A STUDENT society at a Shinfield school staged a silent protest against the Death Penalty.
Members of Leighton Park’s Amnesty International Group stood by the side of the path leading to the school’s Oakview canteen during their lunch break, holding striking graphics which
The protest was undertaken in support of the Council of Europe, United Nations and Amnesty International’s annual awareness action, and European and Worldwide Day Against the Death Penalty.
Leighton Park’s Amnesty group co-ordinator and Head of Beliefs, Religious Studies & Values, Stephen Taynton, commented, “A silent process brings awareness to the number of countries that still have the death penalty and it is something that we can do here to help raise awareness in our community.
“There are about 53 that still have the death penalty including major countries like the United States, China, Saudi Arabia and Japan, who still have it as a means of punishment.”
The group embodies Leighton Park’s Quaker values of respect, equality and integrity, with a focus on human rights and political and social issues. They meet weekly to plan their awareness-raising campaigns and to discuss topical themes.
Lilia, Upper Sixth, said: “Stephen suggested the silent protest as it is still an urgent issue which has not been dealt with in the past and we all think it should be abolished since it is a horrible thing and no one should just be executed for their wrongdoings there are other things that we could do; that’s why we have the law. We wanted to spread awareness throughout the school by doing this protest.”
