Martin Grossman and the Death House

It has been one year since Florida’s execution of Martin Grossman.  Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) was a proud coalition partner in the Committee to Save Martin Grossman.  From around the world, thousands of letters, phone calls and petition signings were made beseeching then-Governor Charlie Crist to grant a 60 day reprieve to allow the Clemency Board to consider an application to commute Martin’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The many religious leaders, organizations and concerned individuals who took a brave stand for justice, tempered with mercy, should be proud.  It is not about those on Death Row and what they did…it is about US and what WE do.

Some of our current FADP coalition partners believe there is a place for the Death Penalty.  However, they acknowledge that the Death Penalty, as PRACTICED, falls well below the standards of ANY religious teachings.  As PRACTICED by government bureaucrats and ambitious politicians today, it is an abomination.  It is a practice that must end.

There have been at least 23 exonerations of wrongfully convicted people off Florida’s Death Row and 138 nationally.  It costs many times more money to try to execute someone than simply lock them up – diverting huge resources (an estimated $50 million per year in Florida alone) away from crime prevention, crime solving and crime victim’s families.  The Death Penalty gives too much attention to the perpetrator and not enough to victims and their families. We have maximum security prisons and there is the alternative sentence of life in prison with NO possibility of parole, thereby making prisoner killings unnecessary to protect the public. 

What do those on Death Row in Florida and elsewhere have in common?  Yes, they have been convicted of murder.  But so have many thousands serving life sentences. 

What sets them apart?  Most have some or all of the following in common:  They could not afford a lawyer.  They are severely mentally ill, now or at the time of their crime, or both.  They are intellectually disabled.  They are members of minorities. 

Following Martin Grossman’s execution, then-Gov. Crist signed a Death Warrant for David Johnston to be the next prisoner executed in Florida.  David was indigent, intellectually disabled and diagnosed as severely mentally ill.  Prior to being convicted of murder, David Johnston was sent to the Leesville State School for the Retarded and his IQ tested as low as 57.  Although the U.S. Supreme Court and the state of Florida both prohibit the execution of the “mentally retarded,” prosecutors prevailed and he was sentenced to death.  Before his execution could be carried out, David Johnston died in prison on September 30, 2010.

It was the killing of another Jewish prisoner by the state that put me on the road to abolish the Death Penalty.  Ten years before Martin Grossman was executed, Terry Sims became the first Florida prisoner put to death by lethal injection.  I went to the execution vigil across the street from the prison to find answers as to why we were still killing prisoners, now that there was no chance they could ever be paroled.  A rabbi was leading a group in prayer and spoke to me of the unimaginable irony of choosing a Jew to be the first prisoner killed by lethal injection.  He explained that it was in Hitler’s Germany where this method of execution was first developed and it was used to kill Jews.  We were deeply troubled by the revival of this horrific legacy.  I made a vow to learn more about Florida’s Death Penalty program.  There is a saying, “The more you know about the Death Penalty, the less you like it.”  When I learned more, I stood up and began speaking out for abolition.

There is an abiding concern in most of us to uphold the laws of our state and nation.  Therefore, we must change the law.  Just because something has been legal doesn’t make it right.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We should never forget that everything Adolph Hitler did in Germany was legal.”

No government program should be permitted to forcibly kill captive prisoners.  We must take a stand.  We do not stand alone.  The specter of millions of executed prisoners in human history stands with us and urges us on.  “Qui tacet consentit” (silence implies consent).    Please stand up and speak out.

For it is time.  It is time to close the Death Houses for good.

Mark Elliott

Executive Director

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, FADP
P.O. Box 82943

Tampa, Florida  33612

727-215-9646

mark@fadp.org

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is a coalition of individuals and organizations united to abolish the Death Penalty in Florida.

FADP works to build a strong, diverse, statewide, grassroots movement which:

Opposes executions

Supports reforms aimed at reducing the application of the Death Penalty until it is ultimately abolished

Protects the humanity of all persons impacted by the Death Penalty

Educates Floridians about the Death Penalty

Provides concrete action steps for individuals and groups

Martin Grossman on Death Row with his late mother, Myra. May their memories be a blessing.

Martin Grossman wrote the following powerful and poignant letter to his Aunt Rosol , Hanukkah, 2008. He thought it was his last Hanukkah.  Turns out his feeling of his impending death was only off by one year. Martin was executed on February 16, 2010.

“Dear Tantellaski,                        Chanukkah Night

 Feelin  (drawing of a sad face with tears)

Happy Chanukkah,

May this wacky letter find you all in great spirituality and healthfulness.

Really missin’ my mammalaski…

Thank you… for the unexpected $50.00 gelt,

And the book of cute holiday stamps.

Thank you…. for the love and wishes for Chanukkah.

Be forwarned, the other page enclosed was scribbled

during, shortly after my watching 2 Chanukkah specials on P.B.S. 

Please photocopy and give one to Rhonda for me.  

Maybe she’d want to include it in the documentary?

I’m outta here.

May the lord always be with, bless, love and protect you always.

Love always,

Martin

 I have just been blessed to view two Chanukkah programs on P.B.S.

1) “A Chunukkah Celebration” hosted by the beautiful Fran Drescher.

2) “Lights Celebrate Hanukkah Live Concert 2008”

 The following are some raw emotions during/after my viewing:

Being able to feel such sadness and heartache at one point during

Chanukkah -  or this is the first Chanukkah without my dear mother…

 and quite probably “my very last Chanukkah” due to my situation!

But to also feel such joy/pain, pride/regret, watching all of the beautiful

children and young adults singing the blessings – - 

I am overwhelmed by a wave of emotion,

my heart begins to swell, my throat tighten up,

and all of these damn cold tears stream down my cheeks

instantly I have been reduced to a blubbering mess.

Something so moving, so beautiful,

yet also so very painful and bittersweet

the absolute reality of my loneliness takes hold of me,

for the first time in 24 years I now feel its’ total being!

No one to share the miracle with —

No wife, No girlfriend, No children

No fellowship here in Death Row – i am all alone here amongst 300 + !

No candles to light, No menorah, No Dreidel to spin (the remants of my youth)

No latkes, G-d how i miss the latkes.

Please understand this is how I your brother in Judaism must endure …

I am but an island of Judaism here,

self supporting, self reliant, steadfast in my beliefs, observances.

Lord I long for my own maccabean miracle,

surviving in my existence for over 24 years and counting, quite a feat,

(Insert:  Unable to read this line)

Instantly I have been reduced to a blubbering mess.

Something so moving, so beautiful,

Yet also oh so very painful and bittersweet

The absolute reality of my loneliness takes hold of me,

For the first time in 24 years I now feel its’ total being!

No one to share the miracle with –

No wife, No Girlfriend, No Children,

No fellowship here in Death Row – I am all alone here amongst 300 + !

No latkes, G-d how i miss the latkes.

Please understand this is how i your brother in Judaism must endure …

I am, but an island of Judaism here,

Self supporting, self reliant, steadfast in my beliefs, observances.

Lord I long for my own Maccabean miracle,

Surviving in my existence for over 24 years and counting, quite a feat

G-d willing I might still have more survival aspects to mount.

                                  Martin Edward Grossman #A089742

                                  On Chanukkah Kislev  25.  5769.”

I plan to spend a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family and feast on turkey with all the trimmings. It will be a day mixed with gratitude and also an undercurrent of sadness when I think about the Jewish prisoners I have filmed in the past, the incarcerated Jews I’m currently filming and their family members. I wrote the following two Thanksgivings ago, but it still holds true.(I’ve made a few changes.)

For many of us, Thanksgiving is a holiday of reconnecting with family and coming home. However, there is a segment of our nation’s Jews for whom there will be no Thanksgiving homecoming. Thousands of our nation’s Jews will spend Thanksgiving inside prisons, profoundly isolated and devoid of any genuine human connection. 

Rachel, the sister of Philip, one of the main people in our film, is one of the most remarkable women I’ve ever met. She has a first cousin who was on Death Row and a brother in prison for crimes he committed to support his Oxycontin habit, but she picks up the pieces, is an amazing caretaker as well as an amazing all-round human being.  The family members of Jewish prisoners are off most peoples’ radar screens and the families bear enormous burdens.  But Rachel soldiers on… (No pun intended, as she was a Jewish soldier in Desert Storm, the food drop over Kuwait.)  Here’s what she wrote in Nov. 2008 about being in our film:

“My name is Rae, short for Rachel and I am Rosol’s daughter, Philip’s sister, Myra’s niece and Elijah and Neveah’s godmother and Aunt. I would like to thank Rhonda not only for her interest in our family, but also for her compassion and respect for my family and our story. Both her and Sean are part of our family and we all love them dearly. I must admit in the scheme of this whole project I am probably the biggest “hardass” there is. I not only wondered why make this movie at all, but why glamorize the mistakes made by those who obviously were only thinking of themselves. I am slowly beginning to understand. I do realize that EVERYONE has a story in their own right. My family has gone through more turmoil than most but I want you to realize this is not a family of misfits. G-d does not give you anymore that what you can handle and I believe my family handles much more than average. Our family has also been full of extremly strong women. My bubbie (grandmother) was absolutely the single most strongest woman I ever knew. She held our family together while letting my grandfather believe he did. She raised two daughters, 20 years apart, instilled in us all a very overpowering bond in our religion and connection to our family. Yom Kippur is also a very hard time for me. It is my favorite holiday and hardest in one. I am not a perfect Jew. I can forgive for the most part but I have a very hard time forgetting. My mother has had a hell of a time holding our family together over the years and she has done a remarkable job. Unfortuneately our “family name” is the real victim here. From Martin, From Phil, and the people who really suffer are the innocent, the children. I hope that when you see this film and hear this story that you don’t spend your time feeling sorry for my brother, feeling sorry for my cousin but for the ones caught in the “wake”. My aunt, nephew and niece as well as my mother whose only mistake was unconditional love. My family is not unlike everyone else’s, we just have more to carry.
Thanks, Rhonda “

It’s been a little more than three months since Martin Grossman’s Feb. 16th execution. His last words were “Ahavat Israel,” meaning love of Jews.  Before Martin uttered these words, he recited the Shema, the watchword prayer of the Jewish faith. (Here O Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is one…”)   It’s traditional for a Jew to say the Shema  before he or she dies. How many Jews have uttered these words before they’ve been executed? This is unknown. It’s also unknown how many Jews in the United States  have been executed. I presume the numbers are few.  

Martin had a deep feeling for Judaism. He reconnected with his faith after ten years of virtual isolation in his 6 by 9 death row cell.  “I am an island of Judaism,” he wrote in a letter to his aunt, Rosol, during Hanukkah in 2008, 14 months before he died.

Grief, emptiness, disbelief and depression, pretty much describe my feelings about Martin’s execution over these last few months. If I feel traumatized, it’s almost unimaginable how both Martin’s family and the family of his victim, Peggy Park, feel.  I speak to Martin’s aunt, Rosol, several times a week and I know she feels indescribably horrible. Rosol never turned her back on Martin and wrote to him and visited him on Death Row up until the day he died. I don’t know how Peggy Park’s mother and brother feel. (Her father died.)  Do they feel a sense of justice and closure? Or do they feel empty? Martin’s execution did not bring Peggy Park back. From news accounts, Peggy’s mother and brother had been waiting for over 26 years for Martin to be executed. I personally don’t believe in the death penalty, but if there is going to be a state sanctioned murder of a murderer, it should be swift. 

As a filmmaker, I now have the challenge of documenting Martin’s redemption, (Teshuva), and showing his humanity without sanitizing the tragic murder he committed. It’s now time to get past my grief and move forward.

I didn’t know how much my documentary film meant to Martin until I read letters received by others. Seems like he intrinsinctly knew he had a lot to teach us. Paradoxically and astonishingly,  Martin, a murderer, died a Ba’al Teshuva.  

I’ve been given a monumental task, but I’m up to the challenge. I filmed Martin on Death Row four times, I’ve filmed his family for two years, and I have home movies from his childhood, newspaper articles and photographs. I also had the honor of filming Martin’s funeral and burial. I still need to document the tremendous advocacy efforts to save Martin’s life.  It’s  through my film, that Martin’s voice will be heard. He has a great deal to teach both Jews and non-Jews and the lessons are life-altering and profound.

Dear Friend,

I’m writing to you as one of over 34,000 people that signed the online petition to save Martin Grossman’s life. Another thirty thousand people also signed paper petitions as well. Tens of thousands of others called the Governor’s office and sent faxes and emails. In all, over one thousand people took steps to help save the life of another human being. I personally spent four hours with Martin on the day of his execution and I can tell you that this outpouring of love and warmth from the world Jewish community gave him comfort and strength. Martin passed away as a true Bal Teshuva, he took responsibility for his actions, expressed his most sincere remorse for his behavior and became a very humble and caring human being. Martin had no anxiety or fear of his imminent death because he knew about and felt the love that his brothers and sisters had for him around the world. By signing this petition you fulfilled the greatest Mitzvah in the Torah “To Love your Fellow Jew as yourself”. Martin requested that this show of unity and love amongst Jews from all walks of life should continue and not stop with his death. In fact the last he words he uttered in this world after Shema Yisroel were Ahavat Yisrael (Love of a fellow Jew). Martin’s Death was sad and unfortunate but you can make sure that it was not in vain.

There are four thousand Jewish inmates just in the United States. There are thousands of Jewish inmates in Israel and in other countries around the world. Martin created an awareness in the Jewish community of the plight of Jewish inmates in the penal system. To lift up the spirits of a Jew in prison is fulfilling “Love your fellow Jew as yourself” on the highest level. In one aspect, there is no worse situation that a human being can be in than prison. When one loses his or her freedom it is even worse than being sick because in prison you lose all control of your own life. A person may be in prison for committing a crime and may deserve to be there but we still have to help him or her and show them love and help them to mend their ways and return to society as law abiding and contributing members of society. The Aleph Institute has been working with and assisting Jewish prisoners for close to thirty years all over the United States.

We want to invite you to become a partner with us in this important Mitzvah. Please visit our website www.alephinstitute.org to learn more about what we do and how you can get involved. You may want to start visiting Jewish prisoners or become a pen pal or donate used or new books. How many of you have Jewish books at home that you no longer have any use for? Why should those books go to the garbage or be buried? There are many other ways that you can help and get involved. Some may just want to donate money to help Aleph fund the correspondence courses we offer or the printing of %u200Ethe books we publish and provide free of charge to Jewish prisoners. The one thing we should not do is to do nothing at all.

Thank you again for standing up and making your voice heard. The world needs more people like you who care and are willing to do something about it.

Rabbi Menachem Katz
The Aleph Institute
9540 Collins Ave
Surfside, FL 33154
mmk@alephinstitute.org
Phone: 305-864-5553
Fax: 305-864-5675
www.alephinstitute.org

Click here for more information about Martin and why he should not be executed.

Right now, people are asking for a 60 Day Stay, so a Clemency Petition can be prepared.

Please either call or e-mail Gov. Crist plus the 3 other members of the FL Clemency Board ASAP and tell them that you are opposed to Martin Grossman’s execution and request Gov. Crist and the Clemency Board to grant Martin Grossman a 60 Day Stay.

Gov. Crist’s telephone: 850-488-7146
E-mail: charlie.crist@myflorida.com

Below  I’m pasting 4 separate letters you can just cut and paste and type your name and location, along with the respective e-mail addresses to send the letters.

If you prefer to call, here are the Clemency Board Members telephone numbers: 1) Atty. Gen. McCollum: 850-241-1885;  2) CFO, Alex Sink: 850-413-3100;  3) Agriculture Commissioner Charles Branson: 850-488-3022 (Gen. phone for Office of Exec. Clemency: 850-488-2952) Please remember to call Gov. Crist, see above.

Time is of the essence!

NOTE: If you’re not from FL, please only type your name & leave out your city and state on all letters. Florida – please put your state

SUBJECT LINE OF ALL 4 LETTERS: P LEASE GRANT MARTIN GROSSMAN 60 DAY STAY

1) Letter #1:

Cut and paste the following:

Dear Gov. Crist,

My family and I respectfully request that you grant Martin Grossman a 60-Day Stay, in order for a Clemency Petition to be prepared.

You are a humanitarian and have been an excellent leader and have deftly handled difficult issues. We hope you do the right thing in Mr. Grossman’s case.

Respectfully yours,

Name:

City/State:

e-mail to:  charlie.crist@myflorida.com

cc to:   ClemencyWeb@fpc.state.fl.us

Gov. Crist tel: 850-488-7146

Please cut and paste send the following letters to the other 3 members of the FL Clemency Board.

Clemency Board Members in addition to Gov. Crist are: Atty. Gen. Bill McCollum; Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Commissioner of Agriculture, Charles Branson

SUBJECT LINE: PLEASE GRANT MARTIN GROSSMAN 60 DAY STAY

2) Ltr. # 2, please cut and paste:

Dear Atty. General McCollum,

My family and I respectfully request that you grant Martin Grossman a 60-Day Stay, in order for a Clemency Petition to be prepared.

As Attorney General, we hope you will do the right thing in Mr. Grossman’s case.

Respectfully yours,

Name:

City/State

e-mail above letter to:  info@BillMcCollum.com

Send cc to:  ClemencyWeb@fpc.state.fl.us

Atty. Gen. McCollum tel: 850-241-1885

3) Letter #3:

SUBJECT LINE: PLEASE GRANT MARTIN GROSSMAN 60 DAY STAY

Please cut and paste:

Dear Officer Sink:

My family and I respectfully request that you grant Martin Grossman a 60-Day Stay, in order for a Clemency Petition to be prepared.

As Chief Financial Officer, we hope you will do the right thing in Mr. Grossman’s case.

Respectfully yours,

Name:

City/State

e-mail above letter to:  alex.sink@myfloridacfo.com

send cc to: ClemencyWeb@fpc.state.fl.us

CFO Alex Sink Tel: 850-413-3100

4) Letter 4:

 SUBJECT LINE: PLEASE GRANT MARTIN GROSSMAN 60 DAY STAY

Please cut and paste:

Dear Commissioner Branson,

My family and I respectfully request that you grant Martin Grossman a 60-Day Stay, in order for a Clemency Petition to be prepared.

As Agriculture Commissioner, we hope you will do the right thing in Mr. Grossman’s case.

Respectfully yours,

Name:

City/State

e-mail above letter to: commissioner@doacs.state.fl.us

send cc to: ClemencyWeb@fpc.state.fl.us
Commisstioner Branson Tel: 850-488-3022

Gen. Tel. of Office of Executive Clemency: 850-488-2952

Martin wrote the following powerful and poignant lette to his Aunt Rosol, Hanukkah, 2008.
“Dear Tantellaski,                        Chanukkah Night

                                                   Feelin  (drawing of a sad face with tears)

Happy Chanukkah,

May this wacky letter find you all in great spirituality and healthfulness.

Really missin’ my mammalaski…

Thank you… for the unexpected $50.00 gelt,

And the book of cute holiday stamps.

Thank you…. for the love and wishes for Chanukkah.

Be forwarned, the other page enclosed was scribbled

during, shortly after my watching 2 Chanukkah specials on P.B.S. 

Please photocopy and give one to Rhonda for me.  

Maybe she’d want to include it in the documentary?

I’m outta here.

May the lord always be with, bless, love and protect you always.

Love always,

Martin

 I have just been blessed to view two Chanukkah programs on P.B.S.

1) “A Chunukkah Celebration” hosted by the beautiful Fran Drescher.

2) “Lights Celebrate Hanukkah Live Concert 2008”

 The following are some raw emotions during/after my viewing:

Being able to feel such sadness and heartache at one point during

Chanukkah -  or this is the first Chanukkah without my dear mother…

 and quite probably “my very last Chanukkah” due to my situation!

But to also feel such joy/pain, pride/regret, watching all of the beautiful

children and young adults singing the blessings – - 

I am overwhelmed by a wave of emotion,

my heart begins to swell, my throat tighten up,

and all of these damn cold tears stream down my cheeks

instantly I have been reduced to a blubbering mess.

Something so moving, so beautiful,

yet also so very painful and bittersweet

the absolute reality of my loneliness takes hold of me,

for the first time in 24 years I now feel its’ total being!

No one to share the miracle with —

No wife, No girlfriend, No children

No fellowship here in Death Row – i am all alone here amongst 300 + !

No candles to light, No menorah, No Dreidel to spin (the remants of my youth)

No latkes, g-d how i miss the latkes.

Please understand this is how i your brother in Judaism must endure …

I am but an island of Judaism here,

self supporting, self reliant, steadfast in my beliefs, observances.

Lord I long for my own maccabean miracle,

surviving in my existence for over 24 years and counting, quite a feat,

(Insert:  Unable to read this line)

Instantly I have been reduced to a blubbering mess.

Something so moving, so beautiful,

Yet also oh so very painful and bittersweet

The absolute reality of my loneliness takes hold of me,

For the first time in 24 years I now feel its’ total being!

No one to share the miracle with –

No wife, No Girlfriend, No Children,

No fellowship here in Death Row – I am all alone here amongst 300 + !

No latkes, g-d how i miss the latkes.

Please understand this is how i your brother in Judaism must endure …

I am, but an island of Judaism here,

Self supporting, self reliant, steadfast in my beliefs, observances.

Lord I long for my own maccabean miracle,

Surviving in my existence for over 24 years and counting, quite a feat

g-d willing I might still have more survival aspects to mount.

                                                        Martin Edward Grossman #A089742

                                                            On Chanukkah Kislev  25.  5769.”