Like the vast majority of death row prisoners, I am indigent and need to continuously raise funds for my legal defense.  However, in the years that I have been fighting to correct the miscarriage of justice I have suffered, I have established a substantial base of loyal supporters.  Most of these supporters are readers of my articles and letters, which have been continuously published weekly in the Paris, France magazine, L’itinerant, for nearly seven years.  “L’itinerant” roughly translated to English is “The Wanderer.”  It is a small weekly magazine that was founded by my dear friend, Rodolphe Clauteaux, as a way to help the large homeless population in and around Paris.  Each week homeless people can pick up a bundle of the magazines and take them in the streets to sell to commuters, et cetera.  The magazines are sold for 2 euro (about 2.25 USD) of which the seller keeps half.  The magazine keeps many homeless people from going hungry and generally helps them overcome the obstacles of being homeless 

Most of the readers of the magazine “L’itinerant” are poor or working class people, but they have been very generous in their support of my cause and me.  They are incredibly loyal and conscientious people.  Many of the readers have become very dear friends and some are closer to me than my own family has ever been.  They are very dear to my heart.

I’m also very fortunate to have a base of supporters from Reggio Emilia, Italy, which is the sister city of Fort Worth, Texas.  Because of interviews of me, which were published in the magazine of my dear friend Marina Bortolani’s magazine, I’m quite well known in the Reggio Emilia community.  This year (2006) I was visited by the mayor of Reggio Emilia, Graziano Delrio.  Marina’s magazine also publishes my daily death row journal.

I believe that “together” the readers of L’itinerant, my many loyal supporters, the readers of Marina’s magazine, and the Carlo Bortolani Association will be able to raise the funds to continue our fight for truth, justice and ultimately my liberation.  Justice is an incredibly expensive commodity that does not come easy, but I have faith that my loyal, conscientious supporters will not let me down.

I would like to suggest that you make a contribution to one of the following charitable organizations “in memory of” either: Annette Selix, Joe Blount, Angela Blount, Michael Columbus, Donna Rae Toney Branson, Oberta Toney, Bethena Brosz, Lisa Underwood or Jayden Underwood. 

“Compassion” is a charitable organization founded and written by death row prisoners.  I am an editor of the quarterly Compassion publication, which gives scholarships to children of murder victims.  For more information you can visit the Compassion website by clicking here: www.compassionondeathrow.org .   Make checks or money orders payable to Compassion and send them to:

Compassion
140 W. South Boundary Street
Perrysburg, OH  43551

Another charitable organization that I am a supporter of and that I recommend that you contribute to is the Southern Poverty Law Center.  The SPLC was founded in 1971 by lawyer Morris Dees to fight for the human rights of minorities, fight hate, promote racial tolerance and to seek justice.  The 2007 objectives of the Law Center are:

1.  Spearhead America’s newest human rights struggle by suing corporations that exploit migrant workers and hate groups that promote anti-immigration violence.

2.  Seek justice for impoverished children who have no other champions and protect victims of hate crimes like Billy Ray Johnson.  Billy Ray is a Texas man in his 40’s who has the mind of a child.  He was brought to a party in the small town of Linden, Texas, to serve as the night’s entertainment for young white men.  After partygoers had their fill of ridiculing him, one of them knocked him unconscious.  Instead of taking Billy Ray to the hospital, the partygoers drank beer and debated what to do with him.  Eventually they threw him in the back of a pickup.  They didn’t want his blood to stain the cloth seats of the pickup.  They dumped his body along the side of the road.  He suffered serious brain injuries and will never fully recover.

This year, the thugs who tormented Billy Ray will see him again.  But this time, there will be no party and Billy Ray will not be alone.  SPLC lawyers will be standing with him in court determined to win a measure of justice.

3.  Track and expose the activities of Neo-Nazi and other white supremacist organizations and to keep pressure on politicians to kick racial extremists out of our military.

4.  Give the teachers of America the tools they need to teach tolerance to the next generation.

The center also represents people like; a 17-year-old Texas youth who was dragged from a party and savagely attacked by two white assailants, one of them a Neo-Nazi skinhead.  They burned his neck with cigarettes, stomped his head with steel-toed boots, and slashed his chest with a knife, all while shouting racial slurs.  They then stripped him naked and sodomized him with a patio umbrella pole, damaging several internal organs.

For more information about SPLC or to contribute on line go to www.splcenter.org .

Make checks or money orders payable to “Southern Poverty Law Center” and send them to:

Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, Alabama  36104  USA

 Contributions to either one of these two worthy charitable organizations are tax deductible pursuant to 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.

I personally thank you for any contributions you make to either of these charitable organizations and I’m certain your contributions will be much appreciated and put to good use.

Thank you!

Michael Toney