Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20170825

Trump. The first letter of each paragraph of his Resignation Letter spells out the word impeach. About hiseak to resignation, charlottesville, how trends, policy threads the world, andnd how t the massive hurricane is racing toward texas. And to florida when the state has just executed a man despite protests from pharmaceutical giant Johnson Johnson about drugs in theits execution last night. Meanwhile, in missouri, the governor stayed an execution after new dna evidence. Plus, the white house has drafted a memo on implementing President Trumps ban on transgender people serving in the u. S. Military. Seems what the president is saying is that he is going to fire 15,000 highly trainined motivated troopops. It is a catastrophe for military readiness. Amy all that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In texas, tens of thousands of residents began evacuating coastal communities thursday, as forecasters predicted Hurricane Harvey could make landfall late friday as a major category 3 storm, delivering a lifethreatening 35 inches of rain to some parts of the gulf coast. Texas Governor Greg Abbott called out 700 members of the national guard, as several coastal counties ordered mandatory evacuations. Hurricane trackers expect the storms eye to come ashore near the city of corpus christi, where mayor joe mccomb called for a voluntary evacuation. So we are recommending in the strongest terms that if you live in those lowlying areas, that you get out and you begin to get out now. Go to a family member, a friend, somewhere just get to higher ground. We are requesting that you d do that. Again, this is on a voluntary basis. Amy some computer models predict harvey could stall over texas, delivering catastrophic flooding before drifting back over the gulf of mexico towards louisiana. In new orleans, mayor Mitch Landrieu admitted thursday that turbines and pumps needed to drain lowlying parts of the city remain below capapacity, after torrential downpours flooded parts of new orleans earlier this month. Climate scntntists sayay humandriven Global Warming is leading to more intense storms and increasing the maximum intensity of rainfall. In florida, prison officials on ththursday injected a 53yyeard condemned prisoner with a lethal dose of an anesthetic never before used in a u. S. Execution. At 6 10 p. M. , Mark James Asay was strapped to a gurney and administered the drug etomidate. Witnesses say asay twitched his legs briefly and appeared to breathe rapidly before his death was declared at 6 22 p. M. Etomidate was developed by a division of Johnson Johnson, and has been criticized as being unproven in executions. In response, the johnson the company said we do not condone the use of our medicines in lethal injections for Capital Punishment. Mark james asay was the first white man to be put to death in florida for killing a black man in the state reinstituted the Death Penalty in 1979. Well have morere on the Death Penalty and for his execution later in the broadcast. At the white house, press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders said thursday that President Trump would Ask Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell to try again to repeal and replace the Affordable Care act when Congress Returns from its summer recess next month. The comments came as President Trump continued to attack mcconnell on twitter, and amid reports that a phone call between trump and mcconnell earlier this month devolved into a profane shouting match. During thursdays White House Press briefing, the first in three weeks, Huckabee Sanders was also asked about trumps threat to shut down the federal government if congress doesnt pay for an expanded wall on the u. S. Mexico border. On the threat of the Government Shutdown if congress does not secure funding for this wall, how is that not a concession from this white house that mexico isnt actually going to pay for this wall and american taxpayers will . Again, this is something the president is emititted to, committeted to protecting amerin lives and doing that through the border wall is something that is a priority and were moving forward with it. Is nothing the mexico is going to pay for it. Ask he hasnt said there a are not,t, either. Amy meanwhile, immigrant rights advocates say President Trump could soon cancel daca deferred action for childhood arrivals a policy granting Legal Protection to nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants to live and work in the United States. The acting heads of the department of Homeland Security and ice met this week to discuss dacas future, as republican governors from 10 states threatened to sue the trump administraration if it doesnt cancel daca by september 5. Its not clear whether trump and attorney general Jeff Sessions would mount a defense of daca in court and the federal judge who would preside over a court challenge, andrew hanen, previously ruled against president obamas immigration policies. Meanwhile, mcclatchy reported this week that top trump advisors, including general john kelly, Jared Kushner, and ivanka trump, are pushing a deal that would preserve daca in exchange for legislation that pays for a border wall and more detention facilities, curbs legal immigration, and implements the everify program to check immigration statuses. In response, Lorella Praeli of the American Civil Liberties union, said we have 800,000 examples of why daca strengthens america and why this program should stay in place. Daca is successful, popular, and constitutional, and should stay on the books until Congress Passes a clean legislative solution to address dreamers status. A coalition of u. S. Rabbis has canceled its annual president ial Conference Call ahead of the jewish high holy days, protesting President Trumps response to a march of White Supremacists and neonazis in charlottesville earlier this month. In a joint statement, four rabbinical organizations took exception to trumps claim that both sides were to blame for deadly violence and that there were very fine people among the White Supremacists. The rabbis wrote the president s words have given succor to those who advocate antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia. Responsibility for the violence that occurred in charlottesville, including the death of heather heyer, does not lie with many sides but with one side the nazis, altright and White Supremacists who brought their hate to a peaceful community. In st. Louis, police have arrested a man accused of driving his s car into a g grouf protesters as theyey marched too honor r an afrfrican american tranansgender womaman who was kd by a s st. Louis pololice ofoff. Police charged 59yearold mark colao with a felony count of resisting arrest and two misdemeanor charges of leaving the scenene of an accicident and opoperating a vehicle in a careless manner. Surveillance video of the incidedent shows a car drivi slowly through a crowd of demonstrators in an intersection, stopngng for veral l sends before accelerating at hihi speed through ththe intersectition and turning left at least thrhree people wewere injujured in the i inciden whihh cameme just weeks s after antirt prprotester heatather heyeyer ws struck and killed by a neonazi terrorisist in chaharlottesvill. Meanwhilile, republican operatie and trump associate roger stone said thursday that lawmakers attempting to impeach President Trump would be met with armed insurrection. Stone was speaking with the Celebrity News service tmz. Try to impeach him. Just try it. You will have a spasm of violence in this country, insurrection like you never seen. Both sides are heavily armed, my friend, absolutely. Amy some Democratic Congress members have introduced, or plan to introduce, articles of impeachment against trump; they include brad sherman of california, al green of texas , and steve cohen of tennessee. Interior secretary ryan zinke on thursday recommended shrinking the size of several national monuments, while leaving open the prospect of allowing drilling, mining and other industries in the protected sites. The Trump Administration has yet to release details of the plans, which could affect up to 27 national monuments. Sesecretary zinke said o only hs rerecommending changes t to a handful of sites. In a statement, the center for biological diversity said trump and zinke are hiding the report so they dont have to face public backlash for trying to sell out americas public lands to fossil fuel development and logging. Theyre asking g for a court battle. And theyll g get one. Meanwhwhile, in brazil, presidet michel temer has abolished a vast reserve of tropical rain forest in what conservationists are calling the attack on the amazon of the last 50 years. The move ends prototections forr the rerenca reservrve, a swath f rainforest thehe size of d denm, and papaves the way for roadbuilding, mining and logging. In israel and the occupied palestinian territories, President Trumps sonininlaw d Senior Adviser jared kushnhn met thurursday with isisraeli prprie minister Benjamin Netanyahu and palestinian auththority presidet mahmhmoud abbas,s, in what the p administraration billed as an attempt to restart the u. S. Bkekered peacace talks. Kushnener is a 36yearold reall estatate magnanate whos assumea major diplomatic role in the Trump Administration despite having no previous diplomatic exexperience. Kushners visit came as israelei authorities demolished a school in thehe west bank villalage of jubbet addib, forcing about 80 palestinian children to begin the school year in cramped tents or under the hot sun. Israeli authorities said the schools six newly installed cabins, which were donated by the european union, had been buililt without t proper permit. The United Nations called thursdayay for a pause in fightg around the syrian city of raqqa, where u. S. Led coalition attacks have killed hundreds of civilians held hostage by isis fighters. The u. N. s humanitarian adviser for syria jan egeland said an estimated 20,000 civilians are trapped in dire circumstances. The civilian casualties are large. Realhere seems to be no escape for these civilians. I cannot think of a worse place on earth right now than in these five neighborhoods and for these 20,000 people. Amy in bahrain, human Rights Groups are calling for the release of jailed political activist ebtisam alsaegh, saying shes been beaten and sexually assaulted since her arrest on trumpedup terrorism charges last may. Amnesty international has called her a prominent human rights advocate whose only crime is speaking out against abuses in bahrain. The gulf nation is a close u. S. Ally, home to the navys fifth flfleet. And in peru, police fired tear gas and Water Cannons to break up a protest by hundreds of striking teachers near the National Congress in lima thursday. The teachers have been on strike for more than two months, demanding salary increases, better working conditions, and the repeal of an education reform law that limits the rights of teachers. This is sonia arqueno, one of the strikers. We are teachers who want to be truly recognize for what we are. In us of being trampled on like this. Look at this teacher here. Enough. Enough. Amy and those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy y goodman. The science envoy for the u. S. State department dan kammen hass resigned in protest of President Trumps refusal to quickly condemn the deadly white supremacist violence in charlottesville, virginia, earlier this month. In his Resignation Letter, kammen writes your presence in the white house harms the United States domestically and abroad and threatens life on this planet. The first letter of each paragraph of his Resignation Letter spells out the word impeach. This is nowresigned science envoy dan kammen speaking to democracy now during the 2016 Climate Change summit in marrrrakesh, morocco, just after President Trump was elected. To be a climate denier in 2016 is to simply ignore science. A businessman is supposed to be flexible and thoughtful about opportunity. Clean energy is an economic boom equity aroundom the planet. To turn your back on that is to put ideology over simple good, Clean Energy Business and clean energy jobs. San for more, we go to francisco, where we are joined by daniel kammen. He just resigned as science envoy for the state department. Hes a prorofessor of energy at university of california berkeley. Daniel kammen, welcome to democracy now talk about why at thihis point u have decided to resign as science envoy for the state department. Me back you for having on. My decision was really a culmination will stop i was initially at first very concerned when the president pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord. I did want to give a chance to if the statement he made he wanted to engage with the process and see if there was a better deal for the United States. Although, i think the deal was very well done as is. We designed quite a bit of it. At the larger feature was that i never saw that reengagement to discuss the deal in detail. And as we moved further into this presidency, we assume events in charlottesville, that clearly were a big step away from positive engagement, finding opportunities to diffuse hatred, and those features are sadly, in my view, very consistent with this stepping away from the International Partnerships in the Paris Climate Accord. Those events, the speech the president gave in arizona, or too much of a pattern, in my view, of not looking for opportunities to build these partnerships, to recognize the opportunities of clean jobs, of equity, and chances to move away from divisiveness. And that is why i did not feel i could fulfill the position of science envoy, focused on energy and climate in africa and the middle east, under this administration. Amy how do you see charlottesville connected to the issues well, youre in the state department or you were, as science envoy . I think there closely connected. The goal is diplomacy, building bridges, funding opportunities to identify points of tension. And rise above, whether that is through additional mediation, whether that is refining the challenges of both sides are facing, but i think what was over the president s comments after charlottesville was in fact fanning the flames, if you will come of that divisiveness. Of not calling out the altright and neonazis for what they were in trying to spread the blame around when it was very clearly how this particular event was exacerbated. And that pattern is very much like not taking the Paris Climate Accord and sing it is a way to build bridges overseas, whether theyre on the political levels of negotiations or whether their businesstobusiness interactions. And that is what really connects these types of events, in my view. Amy you join a number of people and organizations that are quitting. The entire president s committee on the arts and humanities becoming the week, first entire president ial committee to resign in protest. In their Resignation Letter, the artists spoke out against trumps failure to quickly condemn the deadly white supremacist violence in charlottesville, writing the administrations refusal to quickly and unequivocally condemn the cancer of hatred only further emboldens those who wish america ill. They also called on trump to step down. The first letter of each paragraph of their letter spells out the word resist. And then there is the trump advisory council. President trump grew increasingly isollated when, well, he says he disbanded a pair of Business Advisory councils as more ceos exited the groups in protest of trumps failure to condemn white nationalists. And Campbell Soup became the latest to resign, trump tweeted rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of thee Manufacturing Council strategy policy forum, i am endining bothth. Thank you all the story behind the scenes is embers of the Council Called Jared Kushner at the white house to say they were going to resign en masse. In a was at that point when he was notified, the soninlaw and Senior Advisor to President Trump, that trump tweeted out he was banning the two councils. Kammen, are you that are weighing this right now . Ive not heard of others that are considering it, but i do think the ones you highlighted speak for themselves. It is a diverse range of issues from the role of science to business leaderships actually appointed by the white house to the events of the arts council. It was the arts Council Statement that inspired me to construct mine in the way that i did. I thought they eloquently and very clearly laid down the line that we expect a level of behavior from the white house that looks for opportunities to build bridges, not to divide. And that is really what charlottesville brought into clarity for many of us. Amy can you talk about your letter and the fact the first letter of each of the paragraphs , your Resignation Letter, spells out the word impeach . Absolutely. I write that as a private citizen. In my view, the goal of the white house is really to build opportunities, to build bridges, and when youre not doing that, when you are, in my view, harming the status of the United States internationally in terms of the Paris Climate Accord which was very large success, success the u. S. Played a big role in bringing nations together. And the events were seeing in virginia. These are, to my mind, statements that do speak to a leadership which is not putting the u. S. In the right light or moving in the right direction. And that is why i made the statement that i did. Amy so if we can talk to you, you are the now resigned science envoy of the state department, but if we can talk to you about what is happening right now in texas. Tens of thousands of residents began evacuating coastal communities as forecasters predict that Hurricane Harvey could make landfall late friday as a major category 3 storm, delivering a lifethreatening 35 inches of rain to some parts of the gulf coast. Can you talk about this hurricane, what we are seeing, and whether do think it is related to Climate Change and Global Warming . This is an area where the science is still building. We certainly have seen a number come on thegists detection of Climate Change side. There is a building awareness of the degree to which, change makes these types of tropical whether that severe, is more frequent or whether that is strononger as an area that is still under research, but it is clear that events like this drougughts. Ldfires, these arare all what we expect o climate globally warmed changed world. From my perspective, these are all economic and human and agricultural, and environmental costs. When we talk about not stepping up to the plate and acting based on scientific knowledge to reduce our Global Warming footprint, to reduce the amount of pollution so we can limit the effects of Climate Change, these are all huge Economic Cost for us versus the planet that we are paying. We are paying them already. That is the sad part of the story, to me. We have a very clear global consensus that we need to reduce our emissions to get under the socalled two degree target. That is about an 80 reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2050. And every day we delay and every bit of our economy that isnt looking to find opportuninitieso meetet those targets but a alsoo build more jobs we have already seen from this job growth in the clean sector. These are lost opportunities. That will bets paying for into the future. Amy i want to ask about the Paris Climate Accord. Marrakesh,u in morocco, the year after the Paris Climate Accord. It was in november. It was just after President Trump was elected. A little while later was he became president , trump announced he would witithdrawal the u. S. From the landmark Paris Climate Accord that was signed by nearly 200 nations in 2015. This is what he said. Pres. Trump p as of today, the unitited states wilill cease a l implementation of the nonbinding pairs a accord paris accorn the jerk tony a and economic burdens the agreement imposes on ourr country. This includes ending the implementation of the nationally determrmined conontribution ande very importantlyly, the Green Climate fund which is costing fortuneed states a vast. Amy t that was President Trump announcing that the u. S. Will pull out of the Paris Climate Accord. Dan kammen, the significance of this now . There are a couple of levels. One is that we is seen very clearly that investments in clean energy, and being more efficient with water in a culture, and finding ways to clean our cities are all things that actually pay us back. In fact, there is study after study indicating the job benefits of investing in the Green Economy is really very large. We have seen that domestically and in other countries. So to step away from the Paris Climate Accord was disappointing on an environmental levels, but also on a fundamental economic level. This is the economy of the future. The u. S. Has invested a great deal in Energy Research over the years. And to step away now when it is paying off is economic folly as well as environmentally andedibly dangerous disappointing to see. Amy you were in the state department, right . The secretary of a is rex t tillerson, the former ceo of exxonmobil. What has been going on in the state Department Around Climate Change . You are the science envoy. You are one person. But what is happening . What is his position, does it matter, given President Trumps position . And it academia, have you seen signs and climate grants cut . Just to walk through those come in the state department, smallis a very, very team. There is a robust team under the last several president s working on aspects of this. Under this president , the offices, that deal directly on fornegotiations that look these business opportunities, these leadership opportunities, is essentially nonexistent. There is very little work going on. The spite the fact secretary tillerson has made quite positive comment about this process before becoming secretary of state. He said previously a price on carbon would be a good thing, which is essentially universally agreed on in not only the research community, but the Business Community in the United States, asia, and d europe. And in the academic rea, we have not y yet seen clear budget cuts in this area because we are largely living on the budgets right now that came out under president obama. But we have all heard statements cuts potentially draconian at the state permit, department of energy and the epa that are on the 30 , 40 range according to the news. These are all not just big cuts, but they are cuts that would take place right when we see these investments really paying off at the federal and state level. I want to ask you about one of our headlines today brazil. The president michel temer abolishing a vast reserve of tropical rain forest in what conservationists are calling the biggest attack on amazon of the last 50 years, a move ending protections for the rank and reserve, a swath of rarain foret the size of denmark, paving the way for road building, mining, and logging. Talk also about what this could mean, dan kammen. One, brazil previous to this had actually been reducing the rate of the forest in the amazon. That got a number of accolades and had seen their efforts to cut into deforestation, if you will. In the exactp opposite direction. You can argue when the International Community is moving toward investing in sustainability, and greater protection for indigenous minority communities, that that direction was really working well. What youre seeing in brazil and in the u. S. Is really a weakening or rejection or an toock on this approach sustainability that works across sectors will stop and as we seeing, makes our economy more resilient and more inclusive. The brazil story is a seven reversal sad reversal. Amy w will be Trump Administration, as far as you know, it is now august, the u. N. Summit will be in november, will be Trump Administration be sending a delegation . We dont know yet. Were suddenly working at the level of researchers, both in universities across the country, in the business sector. There will be people who are planning to go. Many will be planning to go as government representatives as they have done in the past. We will find out. The other feature is we are seeing what i would regard as the paris deal from below. Governor brown in california is the cochair of the under 2 memoranda of understanding, the under 2 accords, which are commitmenent at this the state and city levels around the world. I worked with many areas that are all taking this on. This under 2 now constitutes about 40 of the global economy. 300 minas appellllees worldwide. Governor brown in california and in germany are the cochairs. What youre seeing is reaction and response to double down and demonstrate resolve at the levels that are actionable today. Thatat puts many of these same people back into the process, but it would be so much more economically beneficial for the United States to take this on as an overall mission. It is what the science is telling us and has told us, and acting on good science is what i believe it mind leaders should do. Amy are you it encouraging other members of the Trump Administration to quit as you have . I think that is a personal decision based on your own position and your own effectiveness stop i certainly think for me it was the right statement. If an office is not moving and a positive direction, i think you have to take a hard look. Can you do more work outside the systemem . I personally very much value federal service. I would dearly love to go back to federal service under this or the next administratioion that takes this on as an opportunity for the United States, not as an opportunity to bury ones head in the sand. I think individuals should look at her own relationship with this in within us a administration and decide for themselves. Amy dan kammen, thank for being with us, just resigned as science envoy for the state department. Hes a professor of energy at university of california berkeley. We will link to your Resignation Letter, the first letter of each aircraft spelling out the word impeach. When we come back, we will look at the Death Penalty in floloria and in missouri. Stay with us. [music break] amy down and out by ema. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. If you want to sign up for our daily jive just for news headlines, news alerts, text 66866. Acynow to we turn now to look at what to place in florida last night. On thursday evening, the state of florida executed a 53yearold man convicted of killing two men in 1987 by lethal injection. According to officials, Mark James Asay was pronounced dead at 6 22 p. M. The execution protocol, which began at 6 10 p. M. , included a drug never before used in a u. S. Execution. The anesthetic drug etomidate was developed by a division of Johnson Johnson and has been criticized as being unproven in an execution. In response, the Johnson Johnson Division Said we do not condone the use of our medicines in lethal injections for Capital Punishment. Etomidate replaced midazolam, which has been used in multiple botched executions. Johnhnson johnson jojoined a chorus of Drug Companies that have taken steps to prevent their medicines from being used in u. S. Executions. After european pharmaceutical Companies Began refusing to sell drugs to be used in executions, many states turned to untested drug combinations and drugs sourced through unconventional means. The controversial lethal injection formulas used may have subjected at least one prisoner to an excruciating death equivalent to drowning. Mark james asay was the first white man to be put to death in florida for killing a black man since florida reinstituted the Death Penalty in 1979. Executions in florida were put on hold after the Supreme Court ruled that the old system was unconstitutional because it gave judges, not juries, the power to decide. Since then, floridas Legislature Passed a law requiring a unanimous jury for Death Penalty recommendations. Jurors recommended asay for the Death Penalty by a vote of 93. Florida ruled the Supreme Courts ruling did not apply to older cases. Asay was the 24th inmate executed under Florida Governor rick scott, the most under any Florida Governor. Well, for more, we go to london , england, where we are joinened by maya foa, director of the International Legal charity reprieve. Welcome to democracy now can you tatalk about this execution and what drugs were used . Yes. This was the First Time Ever that that particular cocktail of drugs, etomidate was a prolific agent, and acetate, have been used in an execution anywhere in the world. It was chosen amid really vocal concerns by numerous pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, health care professionals, people across the spectrum, including last week, Johnson Johnson company which developed, designed etomidate in the first place. They felt the need to speak out and say, we did not make it for this purpose. This is an inappropriate use. Experts have said this is the risk is protocol theyve ever seen. So the first execution took place rest last night. We dont know how it went. One of the problems with it is soso much of the design, whether it be the cocktail they use in the 1970s or the cocktail theyre now turning to, the design contains the paralytic agent which is there purely for cosmetic purpose, purely so that we, the spectators, anyonee watching the execution trying to establish what is really going on, are unable to see whether there has been pain. The inmate is paralyzed. Their voluntary muscles are paralyzed. They cannot shout out, as we fear, happens a lot. The drug does not anesthetize the prisoner. He or she is awake. They are strapped to the gurney as a third drug, a powerful drug that the Supreme Court said is unconstitutional use if the inmate were not properly anesthetized, is administered. Said itsonia sotomayor is like being burned alive at the stake from the inside. Amy you have been deeply involved now with trying to get particularly European Companies to tell the United States they will not allow their drugs to be used to execute people. Explain the approach you have taken, how you have really led to the shortage of execution drugs in america. What is interesting about the lethal injection is manufacturers have never wanted their medicines used in executions. That should not be a surprise to anyone. These Companies Make drugs to save and improve the lives and health of patients. What happened in 2010 when states began to run out of a particular drug, they moved over they started to buy drugs from a driving school in london. At that stage, i started to look into the supply chain and realized very quickly that the legitimate manufacturers who are making these product do not want them used to kill prisoners. Not just to kill prisoners, but sometimes to torture the lives of prisoners. What ive done working with companies now over 30 global manufacturers, is more together with them to help them protect their medicines from this lethal misuse. You imagine you are a company who makes medicine that is designed to advance wellness, to improve lives, to save lives, and you have states who are diverting or product against your will and youve said many, many times, this has been going on for decades and i have said you dont want your drugs used for this purpose. They divert the drugs. They use them to sometimes torture and kill prisoners. And that is not only bad for you in terms of commercial terms, you risk legal liability and it is fundamentally opposite to what you have spent your entire doctors,entists, working to make products to save lives. So i have helped scores of Companies Design distribution controls that enable them to direct where the drugs go so they go to legitimate medical users of the drugs hospitals, acute care facilities. S. And they arere not diverted to prisons who use those medicines to torture a and kill prisoners. Amy so talk about some of those companies. Effects. Le lend it is a company that makes made pentobarbital. They were deeply opposed to the use of their medicines in executions. This was around 2011 when states started to move to pentobarbital because there was a shortage of domestic shortage of it. Eck said from the outset we dont want our drugs used in executions. Been designed and implemented distribution controls to prevent their drugs from being used to kill prisoners in texas, missouri, and elsewhere. They w were aware that this drug pentobarbital, again, and experiment in drug, had not been used in executions before, the culmination, the way in which it was being used in certain states, you would not have even been allowed to do that to an animal. These,orbidden to use nation of drugs commendation of drugs to euthanize animals. At the state was saying this was the appropriate way to end the lives of prisoners on death row. Lundbeck put this in in 2011. The supply was used for a few years until the drugs expired. The drugs expired from all of them, enjoying 13. Because the controls of an effective, states have not enabled a get pentobarbital anymore and that is why we started to see the changes to new protocols. Our concern is that these new protocols are not better or safer or more efficacious from more pleasing to t the industry than any of the other protocols. Really what we should be seeing is state agencies heating the increasingly vocal and numerous calls and aggressive calls from the industry saying we dont want these medicines used in this way and they should be respecting the interest of business and they should be moving away from this lethal misuse a medicines. Amy i want to talk about another Death Penalty case eaearlier thisis week. The missouri governor issued a lastminute stay of execution for deathrow prisoner Marcellus Williams only hours before he was slated to be put to death tuesday night. The stay of execution came after dna found on the murder weapon did not match williams, but instead matctched another man. Williams, who is african american, was convicted in 2001 of killing a former st. Louis postdispatch reporter lisha gayle, who is white, during a robbery. He was convicted by 11 white jurors and one black juror, after ththe prosecution was allowed to preememptively strike out other prospective black six jurors. Williams has always maintatained his innocence. Amnesty international and other grgroups are now urging missouri governor Eric Greitens to grant Marcellus Williams clemency. For more, were going to kansas city, missouri, where were joined by kent gipson, a criminal defense attorney who has been repreresenting marcells williams for the past 12 years. Kent gipson, welcome to democracy now talk about what happened this week and the dna evidencnce that was finalally allowed to be used marcellus here in case in the stay of execution. Thank you for having me. I have been representing marcellas for about 12 years now. We have been trying to get new dna testing during that entire time. Finally in 2015, we succeeded in doing that. And through the new technique called touch dna, dna profile was developed on the knife handle. It was an unknown male, but it did not match Marcellus Williams d dna. Jail for,s been in what, 17 years a about . How come this just came out on the day that he was going to be executed . Well, we had the results and we tried to get a stay from the missouri Supreme Court, who summarily denied it. So we could get a court hearing. We have never got a court a trial judge or any other judge evaluate whether the dna is sufficiently exonerating towards a new trial. Two war it a new trial. When they had a stay of execution and appointed a board of inquiry to review the facts and make a recommendation to him as to what he ought to do as far as either commuting the sentence or he could go so far as to pardon him or at the very least, order a new trial. Amy so can you talk about the massive social Media Campaign that was waged to encourage the governor to give Marcellas Williams a stay of execution . Yes. Our new governor is a younger has changed the way thee governorrs office operat. He very rarely speaks to the press. He is like donald trump in some ways. He communicates with the public through instagram and twitter and things like that. So we enlisted sister helen pray and other people who are savvy in the social media world. The last three or four days before the execution, from what i understand, the governor was responsesarded with from the texts, phone calls. There over 200,000 signatures on an online petition. And i think given that the sensitive toery social media, i think that really made a difference. Amamy so can you talk about wht happens next, kent gipson . At this point, the governor indicated he is going to appoint five retired judges to act as a board of inquiry to hear all of the evidence in the case, and then make a recommendation to him as to what he ought to do. I dont know how fast that is going to happen. Were sort of in unchartered waters. This has been on the book since the 1960s, but it is only been invoked once. It dealt with the mentally ill and made back in the 1980s. We dont know exactly how this is going to proceed, what whether were going to have a right to appear before them, whether he will have a right to counsel. We do know by statute that it is not going to be a public hearing , and the recommendation that they make is not going to be made public which is a bit of a concern because we dont know exactly what the ground rules are going to be for this entire proceeding. Amy your concern about racial bias in the original trial with the 11 white jurors and one black juror, why was there just one black to . Because the prosecution, which has been the habit of the st. Louis county prosecutors, particularly in Death Penalty cases involving africanamerican defendants, they use their peru three strikes originally strikes where they can remove blacks from the jury. And most of the capital cases that have come out of that county in the last 15 or 20 years, most of them have had all white juries. Us had one black jirga because they did not have enough strikes to get rid of all of them. St. Louis county is the same where we had the Ferguson Police shooting incident a couple of years ago, so there have been racial issues and controversies surrounding the criminal Justice System and that county for years. It sort of came to a head with the Michael Brown shooting and the prosecutor was involved in that and was also, probably one penaltyost prodeath prosecutors in the state at a time where the Death Penalty is waning and popularity prosecutors are not seeking it nearly as often. He is the exception. He is never seen a Death Penalty he did not like. Marcellusly, williams, his response to a stay of execution. Did you deliver the news to him . Yes. Well, i was the second the other lawyer on the case was actually at the prison. He told him in person and then i told him i talked to him on the phone a little bit later. And his reaction is how it has always been, very calm and very devout muslim. He is basically said all along, fight for my life. But whatever happens, it will be gods will. , i want to end with you. You have taken on these cases and the united it, trying to get execution drugs stopped being used h here in this country. Why do you care about what goes on here and how unusual is the Death Penalty . Is interesting as that. I am american so i care as an american citizen, too, but i think this is a really interesting issue. We work on cases around the world. And in america, this myth of the humane lethal injection is deeply disturbing to me. Or a number of reasons. Theres something about the way in which the design of the cocteau, the medicalization of the Death Penalty has allowed it to be sustained in america for far longer than i think otherwise you might hahave had Capital Punishment. We dont have it here in the u. K. And a lot of other countries where they do have Capital Punishment, they look at the lethal injection and decided not to go that way because they have seen it is not actually a humane way to kill. I think that is a very important job to be done in exposing the hypocrisy of that method, where, really, prisoners are being they are suffering torturous executions in large part because certain states dont want to face the reality of what it means to kill people. So that is one dimension that is extremely important. The other side is that we are dealing with manufacturers were in a Global Society now. And these manufacturers are multinational. So back in 2010 when i started looking into this, it was British Drugs that were being diverted and usesed in executio. One of the first executions i really looked into drugs had been exported from the u. K. , from the back room of a driving school. These drugs were used to kill a young man whose autopsy photos i later saw. His eyes were wide open in the autopsy. What that means is the first drug from the drugs that had come from the driving school, had not worked effectively. So he was awake, conscious when the second drug with administered, and he was paralyzed. The third reich, does the third drug, that is fire in the veins. It is an unbelievable amount of suffering that he was exposed to. And nobody knew because the lethal injection disguises that. So the Global Nature of the industry means that these Different Companies and Different Countries implicated by what looks to be a very local practice over the years ive worked with companies in china and pakistan, and india, and bigpe, and in america, the companies, these are pharmaceutical companies, regardless of their clinical position they dont take one on Capital Punishment but they make medicines to save and improve the lives and health of patients. What states are doing is creating huge disruption to the industry, causing all sorts of problems for these companies, as well as having applications for the other countries where these companies are set. For various reasons, i think the Death Penalty, the u. S. Practice of using the lethal injection, has made it a global issue. But i would care about it as an american also. Amy maya foa, thanks for being with us, director of thehe Group Reprieve in london. And kent gipson, criminal defense attorney for Marcellus Williams for the past 12 years. Thank you for joining us. , the white house has drafted a memo on the proposed ban on transgender people serving in ththe u. S. Military. We will find out more. Stay with us. [music break] amy the way of the world by mccarthy. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We turn now to look at the presesident trumps call to ban transgender people from serving in the u. S. Militatary. The wall street journal is reporting the white house has drafted a memo instructing the pentagon to refuse to admit transgender people to the military into stopping for the medical treatments for transgender people who are currently serving in the military. The memo givives the pentagon sx months to implement the ban, which was first announced on twitter by President Trump in late july, sparking widespread outrage. Apparently, surprise at the pentagon. Militarys have already sued trump over the ban. Thousands are currently serving in the u. S. Military. For more, were joined by chase strangio, staff attorney at the aclu. Welcome to democracy now the wall street journal is reporting the existence. Yesterday, an announcement does Sarah Huckabee sanders said announcement would be made. So far there is no policy we know of. What were hearing in terms of the nature of the policy being solidified is a represents is an animate we saw in the tweet, looking to ban people from enlisting, to restrict peoples access to health care, and essentially restrict promotions and give the department of defense discretion to kick people out at will. Transparent discrimination we have seen from the administration towards transgsgender individuals and so many others. Amy senator Tammy Duckworth of illinois, severely injured in iraq, is urging congress to block trumps trumps announced ban. She wrote when i was bleeding to death in my black hawk helicopter after i was shot down, i didnt care if the american troops risking their lives to help save me were gay, straight, transgender, black, white or brown. All that mattered was they didnt leave me behind. If you are willing to risk your life for our country and you can do the job, you should be able to serve no matter your gender identity or sexual orientation. Anything else is not just discriminatory, it is disruptive to our military and it is counterproductive to our national security. If the president enacts this ban, which would harm our military readiness, the democratic and republican members of congress who oppose this discrimination must enact legislation that prevents it from taking effect. That is what senator Tammy Duckworth said. Chase strangio, specifically talk about the issue of paying for medical care of transgender people in the military. First, it is important to remember the house defeated an preciselyto the mda on this issue just before the tweet. The tweet represented the president s frustration and probably the Vice President s frustration they were not able to get such a ban through congress. And now we see his sort of impulsive undermining of both the data, the signs, never thing else we know about transgender individuals serving. And his proposal not to restrict access to health care. The reality is, the military has 1 billion in its budget for health care. This is a fraction. It reflects a misunderstanding and determination of transgender individuals. The cost is minimal. Theres a scientific and military consensus that this should be provided. Amy what is that care . It ranges. Just like any other medical care. It involves a patient and a doctor making a determination about Mental Health care, hormonal treatment, and surgeries many of which are already provided for other conditions that do not impact employability any more than other conditions. We see these restrictions in the military and efforts to restrict the care under the Affordable Care act and elsewhere under this administration that reflect bias, not medicine. Legaleflect stigma, not standards. And we are absolutely going to continue to challenge these issues i in court. Amam it would ban transgender people from signing up, from being in the military . We are hearing it would bannon lisman, which could implicate those currently serving members as well as restricting Access Health care and promotions. Tois essentially an effort drive people out currently serving, restrict their benefits, and ban current people interested in the military from enlisting. Amy how are people reacting . There is one lawsuit pending. Theyre going to be many more lawsuits once this becomes official policy. We goingng to see people acrosos the country resist the misinformation this administration is circulating about transgender individuals and our health care which is both medically necessary and lifesaving. Amy the memo says as for current transgender, their leaders can expel them if they deem them not to be deployable. What doeoes that mean . What thatot clear means. It sounds incredibly arbitrary. There are military regulations of our separation based on a lack of universal deploy ability. Amy chase strangio, thank you for joining us of the aclu. That does it for todays broadcast. Democracy now is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. Email your comments to outreach democracynow. Org or mail them to democracy now p. O. Box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by announcer this is a production of China Central television america. Lelee even though its 2016, Girls Education around the world is still a pressing problem. But some people are taking mattersrs into their owon hands. Theyre using social entrepreneurship, opening up access to technology, and providing connections with female role models. This week on full frame, conversations with people who are committed to providing an education for girls and women no matter what their circumstance. Im may lee in los angeles. Lets take it full frame