On this Friday, January 26 from 9am – Noon, the Sonoma Shambhala Center will host a morning of meditation for Jarvis Masters, a man who has been on Death Row for 28 years. At the age of fifty-five Jarvis’s health is unstable, and he is exhausted waiting for exoneration from a crime he says he did not commit. He does not wish to die in prison. Jarvis seeks justice and freedom, and he needs help if you are inclined to act judicially.
Renowned author and Buddhist teacher, Pema Chodron says this about Jarvis: “Jarvis is an easy man to respect and an easy man to love. What I learn from him all the time is what it really means to keep one’s vows of not harming and of helping other people in whatever ways one can. I always think, ‘If Jarvis can do it in those most challenging and difficult situations, I can do it too.’ It is a continual aspiration from my heart that Jarvis Masters not be killed and that I have the pleasure of knowing him as a free man; a free man who I know will benefit all of the people he encounters.”
Jarvis began a hunger strike shortly after Thanksgiving to bring attention to his situation, and the situation of many other people. He has been hospitalized twice and lost over 60 pounds. He has begun eating again, but pleads with people to take action: “I cannot describe the horror of being kept on death row for year after year after year while waiting for the opportunity to prove my innocence. I’m tired, depressed and sometimes tempted to give up. I am sustained by my Buddhist meditation practice, and the love and support of my friends. However, I’m getting older and sicker and afraid of becoming one of the many people on death row who die of natural causes without ever having their appeals heard.”
If you feel inspired to take action on his behalf, please write to Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Xavier Becerra and ask them to ensure that Jarvis’s Habeas Corpus Petition, which was originally filed in 2005, is heard soon by the California Supreme Court.
Governor Brown, 1315 10th St., Sacramento, CA 94102
Attorney General Xavier Becerra, 455 Golden Gate Ave, #11000, San Francisco, CA 95814
Questions? Contact Larry Barnett at larry@epiphanet.com or go to www.freejarvis.org
Sonoma Shambhala Meditation Center, 255 West Napa St, Sonoma
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