Pelke, Bill; Papers Apap205
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Pelke, Bill; Papers This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on September 28, 2021. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives Pelke, Bill; Papers Table of Contents Summary Information .................................................................................................................................... 3 Biographical History ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Scope and Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Arrangement of the Collection ...................................................................................................................... 4 Administrative Information ............................................................................................................................ 5 Related Materials ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Controlled Access Headings .......................................................................................................................... 5 Collection Inventory ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Correspondence ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Publications ................................................................................................................................................ 16 MVFR/Journey of Hope ............................................................................................................................ 21 Amnesty International ............................................................................................................................... 27 National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty ..................................................................................... 43 General Activism ....................................................................................................................................... 51 Subject Files .............................................................................................................................................. 85 - Page 2 - Pelke, Bill; Papers Summary Information Repository: M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives Title: Bill Pelke Papers ID: apap205 Date [inclusive]: 1965-2005, Undated Physical Description: 18.32 cubic feet Language of the English , Italian , Spanish , Portuguese . Material: Abstract: Bill Pelke is a leader in the national death penalty abolition movement. This collection documents Bill Pelke's involvement with Journey of Hope...from Violence to Healing, Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation (MVFR), National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), Amnesty International, and other organizations committed to ending capital punishment in the United States. Preferred Citation Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Bill Pelke Papers, 1965-2005, Undated. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Pelke Papers). ^ Return to Table of Contents Biographical History Bill Pelke was born in 1947 in Indiana. In 1985, Bill Pelkes grandmother Ruth Elizabeth Pelke, a 78 year old bible school teacher was brutally murdered in her home by a group of high school girls during a robbery. The leader of the group responsible, Paula Cooper (15), was arrested and was found guilty and sentenced to die. At first, Bill Pelke believed this to be a just punishment but later, owing to a realization that his grandmother would show mercy, began advocating for a retraction of Paula Coopers death sentence. In 1989, Paula Coopers sentence was changed from death to 60 years, owing to recent changes in federal and state laws which barred the death penalty for defendants who committed crimes under the age of 16. Bill Pelke was very active in the death penalty abolition movement both locally and nationally. He was the President/Co-Founder of Journey of Hope From Violence to Healing, that began as a two-week - Page 3- Pelke, Bill; Papers event conducted by Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation (MVFR) in which speakers told the story of their loss and their resolution to oppose the death penalty. Journey of Hope conducted yearly events beginning in 1993 in Indiana, and followed by events in Georgia (1994), California (1995), and Virginia (1996). In 1997, Journey of Hope was spun-off from MVFR and became its own organization called Journey of HopeFrom Violence to Healing. The same year, Bill Pelke who was a member of both boards left MVFR. After its incorporation, Journey of HopeFrom Violence to Healing has organized full two-week events, as well as a number of smaller events, in states throughout the United States and overseas; Philippines (1998), Italy (1998), Europe (1998, 1999), Germany (2009), and Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya (2011). In the last quarter of his life, Bill Pelke was a member in various capacities for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), Murder Victims Families for Human Rights (MVFHR), Alaskans Against the Death Penalty (AADP), Abolitionist Action Committee (AAC), Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (CUADP), Indiana Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (Indiana CURE), Amnesty International, and Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation (MVFR). Bill Pelke was a retired steelworker, a Vietnam veteran, and a college graduate with a BS degree in Pastoral Theology. He authored the book, Journey of Hope...from Violence to Healing, which details the murder of his grandmother Ruth Elizabeth Pelke. At the time of his death from a heart attack in November 2020 he lived in Alaska and was actively involved with the abolitionist movement. ^ Return to Table of Contents Scope and Contents The collections documents Bill Pelke's efforts to abolish the death penalty in the United States from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The collection includes organizing material for Journey of Hope...from Violence to Healing and Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation (MVFR) as well as materials from Amnesty International and the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP). It also includes correspondence, publications, and materials related to various national, regional, state, and local activist organizations, non-profit groups, and religious organizations concerned with the death penalty and other activism related activities and events. ^ Return to Table of Contents Arrangement of the Collection Researchers should note that the collection contained no original order and was arranged by the archivist. - Page 4- Pelke, Bill; Papers ^ Return to Table of Contents Administrative Information Publication Statement M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives Revision Description Encoded in EAD by Jason Thomas 2015 Processing Information Processed in 2015 by Jason Thomas. Acquisition Information Bill Pelke donated these records to the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives in a series of two acquisitions in 2005 and 2006. ^ Return to Table of Contents Related Materials Related Materials Related collections include Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation Records,1994-2005; the Abraham Bonowitz Papers, 1995-2009; and National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Records, 1972-2006, Undated. ^ Return to Table of Contents Controlled Access Headings • Death Penalty - Page 5- Pelke, Bill; Papers • Criminal Justice and Prisons • Capital punishment--United States • Executions and executioners--United States • Death row--United States • Newsletters • Newspaper clippings • Photographs • Legal documents • Correspondence • Articles • Pamphlets • Minutes (administrative records) • Brochures • Pelke, Bill • Amnesty International • National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (U.S.) • Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation • Journey of Hope...from Violence to Healing Collection Inventory Correspondence, 1967-1999, Undated Physical Description: 1.6 cubic feet Arrangement This series is arranged alphabetically. Scope and Contents This series contains the correspondence directed to Bill Pelke, as well as a small amount of correspondence from Bill Pelke. This includes correspondence from death row inmates and fellow activists. Correspondence from activist groups is included in the Activism series; however researchers should note that because of the nature of activist groups, one individual may be involved in many groups. In the event of one individual with correspondence from many groups the correspondence has been assembled together under the activists name. Title/Description Instances James Allridge III, 19921994-1995 Box 1 (1- Folder 1 Correspondence) Johann Christoph Arnold- Bruderhof Communities, Box 1 (1- Folder 2 1996-1998Undated Correspondence) Robert Auker, 1992-1994 Box 1 (1- Folder 3 Correspondence) Pat Bane, 1990-19941997-1998Undated - Page 6- Pelke, Bill; Papers Box 1 (1- Folder 4 Correspondence) Alan J. Bannister, 1994-1995 Box 1 (1- Folder 5 Correspondence) Lindsay Bannister, 1994-1995 Box 1 (1- Folder 6 Correspondence)