October, 30 2019, 12:00am EDT
350.org on Rex Tillerson's Testimony in NY v. Exxon trial: "Tillerson Is a Climate Criminal."
Today, former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson took the witness stand to testify during the second week of New York v. ExxonMobil trial. New York Attorney General Letitia James has brought Exxon court for misleading shareholders about climate-related risks.
WASHINGTON
Today, former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson took the witness stand to testify during the second week of New York v. ExxonMobil trial. New York Attorney General Letitia James has brought Exxon court for misleading shareholders about climate-related risks.
Dominique Thomas, New Yorker and 350.org Northeast Regional Organizer, issued the following response:
"Rex Tillerson is a climate criminal. Let's not forget he used a secret alias -- Wayne Tracker -- as Exxon CEO to communicate all things related to climate change. Yesterday was the seventh anniversary of Superstorm Sandy: a grave reminder that the lies of people like Rex Tillerson cause that kind of climate destruction.
"As wildfires rage across California and the West, it's momentous to see Exxon's former CEO in court, on the witness stand, testifying to his role in lying to investors about climate-related risks. Frankly, he should get used to it, as the demand to make Exxon pay for climate chaos is only getting louder."
Earlier today, Maui County in Hawaii announced intent to sue fossil fuel companies for climate damages. Last Tuesday, over 50 New Yorkers rallied outside the trial's opening day in solidarity with AG James. The next day, a House subcommittee held a hearing on all that #ExxonKnew, and the day after that, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced the Massachusetts v. ExxonMobil lawsuit against the corporation for deceiving consumers and investors about the role of fossil fuels causing climate change.
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 Americans and pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes, a move the White House described as "the largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history."
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According to a White House fact sheet, those who received commutations "have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year under the Covid-era CARES Act," a law that extended the amount of time in which people could be placed in home confinement to reduce the spread of the virus in prisons.
The White House did not name those who received pardons or commutations but said the list includes a "decorated military veteran," a "nurse who has led emergency response for several natural disasters," and "an addiction counselor who volunteers his time to help young people find their purpose."
The Biden Justice Department paused federal executions in 2021, but President-elect Donald Trump pledged on the campaign trail to expand the use of the death penalty and is expected to allow the executions of the 40 men on death row to take place if they're still there when he takes office next month.
In a statement on Thursday, Biden said that he has "the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses."
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Biden, who campaigned on ending the death penalty at the federal level, vowed to "take more steps in the weeks ahead" as his administration reviews clemency petitions, leaving open the possibility of commutations for death row prisoners.
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