On September 30, Tennessee attempted to execute death-row prisoner Christa Pike by lethal injection. After administering two doses of the execution drug, pentobarbital, prison officials failed to kill her. Pike continued breathing and making sounds, and was eventually rushed to a hospital with severe injuries. She has since been released from the hospital and returned to prison, while Tennessee has suspended executions for the remainder of the year pending an independent investigation.
For an abolitionist perspective on this case and the broader fight against capital punishment, we turn to Gloria Rubac of the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement.
On Saturday, October 10, activists gathered at the Texas State Capitol in Austin for the 27th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty, marking World Day Against the Death Penalty. Nearly 100 people joined the march, sharing the stories of death-row survivors and families of people still facing execution, and calling for an end to capital punishment in Texas.
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On October 9, hundreds of labor and community activists rallied at the FedEx facility near Oakland International Airport, demanding an end to shipments of F-35 military parts to Israel amid its assault on Gaza. Keith Brown, executive director of the Alameda Labor Council, spoke about the destruction in Gaza, union-busting at FedEx, and why organized labor must challenge both the company and US military support for Israel. Pacifica’s Steve Zeltzer spoke with rally participants.
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The United States has invaded Venezuela, abducted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and asserted control over the country. What does this intervention mean for Venezuela and its people? Steve Ellner, Professor Emeritus at Venezuela’s Universidad de Oriente, addressed that question at a panel examining the challenges facing the Venezuelan people.
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For more than six years, nine union leaders at Namibia’s Rossing Uranium Mine have been fighting to win back their jobs after being fired. The dispute comes amid broader concerns about the use of contract labor and working conditions in Namibia’s mining industry. George Martin, former secretary of the Mineworkers Union of Namibia’s Rossing branch, and Eduardo Baptista, a former union president, spoke with Pacifica’s Steve Zeltzer about the dismissals, the struggle for reinstatement, and the challenges facing mineworkers.
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We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates that contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by the Capitalism, Race & Democracy collective, with contributions from Steve Zeltzer, Akua Holt, Gloria Rubac, Ann Garrison, Polina Vasiliev, and Thomas O’Rourke.
You can find this and all previous episodes at our website “capitalism race and democracy dot ORG”. Make sure you click the subscribe button. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @PacificaCRD.
Thanks for listening.
Music:
Marvin Gaye – Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
Zeinab Shaath, “The Urgent Call of Palestine”
Ali Primera, “America Latina Obrera”
