---Death by stoning upheld in the case of Nigerian woman, Amina Lawal---Amnesty International is gravely concerned at the recent decision by a Shari'ah court of appeals in Funtua, Katsina State, Nigeria, to uphold the sentence of death by stoning imposed on Amina Lawal, a young Nigerian woman accused of giving birth to a child out of wedlock. Lawal and her lawyer have been granted 30 days to appeal the decision. Amnesty International is urging its members and the public at large to participate in planned actions directed to the U.S. House of Representatives and to Nigeria 's secular government in Abuja , which in the past has deemed the Shari'ah penal code unconstitutional. Lawal was originally sentenced to death on March 22, 2002, after confessing to sexual relations with a man other than her husband (adultery is a crime punishable by death under Quranic-based Shari'ah law currently applicable to Nigeria's majority Muslim northern states). While charges against the alleged father of the child have been dropped, the religious court of appeals stood firm on Lawal's death sentence despite international protests." This judgment is incompatible with the Nigerian constitution and also with Nigeria's legal obligations under international human rights law and the African Charter for Human and People Rights," Amnesty International said, noting that the practice of stoning to death is a cruel form of torture prohibited by both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture. Amnesty International is strongly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances on the grounds that it represents the ultimate inhuman and degrading punishment and violates the right to life. The organization is calling on members and other concerned individuals to write to Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Minister of Justice Kanu Godwin Agabi to push for the abolition of the death penalty and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment in all Nigerian states. Amnesty International USA encourages its members to write their Representative in Congress to urge her or him to co-sponsor H. Con. Res. 351, a resolution passed in the House International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee that condemns the practice of execution by stoning as a gross human rights violation. For more information, contact, Michelle Linder via phone: 202-544-0200 x234.

---Nelson Griffin, promoted to vice president at Cracker Barrel-
Donald M. Turner, President and Chief Operating Officer of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., announced the promotion of Nelson Griffin to Vice President of Purchasing and Distribution. "This promotion recognizes the important contributions Nelson has made in the past few years to the improvements in our business," said Turner. "This change in his responsibilities will help Cracker Barrel stay focused on our goal of becoming the best restaurant and retail company in America." As Vice President of Purchasing and Distribution, Griffin adds the company's Distribution Center to his current responsibilities for the Purchasing and Quality Assurance functions. The Distribution Center handles the shipping of the majority of the retail merchandise to the 457 Cracker Barrel locations. Griffin is one of the more than 320 African-American Cracker Barrel executives or managers. 7.33% of Cracker Barrel executives and managers are African-American, and minorities represent almost 11% of Cracker Barrel's management team. About 13% of Cracker Barrel overall employees are African-American, and minorities represent almost 23% of Cracker Barrel's workforce of 50,000 people. For more information, contact, Julie Davis via Email: JDavis@crackerbarrel.com or phone: 615-443-9266

---More African American men incarcerated than enrolled in college---A new report shows that during the 1980s and 1990s, state spending on corrections grew at 6 times the rate of state spending on higher education, and by the close of the millennium, there were nearly a third more African American men in prison and jail than in universities or colleges. The report, "Cellblocks or Classrooms?" provides state by state analysis of corrections and higher education spending, and is the latest in a series of reports by the Justice Policy Institute to show the fiscal impact of the nation's overuse of prison as a solution to social problems. Between 1985 and 2000, the increase in state spending on corrections was nearly double that of the increase to higher education ($20 billion versus $10.7 billion), and the total increase in spending on higher education by states was 24 percent, compared with 166 percent for corrections. "Cellblocks or Classrooms?" also reports that in 2000, there were an estimated 791,600 African American men in prison and jail, and 603,000 in higher education. As corrections assumed a larger share of state spending, the burden for paying for college has shifted to students. From 1980 to 1998, tuition and fees support for higher education have risen at 8 times the rate of state support. For low-income families, the cost of paying for tuition at a four-year institution increased from 13 percent of their income to 25 percent. Pell Grants cover far less of the total cost of tuition than they did in the 1980s.Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, Cellblocks or Classrooms estimates that between 1980 and 2000, 3 times as many African American men were added to the nation's prison systems than were added to colleges during the last two decades.

---Retirement Reality Check---
The nation's largest generation, Baby Boomers, are seventy-six million strong. Boomers (age 38 - 56) make up 29 percent of the U.S. population. By the year 2030, there will be 70 million people aged 65 and older -- more than twice the population for that age group in 1999, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rising healthcare costs and a faltering economy have, in just one year, nearly doubled Baby Boomers retirement concerns, according to the second annual Allstate "Retirement Reality Check" survey. In one of the 2002 study's most compelling findings, 52 percent of the Baby Boomers surveyed acknowledge worries about having sufficient retirement funds -- up from 29 percent who expressed this concern in 2001. Worries about healthcare costs rose from 39 percent to 67 percent in the same time period. Financial experts say you'll need about 75% of your current income if you want to live your retirement years in a way that's similar to how you live now. But Social Security and pensions will most likely fall short of providing that level of income. And the experts say that the rest is up to the individual. Of the 58 percent of surveyed African American Baby Boomers that do not currently work with a professional financial advisor, 49 percent feel that they may benefit from the guidance a financial professional could offer. While over a third (34 percent) of surveyed Boomers believe that financial institutions aren't interested in them, this notion is especially prominent among Hispanic Baby Boomers, with 44 percent of respondents believing this to be true.

----Job Opportunity of the Week: Founders Bank of Commerce, Los Angeles, CA---Position: Vice President, Retail Banking ( position is located in Los Angeles, CA)
Job Description: Focused on management of national branch network (currently seven branches located in CA, FL and MA) to maximize retail deposit growth, provide improved personal customer service and meet expense goals. Build retail team that is committed to the Bank's vision and growth strategy, through hiring, training, development and management of branch personnel. Qualifications: Proven community banking manager, skilled in growing a retail customer base. Preferably an MBA or equivalent work experience (15+ years experience) Qualified candidates should send resume to Kimmie Jackson at kjackson@bboc.com. For a full description, go to www.UnityFirst.com's Job Opportunity Showcase.

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