization when she was very mentally ill. After that happened, her mental illness became worse and worse, until she was completely psychotic. And in the grips of this psychosis, she befriended Bobby Jo Stinnett. She killed her. She carved the fetus out of the woman’s abdomen, and she took it home and pretended that it was her own child, and cared for the fetus — cared for the baby as if it were her own baby.
This is the kind of crime that is so unbelievably tragic, and nothing that I’m saying diminishes that tragedy. But we have to understand that a crime like this cannot be separated from Lisa Montgomery’s experiences as a profoundly mentally ill person who was involuntarily sterilized and who was brutalized for her entire life. This is not an “abuse excuse,” as the prosecutors said; this is an explanation. This helps us to understand why she did what she did. And again, we’re not asking that she not be punished. We are saying that this is not the kind of person who should be exterminated from the human race.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to break and then come back to this discussion. I want to thank Sandra Babcock for joining us, faculty director of the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide. And we’ll continue with Sister Helen Prejean. We’ll be looking at the four other executions that are scheduled. Again, five executions scheduled in the lame-duck period between presidencies. The last time this happened was over a century ago. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Lisa’s Song” by Veronica Cinibulk about Lisa Montgomery, who is facing federal execution on January 12th. The execution was put off because her lawyers had COVID.


democracynow--2020-11-30--Firing Squads, Poison Gas, Electric Chair: Trump Moves to Expand Ways to Kill Prisoners

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, the Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
Death by firing squad , electrocution or poison gas ?
Under a new rule filed by the Trump administration , these methods can now be used to carry out executions for federal death sentences in addition to lethal injection .
The amendment to the Manner of Federal Executions Rule was entered Friday into the Federal Register and goes into effect Christmas Eve .
That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump administration has already executed eight people in the past five months .
Earlier this month , it executed Orlando Hall at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute , Indiana .
Hall was an African American man sentenced to die by an all-white jury .
Prior to this year , the federal government had not executed anyone since 2003 , 17 years ago .
Now , in what critics say is a dramatic deviation from historical practices , five more people are scheduled to be executed during Trump ’ s final weeks in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated , including the first woman in nearly 70 years .
The Death Penalty Information Center reports it has been more than a century since a federal execution was conducted during a lame-duck presidency , in 1889 during the outgoing administration of Grover Cleveland .
The Justice Department has not yet said whether it will try to use any methods other than lethal injection for the three executions it scheduled after the new rules takes effect .
President-elect Joe Biden said during the election campaign he now supports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-authored legislation in 1990 that expanded the federal death penalty .
For more , we are joined by Sister Helen Prejean , one of the world ’ s most well-known anti-death penalty activists , the author of the best-selling book , Dead Man Walking : An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty .
Her most recent book , River of Fire : My Spiritual Journey .
Also with us , Sandra Babcock , faculty director of the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide .
We Welcome you both back to Democracy Now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s begin with you .
This was filed on Friday , that the Trump administration , that the federal government can kill prisoners , expanding it to poison gas , firing squad or electrocution .
Can you respond ?
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN : I think the reason they are doing that is they want to make sure that they can expedite these executions without any court cases about lethal injection .
There have been questions about lethal injection , the drugs that are used .
This is the fault of the Supreme Court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowed states to just experiment widely with drugs to kill people , which has resulted in botched executions .
It may also come from the fact that autopsy reports , 200 of them , of those who have been lethally injected showed that there was a massive amount of fluid in their lungs , which meant they were drowning .
I think it ’ s the callous brute force of the mentality of the Trump administration that he just believes that he can use force and kill people .
He can use violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There is no need for these executions to happen .
To me , it just reveals a fundamental flaw which has been built into the death penalty from the time that the Supreme Court put death back , in 1976 .
And here is the fundamental flaw , and the federal executions that we see now really exemplifies it : there was a weak criteria that only “ the worst of the worst ” should be killed , and nobody really knows what that means .
And so there has been wide latitude @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Or even the assumption that out of all the ordinary murders , whatever that means , there are some who can be targeted as “ but this is the worst of the worst.
” So with a weak criteria , it is coupled with that you give complete discretion to pursue death to the prosecutors .
It is a fact that if prosecutors do not seek death , people don ’ t die from executions .
So here you have now in the jurisdiction of the federal government , Attorney General Barr @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death , and pursuing it .
All he had to do was get a signal from Trump ; we gon na start killin ’ people .
And there has been no way to stop him .
So the fundamental flaw is a weak fuzzy criteria that was never clear in the first place , coupled with discretion of prosecutors .
And it exemplifies exactly why we need to shut the death penalty down .
You can ’ t let frail , politically-driven individuals decide “ you , you and you are going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have in mind .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
Death by firing squad, electrocution or poison gas? Under a new rule filed by the Trump administration, these methods can now be used to carry out executions for federal death sentences, in addition to lethal injection. The amendment to the Manner of Federal Executions rule was entered Friday into the Federal Register, goes into effect Christmas Eve. That’s December 24th.
This comes as the Trump administration has already executed eight people in the past five months. Earlier this month, it executed Orlando Hall at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Hall was an African American man sentenced to die by an all-white jury. Prior to this year, the federal government had not executed anyone since 2003, 17 years ago. Now in what critics say is a dramatic deviation from historical practices, five more people are scheduled to be executed during Trump’s final weeks in office, three of them just days before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated, including the first woman in nearly 70 years.
The Death Penalty Information Center reports it’s been more than a century since a federal execution was conducted during a lame-duck presidency, in 1889, during the outgoing administration of Grover Cleveland. The Justice Department has not yet said whether it will try to use any methods other than lethal injection for the three executions it’s scheduled, after the new rules takes effect.
President-elect Joe Biden said during the election campaign he now supports eliminating the federal death penalty. Biden co-authored legislation in 1990 that expanded the federal death penalty.
For more, we’re joined by Sister Helen Prejean, one of the world’s most well-known anti-death-penalty activists, the author of the best-selling book, Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty. Her most recent book, River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey. Also with us, Sandra Babcock, faculty director of the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide.
We welcome you both back to Democracy Now! Sister Helen Prejean, let’s begin with you. This was filed on Friday, that the Trump administration, that the federal government, can kill prisoners, expanding it to poison gas, firing squad or electrocution. Can you respond?
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN: I think the reason they’re doing that is they want to make sure that they can expedite these executions without any court cases about lethal injection. There have been questions about lethal injection, the drugs that are used. This is the fault of the Supreme Court, by the way, which has allowed states to just experiment widely with drugs to kill people, which has resulted in botched executions. It may also come from the fact that autopsy reports, 200 of them, of those who have been lethally injected show that there was a massive amount of fluid in their lungs, which meant they were drowning. I think it’s the callous brute force of the mentality of the Trump administration that he just believes that he can use force and kill people. He can use violence and force to make his point. There’s no need for these executions to happen.
To me, it just reveals a fundamental flaw which has been built into the death penalty from the time that the Supreme Court put death back, in 1976. And here’s the fundamental flaw, and the federal executions that we see now really exemplifies it: There was a weak criteria that only the worst of the worst should be killed, and nobody really knows what that means. And so there’s been wide latitude in interpreting “worst of the worst,” or even the assumption that out of all the ordinary murders — whatever that means — there are some who can be targeted as “but this is the worst of the worst.”
So, with a weak criteria, it’s coupled with that you give complete discretion to pursue death to the prosecutors. It’s a fact that if prosecutors do not seek death, people don’t die from executions. So, here you have now in the jurisdiction of the federal government, Attorney General Barr, who has the power to seek death, and pursuing it. All he had to do was get a signal from Trump: We’re going to start killing people. And there has been no way to stop him.
So the fundamental flaw is a weak, fuzzy criteria that was never clear in the first place, coupled with discretion of prosecutors. And it exemplifies exactly why we need to shut the death penalty down. You can’t let frail, politically driven individuals decide “You, you and you are going to die,” for whatever political objective they have in mind.


democracynow--2020-11-30--A Trap? Why Assassination of Top Iranian Nuclear Scientist Could Tie Biden's Hands in Future Talks

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, Democracynow.org , the Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
Iran ’ s top nuclear scientist was assassinated while driving on a highway outside of Tehran on Friday .
Iran accused Israel of orchestrating the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh , who reportedly led Iran ’ s nuclear program .
A state funeral was held today in Tehran where photographs of him were displayed next to Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani who was assassinated by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago .
The Iranian defense minister , Amir Hatami , spoke at the funeral .
AMY GOODMAN : Iran ’ s foreign minister , Mohammad Javad Zarif , has described the killing of the top nuclear scientist as an act of state terror .
Conflicting details have emerged about how he died .
Iranian state media initially said gunmen ambushed his car in the countryside .
But now , a top Iranian official says he was killed by an automatic remote-controlled machine gun placed inside an empty vehicle .
Israel has long been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Between 2010 and 2012 , four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated .
Many analysts say Friday ’ s assassination was designed to make it harder for President-elect Joe Biden to rejoin the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran , which President Trump withdrew from in 2018 .
The assassination comes just weeks after Trump privately inquired if he could bomb Iran ’ s main nuclear site prior to leaving office .
Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes .
Earlier this month , international inspectors reported Iran ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the uranium is being enriched at a level suitable for nuclear power plants , not nuclear weapons .
We go now to Negar Mortazavi .
She is an Iranian-American journalist and political analyst , host of The Iran Podcast .
We welcome you to Democracy Now !
Can you start off , Negar , by talking about the significance of this assassination , what ’ s understood at this point and then the fact that Iran is accusing Israel , and Israel has not commented ?
NEGAR MORTAZAVI : Good morning , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , this is not the first nuclear scientist in Iran being assassinated .
Israel has always denied involvement but it ’ s really the only country with both the motivation and the capability to conduct such attacks .
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was a top person in the nuclear and defense infrastructure of Iran .
He was well guarded .
The country knew that he was a target .
Benjamin Netanyahu , Israeli prime minister , had named him two years ago in a presentation .
He said , “ Remember this name .
Mohsen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he would be a potential target for the Israelis .
He was well guarded .
And the fact that this operation was successfully launched .
It was first said that it was an ambush .
Now there ’ s talks of an automatic weapon .
We ’ re still not sure how exactly it unfolded , but it was successful and he is dead now .
It ’ s just a blow to Iran ’ s security system .
And it ’ s also—I believe it ’ s a political move to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violent retaliation and basically pull Iran into a wider military conflict with the United States and then also complicate future negotiations between Tehran and Washington when President-elect Biden enters office .
Which I think this will complicate those future negotiations .
AMY GOODMAN : Can you talk about whether you believe the United States is involved with this , too ?
As I just pointed out , we did report earlier that President Trump had asked his top military officials if they could bomb Natanz , the nuclear site in Iran , before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of complicity—do you feel there was complicity here ?
NEGAR MORTAZAVI : It ’ s hard to say for sure , and we haven ’ t heard any confirmation from Israel or the United States , but it ’ s important to note that there has been some travel back and forth by Mike Pompeo to the region .
He has been meeting with the Israelis , with the Saudis , with the Emiratis .
And this was the same pattern last year , right before the assassination of Iranian Commander Qassem Soleimani @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and forth and meetings between Mike Pompeo and the Trump administration ’ s close allies in the Middle East .
We don ’ t know .
I ’ m not sure if we are ever going to know .
But I wouldn ’ t rule it out that this was at least done with a green light and approval of the Trump administration by the Israelis—the Trump administration , President Trump ’ s orbit , especially someone like Mike Pompeo .
He has been always looking for a military confrontation with Iran or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sites and this is their final weeks in office .
So I wouldn ’ t rule it out if this came at least with a nod or approval from the United States .
AMY GOODMAN : Talk about how Iran is responding inside , across the political spectrum .
And those like Rouhani , who recognize that as Trump comes to the end of his term , and at all levels , domestically and internationally , is trying to reinforce what he has done , whether we are talking about withdrawal from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden from rejoining , to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal .
This is Iranian President Hassan Rouhani , speaking following the assassination .
AMY GOODMAN : And I would like to go back to 2018 when the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called out Fakhrizadeh as the director of Iran ’ s nuclear weapons project and urged people to quote “ remember that name.
” NEGAR MORTAZAVI : Let me first clarify that the weapons-related part of Iran ’ s program , the Amad program , was stopped somewhere around 2003 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ IAEA , even U.S. State Department reports have confirmed that Iran no longer has a weapons-related program .
So this is something that Benjamin Netanyahu alleges but other international entities haven ’ t confirmed it .
But there is a national debate basically ongoing in Iran on—I would say one main argument is that because Iran doesn ’ t retaliate , if Iran does not respond to such an assassination , to Israeli—basically target an Israeli target—this cycle of assassination will continue with impunity .
Because we see how Israel has been carrying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There is another argument , sort of the opposite argument , more of the pro-diplomacy camp , that is recognizing that this might be a trap set by Netanyahu to basically prevent future diplomacy , to pull Iran into a military conflict and that Iranians should be aware and not take the bait .
And this is something I recognize in President Rouhani ’ s statements .
We heard sort of the same line from Javad Zarif .
And that camp , the pro-diplomacy camp , is more expecting condemnation from the international @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very happy from statements that came from the European Union .
They weren ’ t very strong statements .
They expect the international community to call this what it is , an assassination and terrorism , and to condemn it with strong condemnation .
If such condemnations continue to come from the international community , it would strengthen that argument that Iran shouldn ’ t act rash and retaliate in a way that Netanyahu has been trying to provoke Iran .
But there ’ s also talks of harsh revenge , retaliation and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ punishment for the perpetrators of this assassination .
AMY GOODMAN : And which side do you think will prevail within Iran ?
NEGAR MORTAZAVI : I don ’ t think that the retaliation will be that provocative .
The president has said it would be done in a timely manner , so it means that it could—they could drag it .
And if they do drag it , the only silver lining of this event could be that Iran can use this as leverage when the Biden administration comes in , to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ camp can go to the table with Biden and say , “ Look , we ’ ve dragged the hard-liners until now .
We ’ ve stopped them .
We ’ ve contained them .
But you need to make this deal pretty fast before , you know , time runs out.
” Because we have heard from the Biden camp also , people in Joe Biden ’ s orbit , that maybe the sanctions put on by the Trump administration should be used as leverage when negotiations with Iran happen and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Which I don ’ t think is a good idea .
I think the Biden administration should prioritize returning to diplomacy , to the nuclear deal and make it fast and clean , to then continue follow-on negotiations beyond the JCPOA .
AMY GOODMAN : And what about the idea that the IMEU is putting forward , the Institute for Middle East Understanding ?
On December 27th , 2008 , Israel launched Operation Cast Lead , a massive 22-day military assault on the Gaza Strip .
The ferocity of the attack was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between Israelis and Palestinians , killing some 1,400 Palestinians , most of them civilian .
In the aftermath of the offensive , a U.N. appointed fact-finding mission found strong evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both the Israeli military and Palestinian militias .
Investigations by human rights groups such as Amnesty and Human Rights Watch came to the same conclusion .
This also a critical period where you had Barack Obama elected , but he was just about to take office , and a tremendous amount of attention was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this lame-duck period in the United States .
NEGAR MORTAZAVI : I agree .
I think there can be some similarities drawn and some comparisons made .
The case between Iran and Israel is a little bit different because we already have a deal in place with the United States .
Under Barack Obama , when negotiations were still ongoing , when a deal was potentially to be made , Netanyahu tried everything possible to provoke Iran , to prevent negotiations .
He even came here to Washington , made a speech at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nuclear negotiations from succeeding , and he failed .
But right now with the Biden administration , I think the strength of this administration ’ s policy in Iran would be that there is already a deal in place , and the Iranians are still abiding by it to some extent and there are other parties—it was a multilateral deal—who are still in the deal .
So that makes it easier for the incoming administration to rejoin and to basically continue this diplomacy with Iran , and it makes it harder and more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the return to the deal and future diplomacy .
But I think these are ways that Netanyahu has used in the past , to try to provoke , to try to sabotage , and he will probably continue .
I don ’ t think this will be the last one .
There are still seven weeks until the end of the Trump presidency .
And I wouldn ’ t be surprised if we see other events coming up in the next seven weeks .
AMY GOODMAN : And we just have 30 seconds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set of sanctions that President Trump cumulatively has put in place at this point on the people of Iran ?
NEGAR MORTAZAVI : The main and foremost pressure is on the Iranian people .
The civil society is impacted .
Working classes , middle classes .
The ordinary Iranians are the ones who are paying the price for this , the price for real-life necessities—food , medicine .
Some life-saving medicine is rare to find , it ’ s scarce .
So the main pressure has been on the Iranian people .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have—the main casualties will be civilians .
As we saw , when Iran tried to retaliate for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani , they turned around and shot a Ukrainian airliner over Iran .
And any kind of retaliation or military conflict will eventually have—the casualty will be civilians in Iran or across the region .
AMY GOODMAN : And of course this all coming at the time of the pandemic .
Negar Mortazavi , I want to thank you very much for being with us .
Iranian-American journalist and political analyst .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ next , death by firing squad , poison gas or electrocution ?
As the Trump administration races to carry out five more executions before Biden takes office , the Justice Department is trying to expand the number of ways it can kill prisoners .
We will be joined by Sister Helen Prejean .
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Iran’s top nuclear scientist was assassinated while driving on a highway outside of Tehran on Friday. Iran accused Israel of orchestrating the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who reportedly led Iran’s nuclear program. A state funeral was held today in Tehran, where photographs of him were displayed next to Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad 10 months ago. The Iranian defense minister, Amir Hatami, spoke at the funeral.
AMIR HATAMI: [translated] The enemy knows, and I as a soldier tell them, that no crime, no terror and no stupid act will remain unanswered by the Iranian people, and we will severely pursue the criminals. They must know that they will be punished for their actions. … The criminal United States has thousands of nuclear weapons, and the criminal Zionist regime has hundreds of nuclear weapons. What are these weapons for? Are these weapons for use as decor in your home?
AMY GOODMAN: Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, has described the killing of the top nuclear scientist as an act of state terror. Conflicting details have emerged about how he died. Iranian state media initially said gunmen ambushed his car in the countryside. But now a top Iranian official says he was killed by an automatic remote-controlled machine gun placed inside an empty vehicle.
Israel has long been accused of targeting Iranian nuclear scientists. Between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated. Many analysts say Friday’s assassination was designed to make it harder for President-elect Joe Biden to rejoin the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, which President Trump withdrew from in 2018.
The assassination comes just weeks after Trump privately inquired if he could bomb Iran’s main nuclear site prior to leaving office. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Earlier this month, international inspectors reported Iran’s low-enriched uranium stockpile is growing again, but that the uranium is being enriched at a level suitable for nuclear power plants, not nuclear weapons.
We go now to Negar Mortazavi. She’s an Iranian American journalist and political analyst, host of The Iran Podcast.
We welcome you to Democracy Now! Can you start off, Negar, by talking about the significance of this assassination, what’s understood at this point, and then the fact that Iran is accusing Israel, and Israel has not commented?
NEGAR MORTAZAVI: Good morning, Amy. Sure. As you said, this is not the first nuclear scientist in Iran being assassinated. Israel has always denied involvement, but it’s really the only country with both the motivation and the capability to conduct such attacks.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was a top person in the nuclear and defense infrastructure of Iran. He was well guarded. The country knew that he was a target. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, had named him two years ago in a presentation. He said, “Remember this name: Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.” So the security services knew that he would be a potential target for the Israelis. He was well guarded.
And the fact that this operation was successfully launched — it was first said that it was an ambush. Now there’s talks of an automatic weapon. We’re still not sure how exactly it unfolded, but it was successful, and he’s dead now. It’s just a blow to Iran’s security system. And it’s also — I believe it’s a political move to first try to provoke Iran into a violent retaliation and basically pull Iran into a wider military conflict with the United States, and then also complicate future negotiations between Tehran and Washington when President-elect Biden enters office, which I think this will complicate those future negotiations.
AMY GOODMAN: So, can you talk about whether you believe the United States is involved with this, too? As I just pointed out, we did report earlier that President Trump had asked his top military officials if they could bomb Natanz, the nuclear site in Iran, before he leaves office. But what kind of complicity — do you feel there was complicity here?
NEGAR MORTAZAVI: Amy, it’s hard to say for sure, and we haven’t heard any confirmation from Israel or the United States, but it’s important to note that there has been some travel back and forth by Mike Pompeo to the region. He’s been meeting with the Israelis, with the Saudis, with the Emiratis. And this was the same pattern last year, right before the assassination of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. There was also some traveling back and forth and meetings between Mike Pompeo and the Trump administration’s close allies in the Middle East.
We don’t know. I’m not sure if we’re ever going to know. But I wouldn’t rule it out that this was at least done with a green light and approval of the Trump administration by the Israelis. You know, the Trump administration, President Trump’s orbit, especially someone like Mike Pompeo — he’s been always looking for a military confrontation with Iran or a strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, and this is their final weeks in office. So I wouldn’t rule it out, if this came at least with a nod or approval from the United States.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, talk about how Iran is responding inside, across the political spectrum, and those like Rouhani who recognize that as Trump comes to the end of his term and, at all levels, domestically and internationally, is trying to reinforce what he has done, whether we’re talking about withdrawal from the climate accord and try to prevent Joe Biden from rejoining, to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal. This is the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, speaking following the assassination.
PRESIDENT HASSAN ROUHANI: [translated] This brutal and cowardly terror attack showed that our enemies are experiencing weeks of anxiety, weeks when they feel their stress is being reduced and global conditions are changing. … The relevant authorities will respond to this crime in a timely and appropriate manner.
AMY GOODMAN: And I’d like to go back to 2018, when the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called out Fakhrizadeh as the director of Iran’s nuclear weapons project and urged people to, quote, “remember that name.”
PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Iran devised a plan to do two things: first, to preserve the nuclear know-how from Project AMAD, and, second, to further develop its nuclear weapons-related capabilities. That plan came directly from Iran’s top leadership. … A key part of the plan was to form new organizations to continue the work. This is how Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of Project AMAD, put it. Remember that name: Fakhrizadeh.
AMY GOODMAN: Your response, Negar?
NEGAR MORTAZAVI: Well, let me first clarify that the nuclear — or, the weapons-related part of Iran’s program, the AMAD program, was stopped somewhere around 2003, year 2003. And this is — the U.N. watchdog, the IAEA, even U.S. State Department reports have confirmed that Iran no longer has a weapons-related program. So this is something that Benjamin Netanyahu alleges, but other international entities haven’t confirmed it.
But there is a national debate, basically, ongoing in Iran on one — I would say one main argument is that because Iran doesn’t retaliate, if Iran does not respond to such an assassination, to Israeli — basically target Israeli target, this type of assassination will continue with impunity, because we see how Israel has been carrying these out with a sort of impunity.
There’s another argument, sort of the opposite argument, more of the pro-diplomacy camp, that is recognizing that this might be a trap set by Netanyahu to basically prevent future diplomacy, to pull Iran into a military conflict, and that Iranians should be aware and not take the bait. And this is something I recognize in President Rouhani’s statements. We hear sort of the same line from Javad Zarif. And that camp, the pro-diplomacy camp, is more expecting condemnation from the international community. They haven’t been very happy from statements that came from the European Union. They weren’t very strong statements. They expect the international community to call this what it is — an assassination, terrorism — and to condemn it with strong condemnation.
So, that would give — if such condemnations continue to come from the international community, it would strengthen that argument that Iran shouldn’t act rash and retaliate in a way that Netanyahu has been trying to provoke Iran. But there’s also talks of harsh revenge, retaliation and, as the supreme leader also said, punishment for the perpetrators of this assassination.
AMY GOODMAN: And which side do you think will prevail within Iran?
NEGAR MORTAZAVI: I don’t think that the retaliation will be that provocative. The president has said it would be done in a timely manner, so it means that it could — you know, they could drag it. And if they do drag it, the only silver lining of this event could be that Iran can use this as leverage when the Biden administration comes in, to be like, “Look” — the pro-diplomacy camp can go to the table with Biden and say, “Look, we’ve dragged the hard-liners until now. We’ve stopped them. We’ve contained them. But you need to make this deal pretty fast, before, you know, time runs out.”
Because we’ve heard from the Biden camp also, people in Joe Biden’s orbit, that maybe the sanctions put on by the Trump administration should be used as leverage when negotiations with Iran happen and to delay a return to the nuclear deal, which I don’t think is a good idea. I think the Biden administration should prioritize a return to diplomacy, to the nuclear deal, and make it fast and clean, to then continue follow-on negotiations beyond the JCPOA.
AMY GOODMAN: And what about the idea that the IMEU is putting forward, the Institute for Middle East Understanding? On December 27, 2008, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, a massive 22-day military assault on the Gaza Strip. The ferocity of the attack was unprecedented in the more than six-decade-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, killing some 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilian. In the aftermath of the offensive, a U.N.-appointed fact-finding mission found strong evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both the Israeli military and Palestinian militias. Investigations by human rights groups such as Amnesty and Human Rights Watch came to the same conclusion. This also a critical period where you had Barack Obama elected, but he was just about to take office, and a tremendous amount of attention was being paid to that, as in this lame-duck period in the United States.
NEGAR MORTAZAVI: I agree. I think there can be some similarities drawn and some comparisons made. The case between Iran and Israel is a little bit different, because we already have a deal in place with the United States. Under Barack Obama, when negotiations were still ongoing, when a deal was potentially to be made, Netanyahu tried everything possible to provoke Iran, to prevent negotiations. He even came here to Washington, made a speech at the U.S. Congress trying to prevent the nuclear negotiations from succeeding, and he failed.
But right now with the Biden administration, I think the strength of this administration’s policy in Iran would be that there is already a deal in place, and the Iranians are still abiding by it, to some extent, and there are other parties — it was a multilateral deal — who are still in the deal. So that makes it easier for the incoming administration to rejoin and to basically continue this diplomacy with Iran, and it makes it harder and more complicated for Israel to try to sabotage the return to the deal and future diplomacy.
But I think these are ways that Netanyahu has used in the past to try to provoke, to try to sabotage, and he will probably continue. I don’t think this will be the last one. There are still seven weeks 'til the end of the Trump presidency, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see other events coming up in the next seven weeks.
AMY GOODMAN: And we just have 30 seconds, but the effect of the massive set of sanctions that President Trump cumulatively has put in place at this point on the people of Iran?
NEGAR MORTAZAVI: The main and foremost pressure is on the Iranian people. The civil society is impacted, working classes, middle classes. The ordinary Iranians are the ones who are paying the price for this, the price for real-life necessities — food, medicine. Some life-saving medicine is rare to find, is scarce. So, the main pressure has been on the Iranian people. And any kind of military conflict will also have — the main casualties will be civilians. As we saw, when Iran tried to retaliate for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, they turned around and shot a Ukrainian airliner over Iran. And any kind of retaliation or military conflict will eventually have — the casualty will be civilians in Iran or across the region.
AMY GOODMAN: And, of course, this all coming at the time of the pandemic. Negar Mortazavi, I want to thank you very much for being with us, Iranian American journalist and political analyst, host of The Iran Podcast.
Up next, death by firing squad, poison gas or electrocution? As the Trump administration races to carry out five more executions before Biden takes office, the Justice Department is trying to expand the number of ways it can kill prisoners. We’ll be joined by Sister Helen Prejean. Stay with us.


democracynow--2020-11-30--Headlines for November 30, 2020

Headlines for November 30, 2020

COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the United States .
Hospitalizations have topped 90,000 for the first time .
Four million new cases were recorded in November , double the record set in October , bringing the U.S. death toll to 267,000 .
Among the dead are over 100,000 residents and staffers at nursing homes .
In nine states , more than one in a thousand people have died of coronavirus-related causes since March .
Experts are warning the worst is yet to come , and the U.S. could see some 4,000 deaths per day this winter .
Post-Thanksgiving holiday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government ’ s leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci called a “ superimposed ” surge as health officials urge any travelers to get tested and take all necessary precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19 .
In medical news , Biotech company Moderna is applying for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration today — the second vaccine maker after Pfzier and BioNTech to do so .
But as drug companies rush to get coronavirus vaccines approved and on the market , doctors and public health experts warn the distribution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rural parts of the country will be a major challenge , due both to logistical hurdles and mistrust of the medical industry .

COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the United States. Hospitalizations have topped 90,000 for the first time. Four million new cases were recorded in November, double the record set in October, bringing the U.S. death toll to 267,000. Among the dead are over 100,000 residents and staffers at nursing homes. In nine states, more than one in a thousand people have died of coronavirus-related causes since March. Experts are warning the worst is yet to come, and the U.S. could see some 4,000 deaths per day this winter. Post-Thanksgiving holiday travel could also lead to what the government’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, called a “superimposed” surge as health officials urge any travelers to get tested and take all necessary precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19.
In medical news, Biotech company Moderna is applying for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration today — the second vaccine maker after Pfizer and BioNTech to do so. But as drug companies rush to get coronavirus vaccines approved and on the market, doctors and public health experts warn the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine in poorer, rural parts of the country will be a major challenge, due both to logistical hurdles and mistrust of the medical industry.


democracynow--2020-12-01--World AIDS Day Is Grim Reminder of an Ongoing Epidemic, with 700,000 Dead from HIV/AIDS in 2019

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
Today is World AIDS Day .
As the world waits on an effective COVID-19 vaccine and the U.S. sees skyrocketing cases that shatter every world record , we turn now to look at the ongoing AIDS epidemic and how the coronavirus has threatened treatment for those living with HIV .
Around 33 million lives have been lost to AIDS in the past four decades .
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speaking Monday .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , for more , we go to Chicago to speak with Steven Thrasher , professor at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University , author of the forthcoming book , The Viral Underclass : How Racism , Ableism and Capitalism Plague Humans on the Margins .
His new piece is out in Scientific American .
It ’ s headlined “ World AIDS Day Is a Grim Reminder That We Have [ Many Pandemics ] Going On.
” Welcome back to Democracy Now !
, Professor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one pandemic and what today means .
STEVEN THRASHER : Thank you , Amy .
According to the World Health Organization , there are actually about 20 pandemics going on , that include , of course , COVID-19 , Zika and HIV/AIDS .
And HIV/AIDS has continued to kill way too many people .
Almost 700,000 people died last year .
As I write about in my piece , the sort of good news , as good as that kind of devastating news can be , is that it ’ s declined a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk — as the clip was just saying a moment ago , we risk the possibility that that could go back up .
And what ’ s really concerning to me , as the previous two doctors were speaking about vaccination coming out , is that a pharmacological intervention alone is not going to get us out of the death and destruction we ’ re seeing .
There have been various effective medications for HIV for the past quarter of century , and yet tens of millions of people have died since that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the drugs ; it ’ s the conditions around people ’ s lives that lead them to become affected by viruses .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And could you explain that , why , despite the antiretroviral drugs that have come on the scene over these 25 years or so , that rates of AIDS continue to increase ?
STEVEN THRASHER : Yeah .
So , in a word , the problem is capitalism .
The drugs work .
We have to get them to people .
And it ’ s not just a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; it ’ s that the whole conditions of their life have to be life-sustaining and valuable .
So , there ’ s a fantastic paper that I ’ m citing in my piece by Emily Benfer and a number of co-authors in the Journal of Urban Health , and it writes about the connection — they write about the connection between eviction and COVID-19 , that evicting people from their homes is creating an increased amount of COVID-19 transmission .
And something very similar has happened with HIV and AIDS .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affect similar populations because people are subject to the same overall terrible conditions .
So , if somebody doesn ’ t have a home , if somebody is homeless and doesn ’ t have employment , they don ’ t have health insurance , they ’ re not going to be able to get HIV medication .
And HIV meds work .
For the populations that got them , they not only saved the life of the person , they keep them from transmitting the virus onward , and that way , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But certain populations never really got the drugs .
And as I ’ m writing about in my book , according to CDC data , in 2015 , the rate of AIDS for Black America was actually slightly higher than it had ever been for white America before there were any drugs at all .
And that was after there had been drugs around for about 20 years .
So , if we ’ re only depending upon drugs to address a crisis , it ’ s not going to help the people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GONZÁLEZ : And I ’ m wondering if you could extrapolate that , the issue of racial disparities around HIV/AIDS and how they have emerged or continue to develop in terms of the coronavirus , because already , obviously , the coronavirus , from the very beginning , was afflicting African Americans , Latinos , Native Americans at much higher rates than white Americans .
STEVEN THRASHER : Well , certainly .
So , to look at only one variable , that ’ s an easy one to understand what ’ s happening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of who is unhoused in America .
White people are the majority of people in the United States still , and they are a minority of those who are unhoused .
African Americans are only about 13 % of the population and are a majority of the unhoused .
And so , everything that comes along with not having a home — being policed , not having health access , jobs , ending up in the informal economy , where you ’ re more likely to be arrested and sexually assaulted — all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why HIV is more prevalent amongst African Americans .
And if you don ’ t get the drugs , then the virus will concentrate in a certain population .
And now we ’ re seeing something very similar happening with COVID-19 .
People who don ’ t have the structural support that they need for a healthy life , who are not able to work from home , who are not able to live with space — some of it ’ s just kind of mathematics .
If you look at how influenza @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people need , Latinx people , Native Americans , African Americans have less living space .
And when they ’ re more likely to be evicted — which is one of the brilliant things about this paper , is that when people are evicted , sometimes they end up on the street , but usually the first stop is that they end up doubling up with other people , and so the households get even more dense , and there ’ s more COVID transmission likely to be happening .
And that ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Latinx , Black and Native American communities now , is that as they are more likely to be evicted , as they ’ re more likely to lose work in the COVID-19 pandemic , they ’ re living in denser populations , in denser homes , with other people who are more likely to be frontline workers and more likely to be exposed in the service industry and not have jobs where they can work from home .
AMY GOODMAN : I wanted to ask you quickly , before we end , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President-elect Biden has nominated two women of color in key economic positions : Cecilia Rouse , a Princeton labor economist , to chair the Council of Economic Advisers , and Neera Tanden , head of the Center for American Progress , as director of the Office of Management and Budget .
She would be the first woman of color and first South Asian woman in the role .
But many progressives object to her playing a role in the incoming administration , citing CAP ’ s cozy relationship with corporate funders , her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and her hawkish foreign policy positions , also has come under criticism for her support of slashing Social Security .
Can you comment on the nomination of Neera Tanden to head OMB ?
STEVEN THRASHER : Well , I understand why progressives are upset , and I was very upset , because she represents what a lot of us are frustrated with the Democratic Party , that the people that they ’ re responding to are not the majority of Americans .
They ’ re responding to Wall Street .
They ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those are the kind of people that want to keep drugs high , and think that the profit on drugs , for HIV , potentially for COVID-19 , is more important than actually saving people ’ s lives .
And I think that when we ’ re looking at other people of color — I ’ m very honored to be on the show with Dr. Pernell and Dr .
Peek — we have to look at people who have an active commitment to racial justice and ending healthcare disparities .
That does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming into the Cabinet .
And we don ’ t want someone — I don ’ t want someone like Neera Tanden not taking into account that we must keep people from being unhoused .
They have to have healthcare access ; otherwise , how are they going to get access to a vaccination that has to be given over two or three doses over weeks ?
AMY GOODMAN : Finally , 10 seconds .
Do you see Medicare for All as a racial justice solution ?
AMY GOODMAN : Well , Steven @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for being with us , professor at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University , faculty member of Northwestern ’ s Institute of Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing .
We ’ ll link to his piece in Scientific American , just out today , “ World AIDS Day Is a Grim Reminder That We Have [ Many Pandemics ] Going On.
” That does it for our show .
Democracy Now !
produced with Renée Feltz , Mike Burke , Deena Guzder , Libby Rainey , Nermeen Shaikh , María @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Charina Nadura , Sam Alcoff , Tey-Marie Astudillo , John Hamilton , Robby Karran .
Special thanks to Julie Crosby , Becca Staley .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
Stay safe .
Wear a mask .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
Today is World AIDS Day. As the world waits on an effective COVID-19 vaccine and the U.S. sees skyrocketing cases that shatter every world record, we turn now to look at the ongoing AIDS epidemic and how the coronavirus has threatened treatment for those living with HIV. Around 33 million lives have been lost to AIDS in the past four decades. This is the head of the World Health Organization speaking Monday.
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: There is some evidence that people living with HIV may have an increased risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19. This increased risk has been compounded by disruptions to treatment for people living with HIV. In a WHO survey of 127 countries earlier this year, more than a quarter reported partial disruption to antiretroviral treatment for people with HIV.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more, we go to Chicago to speak with Steven Thrasher, professor at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, author of the forthcoming book, The Viral Underclass: How Racism, Ableism and Capitalism Plague Humans on the Margins. His new piece is out in Scientific American. It’s headlined “World AIDS Day Is a Grim Reminder That We Have [Many Pandemics] Going On.”
Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Professor Thrasher. Talk about that more than one pandemic and what today means.
STEVEN THRASHER: Thank you, Amy. According to the World Health Organization, there are actually about 20 pandemics going on, that include, of course, COVID-19, Zika and HIV/AIDS. And HIV/AIDS has continued to kill way too many people. Almost 700,000 people died last year. As I write about in my piece, the sort of good news, as good as that kind of devastating news can be, is that it’s declined a great deal. But we really real risk — as the clip was just saying a moment ago, we risk the possibility that that could go back up.
And what’s really concerning to me, as the previous two doctors were speaking about vaccination coming out, is that a pharmacological intervention alone is not going to get us out of the death and destruction we’re seeing. There have been various effective medications for HIV for the past quarter of century, and yet tens of millions of people have died since that time. The problem is not just the drugs; it’s the conditions around people’s lives that lead them to become affected by viruses.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And could you explain that, why, despite the antiretroviral drugs that have come on the scene over these 25 years or so, that rates of AIDS continue to increase?
STEVEN THRASHER: Yeah. So, in a word, the problem is capitalism. The drugs work. We have to get them to people. And it’s not just a matter of getting the drugs to people; it’s that the whole conditions of their life have to be life-sustaining and valuable.
So, there’s a fantastic paper that I’m citing in my piece by Emily Benfer and a number of co-authors in the Journal of Urban Health, and it writes about the connection — they write about the connection between eviction and COVID-19, that evicting people from their homes is creating an increased amount of COVID-19 transmission. And something very similar has happened with HIV and AIDS. The viruses transmit very differently, but they affect similar populations because people are subject to the same overall terrible conditions.
So, if somebody doesn’t have a home, if somebody is homeless and doesn’t have employment, they don’t have health insurance, they’re not going to be able to get HIV medication. And HIV meds work. For the populations that got them, they not only saved the life of the person, they keep them from transmitting the virus onward, and that way, they sort of act like a vaccination. But certain populations never really got the drugs. And as I’m writing about in my book, according to CDC data, in 2015, the rate of AIDS for Black America was actually slightly higher than it had ever been for white America before there were any drugs at all. And that was after there had been drugs around for about 20 years. So, if we’re only depending upon drugs to address a crisis, it’s not going to help the people who are most at risk.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And I’m wondering if you could extrapolate that, the issue of racial disparities around HIV/AIDS and how they have emerged or continue to develop in terms of the coronavirus, because already, obviously, the coronavirus, from the very beginning, was afflicting African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans at much higher rates than white Americans.
STEVEN THRASHER: Well, certainly. So, to look at only one variable, that’s an easy one to understand what’s happening, is to look at the issue of who is unhoused in America. White people are the majority of people in the United States still, and they are a minority of those who are unhoused. African Americans are only about 13% of the population and are a majority of the unhoused. And so, everything that comes along with not having a home — being policed, not having health access, jobs, ending up in the informal economy, where you’re more likely to be arrested and sexually assaulted — all of that is one of the reasons why HIV is more prevalent amongst African Americans. And if you don’t get the drugs, then the virus will concentrate in a certain population.
And now we’re seeing something very similar happening with COVID-19. People who don’t have the structural support that they need for a healthy life, who are not able to work from home, who are not able to live with space — some of it’s just kind of mathematics. If you look at how influenza moved before and how much square footage people need, Latinx people, Native Americans, African Americans have less living space. And when they’re more likely to be evicted — which is one of the brilliant things about this paper, is that when people are evicted, sometimes they end up on the street, but usually the first stop is that they end up doubling up with other people, and so the households get even more dense, and there’s more COVID transmission likely to be happening. And that’s what we’re really seeing with Latinx, Black and Native American communities now, is that as they are more likely to be evicted, as they’re more likely to lose work in the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re living in denser populations, in denser homes, with other people who are more likely to be frontline workers and more likely to be exposed in the service industry and not have jobs where they can work from home.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you quickly, before we end, about the nomination of Neera Tanden. President-elect Biden has nominated two women of color in key economic positions: Cecilia Rouse, a Princeton labor economist, to chair the Council of Economic Advisers, and Neera Tanden, head of the Center for American Progress, as director of the Office of Management and Budget. She would be the first woman of color and first South Asian woman in the role. But many progressives object to her playing a role in the incoming administration, citing CAP’s cozy relationship with corporate funders, her record of antagonizing and undermining progressive Democrats, and her hawkish foreign policy positions, also has come under criticism for her support of slashing Social Security. Can you comment on the nomination of Neera Tanden to head OMB?
STEVEN THRASHER: Well, I understand why progressives are upset, and I was very upset, because she represents what a lot of us are frustrated with the Democratic Party, that the people that they’re responding to are not the majority of Americans. They’re responding to Wall Street. They’re responding to pharmacological producers. And those are the kind of people that want to keep drugs high, and think that the profit on drugs, for HIV, potentially for COVID-19, is more important than actually saving people’s lives.
And I think that when we’re looking at other people of color — I’m very honored to be on the show with Dr. Pernell and Dr. Peek — we have to look at people who have an active commitment to racial justice and ending healthcare disparities. That does not apply to everyone who’s coming into the Cabinet. And we don’t want someone — I don’t want someone like Neera Tanden not taking into account that we must keep people from being unhoused. They have to have healthcare access; otherwise, how are they going to get access to a vaccination that has to be given over two or three doses over weeks?
AMY GOODMAN: Finally, 10 seconds. Do you see Medicare for All as a racial justice solution?
STEVEN THRASHER: Absolutely.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Steven Thrasher, I want to thank you for being with us, professor at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, faculty member of Northwestern’s Institute of Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing. We’ll link to his piece in Scientific American, just out today, “World AIDS Day Is a Grim Reminder That We Have [Many Pandemics] Going On.”
That does it for our show. Democracy Now! produced with Renée Feltz, Mike Burke, Deena Guzder, Libby Rainey, Nermeen Shaikh, María Taracena, Carla Wills, Tami Woronoff, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton, Robby Karran. Special thanks to Julie Crosby, Becca Staley. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. Stay safe. Wear a mask.