Dave Parkinson is the director and co-founder of the Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty

Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty

The Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty is a not-for-profit organisation which was co-founded by Tracy Lamourie and Dave Parkinson of the Greater Toronto Area...

. Parkinson's work with the coalition resulted in Governor George W Bush being invited to the execution of Shaka Sankofa

Shaka Sankofa

Shaka Sankofa was a Texas death-row inmate who was sentenced to death at the age of 18 for the murder of fifty-three year-old Bobby Grant Lambert in Houston, Texas on May 13, 1981...

 in 2000.

Parkinson's submission to the US Supreme Court by the ACLU on the violation of free speech rights imposed by AZ HB 2378 resulted in a ruling overturning the law that prevented prisoners from using a third party to post information on the internet about their cases.

Parkinson was invited to meet with the Italian Ambassador to Canada and Italian Senators Melchiorre Cirami and Fausto Marchetti as guests of the Italian Embassy in Ottawa

Embassy of Italy in Ottawa

The Embassy of Italy in Ottawa is Italy's embassy in Canada. It is located at 275 Slater Street, 21st floor, in Ottawa, the Canadian capital. Gabriele Sardo serves as Ambassador ....

 over concerns about Canada's extradition policy with the US. The senators were given unprecedented intervenor access before the Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

 in United States v. Burns

United States v. Burns

United States v. Burns [2001] 1 S.C.R. 283, 2001 SCC 7, was a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in which it was found that extradition of individuals to places where they may face the death penalty is a breach of fundamental justice under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms...

 which ruled that Canada could not extradite people to face capital punishment

Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

 without first receiving assurances that the death sentence would not be sought. The ruling also reaffirmed capital punishment as a violation of Section 7

Section Seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Section Seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a constitutional provision that protects an individual's autonomy and personal legal rights from actions of the government in Canada. There are three types of protection within the section, namely the right to life, liberty, and...

 of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Parkinson was featured on a number of television and radio news programs as a representative of the CCADP, including Court TV

Court TV

truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...

, MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

, Fox News, ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

, CBC

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

, Citytv

Citytv

Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...

, ichannel

Ichannel

ichannel is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Stornoway Communications. Its programs focus on public, social and current affairs...

, Vision TV

Vision TV

VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic....

, Canada's National Post

National Post

The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...

, Toronto Star

Toronto Star

The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...

, Miami Herald, National Enquirer, People

People (magazine)

In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...

.

External links

• United States v. Burns.
• Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty