Country-rocker Steve Earle, long a strident opponent of the death

penalty, returned from his recent European tour and went straight to

"Starvin' For Justice," an annual four-day fast and vigil against capital

punishment in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. In addition

to demonstrating, Earle performed for fellow activists on July 1, according

to Elisa Sanders, spokeswoman with his label, E-Squared Records. "Things

have gotten out of hand," Sanders quoted Earle as saying. "I realized I

had to do more than just write a check or a song." Earlier this year, the

critically acclaimed songwriter performed at the "Dead Man Walking"

anti-death-penalty concert in Los Angeles; he also penned the song "Ellis

Unit One" for the Dead Man Walking film soundtrack in 1996.