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284 <br /> <br />prisoners to challenge their death sentences using standards normal in civil racial <br />discrimination cases. <br /> <br />WItEREAS death sentences are reserved for the poor: <br /> <br /> About 90% of those persons: facing capital charges cannot afford their own attorney. No <br />state, including Virginia, has met standards developed by the American Bar Association <br />(ABA) for appointment, performance and compensation of counsel for indigent prisoners. <br /> <br /> WltEREAS the American Bar Association has concluded that administration of <br />the death penalty is "a haphazard maze of unfair practices with no internal consistency" <br />and has called for a moratorium on executions. <br /> <br />In April, 1999, the Charlottesville- Albemarle Bar Association became the first such <br />organization to pass a resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty. <br /> <br /> WHEREAS surveys conducted by the Centers for Surwey Research at Virginia <br />Commonwealth University (1989) and Virginia Tech (1993-present) show that support <br />for the death penalty is cut in half when Virginians are given an alternative to the death <br />penalty of Iife, with no possibility ofparole for a minimum of 25 years, combined with <br />restitution to the victims' family. <br /> <br /> Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City Council located in Charlottesville, <br />Virginia calls on the Governor and our representatives to the Virginia Senate and House <br />of Delegates, the President of the United States and our representatives in the U.S. <br />Congress, to enact and adopt legislation imposing a moratorium on executions at least <br />until policies and procedures are implemented which: <br /> <br /> Ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially; <br /> Eliminate the risk that innocent persons may be executed; <br /> Strive to eliminate discrimination in capital sentencing; <br /> Prevent the execution of mentally retarded persons and persons who were under the age <br />of 18 at the time of their offenses. <br /> <br /> Be it further r~olved that copies of this resolution shall be forwarded to the <br />Governor, the Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, our <br />state representatives, and to the President of the United States and members of our <br />Congressional delegation. <br /> <br />c. APPROPRIATION: <br /> <br />$100,000- Ix)an/Challenge Grant to Municipal <br />Band (2nd reading) <br /> <br /> BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Charlottesville, Virginia that <br />the sum of $100,000 is hereby appropriated bom the unappropriated balance of the <br />General Fund as a loan to the Charlottesville Municipal Band (the "Band") for building <br />construction. This loan is conditioned upon the Band's promise to repay the unpaid <br />principal and interest on or before June 30, 2005. Before the funds are paid by the City, <br />the Band shall properly execute an appropriate promissory note evidencing its <br />indebtedness to the Ci~ in a form approved by the City Attorney and substantially like <br />the attached sample. The City Attorney is hereby authorized to take whatever <br /> <br />ORDINANCE: "32q ORDINANCE AMENDING AND <br />REORDAINING SECTIONS 15=139, 15-140 AND 15-141 OF THE <br />CHARLOTTESVILLE CITY CODE, 1990, AS AMENDED, RELATED TO <br />ENFORCEMENT OF PARKING ORDINANCES" (carried over) <br /> <br />eo <br /> <br />ORDINANCE.: "AN ORDINANCE TO QUITCLAIM NATURAL <br />GAS LINES LOCATED IN GRAEMONT LANE IN ALBEMARLE <br />COUNTY TO THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION" <br />(carried over) <br /> <br />f. ORDINANCE: <br /> <br />"AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND <br /> <br /> <br />