I first came to know Bill Pelke when I read about him in the newspaper. He was reportedly traveling the country speaking out to save the life of Paula Cooper, a 16-year-old  Indiana girl, who murdered his grandmother.
The troubled Paula Cooper was among a group of girls who gained entry to his grandmother's home by pretending that they wanted Bible lessons. Bill Pelke would share the story of his literal conversion and conviction against the death penalty many times. Each time I heard the story it brought me to tears:  Bill was a steel worker. He was riding up in an elevator on the way to a job. Suddenly he saw or felt the presence of his grandmother. He knew at that moment what his grandmother, a devout Christian, would want him to do: she would want him to forgive Paula Cooper. And so, he did. From then on, he worked tirelessly to save her life and more than once.

Bill Pelke traveled the country telling his story and the story of his grandmother until finally the state of Indiana spared Paula's life -- sentencing the teenager to 40 years in prison. Even when Paula was safe from execution, Bill Pelke's work did not end. In addition to his national work against the death penalty-- founding the Journey of Hope and tours across the country; writing a book; the annual Fast and Vigil; television and radio appearances; documentaries and  state and federal advocacy-- Bill continued to mentor, pray for and support Paula Cooper throughout her incarceration. With Bill's help, that of others, and her own hard work, Paula educated herself and grew into a poised young woman who took responsibility for the harm she had caused.

As Paula neared the end of her incarceration, Bill devoted himself to ensuring that Paula would be safe when she was released. He recognized that the sad circumstances that had led Paula to prison were waiting for her.  I remember speaking once to one of her attorneys when Paula was still on death row waiting to be executed. I asked: " How is Paula doing?" I was stunned when the lawyer responded: " she's safer than she has ever been in her life." Imagine that the conditions on death row could be an improvement in a teenager's life. Bill Pelke understood and he put that understanding into action.

I remember having a conversation with Bill about Paula Cooper after a Board meeting.  He had wanted to talk to me about his plans to provide Paula with the safety and support she would need to survive and thrive on the outside. He wanted to make sure she had a safe place to live and that she could find a job. He wanted to protect her from the things that could all too quickly undo the good work she had done in prison to educate herself and to develop the emotional and practical tools that most of us take for granted.

I remember thinking at the time, that I thought I knew Bill Pelke but really did not. I thought I knew that Bill was a good man. But this kind of good man; this kind of good person was something else.  Bill was a person who committed himself to the work -- the hard and painful work of trying to heal a broken person; a broken person who had wronged him grievously. This was an entirely different kind of man.
Sadly, the fortress of support that Bill Pelke tried to fashion for Paula Cooper did not hold against the forces determined to undo her. She died tragically.  I spoke to Bill when I learned what had happened and he was heartbroken.

I do not praise Bill Pelke to make him an example of a "good survivor" of homicide and to make all others bad. I have worked with and listened to survivors of homicide enough to understand that we do terrible harm to all survivors when we put survivors in boxes. We compound the pain when we favor survivors who agree with us and denigrate others. Survivors of homicide are not required to forgive the people who hurt them. They are not required to try to save the perpetrator's life.  Whatever survivors feel about the death penalty and what happens to the person who harmed them is how they feel. There are no right and wrong survivors.  As a society we offer homicide survivors and other victims of crime too little in the way of healing and tangible support. Society picks and chooses which victims are good and which victims are bad. Society chooses which victims are deserving of our concern and which victims and survivors do not matter at all. We invest too little proactively in education, housing, ending poverty and mental health treatment and support-- concrete things that make communities healthier, more prosperous, and safer.

Bill Pelke was not a good man because he saved Paula Cooper's life once and tried to save it again. Bill Pelke was a good man because he lived and embodied every ounce of his faith and he put that faith into action. I would think about Bill Pelke many times over the years as I took umbrage at some slight or annoyance from a colleague or co-worker. Often, the thought of Bill's equanimity would bring me back to my center of balance.

Bill Pelke's vision for the Journey of Hope was to expand our understanding and embrace of Restorative Justice. He acknowledged the pain of loss and looked to see what could be done to heal the individuals involved and the community. Bill understood the importance of community and fellowship in a way that I have only lately come to fully understand. He understood the importance of  bringing people together: survivors of homicide; death row survivors and their families and local communities. He understood the healing, cathartic and instructive power and importance of storytelling.

We have an opportunity to remember Bill Pelke by rededicating ourselves to his vision-- not only by ending the death penalty but by transforming the way that we respond to violence with a focus on healing, accountability and restoration. Bill Pelke understood that responding to suffering by piling on more suffering was a prescription for more suffering in the world. He understood that you address suffering by doing what you can to stop the suffering in your path-- the suffering that is closest to you.

Bill Pelke showed this by his extraordinary, humble example.  May he rest in power and may those of us left behind work to bring his vision to fruition.

Be at peace dear brother, sleep.

Diann Rust-Tierney

October 6, 2020 from Noon to 1PM

This is a virtual event. Please register for the event at the following zoom registration link:: https://smcm.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEtc-2vqTwpHNDhtvFuoyE-6ms1oQ986VFa

There is no charge or registration required. ALL ARE WELCOME!

We’ve done a great deal of work together over the years. So I know you join me in being terribly disappointed that federal executions are once again under way.

While we continue to see progress at the state level, the federal front is more than troubling. These federal executions are part of a larger effort to move the country in the direction of heavy handed authoritarian rule and away from evolving civil and human rights norms.

As we study these federal executions and the rapidly changing and politically dangerous environment in which they are taking place, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is focused on identifying new opportunities to advance our mission using the lessons from today.

Even in these troubled times, I am heartened by the new and expanded voices of citizens calling for fundamental changes in our society. The citizen activist has long been our model for seeking change. So many of our fellow citizens are calling passionately for fairness and for change in our criminal justice system – shining a spotlight on the injustices plaguing communities across our country. It inspires hope and bolsters our courage.

NCADP has long understood that ending the death penalty is an essential part of building a more fair and just society.  The stark choice that we face as a nation between authoritarian anti-democratic governance and a fair and just democracy makes our joint efforts all the more urgent.

Your voice and the voice of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty has never been as important as it is today. We need the resources and tools to take advantage of this moment which is both a threat and an opportunity.

It is with great sadness that we share the news of Jerry Given’s death. At one of our earliest screenings, at a Human Rights Film Festival in Los Angeles, an audience member asked, “What are among your biggest surprises filming this documentary?

Without hesitation Maggie answered, “Never in my life did I imagine I’d be calling an executioner my friend.”

And a friend Jerry Givens became, indeed.

Rick spent a whirlwind week with him in early March before the coronavirus turned the world upside down. Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty had lined up a 3-city tour for the screening and discussion of In the Executioner’s Shadow.

At each event, Jerry spoke from the heart about his transformation from “one who took a life to one who saved lives.” No audience member, likely in any of his presentations, had ever heard the inside story of an execution. Jerry opened countless eyes to the anguish of carrying out state-sanctioned killing. He pointed out the death certificate of an executed inmate listed the cause of death as “homicide.” Jerry lamented having to think of himself as one who committed 62 homicides. But he’ll never know how many lives he saved through his courageous, ceaseless advocacy to abolish capital punishment.

Jerry radiated a warmth that encouraged audience members to approach him privately after panel discussions. With genuine and generous spirit, he’d answer every question. Only when there were no more hands to shake was he ready to leave a venue.

Jerry spoke philosophically of how we all live under a sentence of death, but unlike condemned prisoners we don’t know when our time will be up. He spoke of life as divided into 24-hour chunks. And as the title of his book, Another Day is Not Promised, makes clear, we never know if the next 24-hour chunk will be our last. Make the most of each day was Jerry’s message.

Jerry ended each conversation with, “Have a blessed day.” His last blessed day was April 13, 2020, when he fell victim to Coronavirus. For a poor kid from Richmond’s housing projects he made a significant mark on the world. May Jerry’s memory be for a blessing. May the day come soon when the state of Virginia honors Jerry Givens by dismantling its death penalty.

Jerry was a founding member of Death Penalty Action's Board of Advisors. If you would like to make a contribution in his memory, please donate to The Jerry Givens Legacy Tribute:

May he rest in peace,

Rick Stack and Maggie Burnette Stogner

Producers, “In the Executioner’s Shadow”
https://www.newday.com/film/executioner’s-shadow

David D. Dodge is a Board Member of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Read more at Death Penalty Informaiton Center: 

There is no question that gun violence is a public health crisis. It penetrates communities physically, taking loved ones abruptly, and retraumatizes victim families with persistence. Just yesterday, two young lives were taken and three wounded at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, and every day, over 100 Americans are projected to die from gun violence. Gun violence incites fear, anger, and a sense of hopelessness, as Americans feel suffocated in their capacity to lead grassroots-change against the 5.2 million spent by the gun lobby, in 2017 alone. We are aware that structural change modeled after other public health interventions is the single way to move forward.

Click here to read the entire article on Medium. 

This move by Attorney General Barr and this Justice Department is backward looking and out of step with the progress being made across the county. In the last calendar year, two more states have abolished the death penalty, both citing racial bias as the main reason why capital punishment is wrongfully applied and carried out. Consistently, public opinion polls indicate that the death penalty has fallen out of favor with the American people who increasingly view it as unfair, arbitrary and a relic of the past.

In every corner of America, a conversation about the need to reform our criminal justice system is taking place. The Trump Administration decision to jump start the broken death penalty is another tilt in the direction of authoritarian and anti-democratic values.

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) continues our critical work to end the heinous practice of capital punishment. Our Justice Powered by Information & Action (JPIA) program is engaging concerned citizens to spread the truth that the death penalty does nothing to keep communities safe.

This year we also launched our Grassroots Film Promoters program, screening the award winning film In the Executioner's Shadow. Both programs engage educated and mobilized activists to help spread support for abolition across the nation, demonstrating that ending the death penalty is in the mainstream.

Let’s fight back by building a stronger and more powerful voice for ending the death penalty and for civil and human rights. We must not lose ground. Go to our NCADP website. Be active and participate in upcoming activities.

We need your help to build the power to win!

Diann Rust-Tierney

By Wade Henderson

On Nov. 7 in Charleston, S.C., a federal court will begin selecting a jury in the death penalty prosecution of Dylann Roof, the accused killer of nine African American worshipers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. At first glance, the notion of a white man facing the death penalty for murdering black people in the South — in a killing inspired by the murderer’s racist views — may seem like a marker of racial progress.

It isn’t — and those who champion civil rights should not celebrate this moment. Roof’s crime was surely heinous, and his racism was repugnant. But supporters of racial equality and equal treatment under the law should support Roof’s offer to plead guilty and serve a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

How can it be that a lifelong civil rights lawyer such as myself would take this position? Because the death penalty cannot be separated from the issue of racial discrimination, especially in the South. The history of slavery and lynching left deep scars in the black community, and the current death penalty does not fare much better. More than 8 in 10 of the executions carried out since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 have occurred in the South. Blacks make up more than one-third of the 1,170 defendants executed in the region, with most convicted of murdering a white victim.

Given the racial disproportion inherent in the modern application of the death penalty, it is no surprise that most African Americans (including me) oppose the death penalty, a position that would also disqualify most of them (and me) from serving on the jury in Roof’s case.

As a result, if the Roof trial continues on its present course, a jury will be chosen that represents only part of the community. Those who oppose the death penalty on principle will be struck from the pool of jurors by the presiding judge. Those who express doubts about the death penalty will likely be struck by the prosecution. The resulting jury will have fewer blacks, fewer women and fewer people of faiths that oppose the death penalty than a jury selected at random from the residents of Charleston. That cannot be a desirable outcome in such an emotional and racially charged case.

Neither would the adversarial proceeding necessitated by a refusal to accept Roof’s offer to plead guilty and accept a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Once the trial begins, there will be a detailed recounting of the worst day this community has ever experienced. It will be the prosecution’s duty to portray this multiple murder as gruesomely as possible in order to secure a death sentence. Family members may be called to the stand to describe precisely what they went through that day and how it affected them.

Likewise, the defense will be obligated to do everything in its power to lessen Roof’s culpability. This is how our adversarial process works, but it is not necessary here. Without the agony of trying to decide between life and death, a sentencing proceeding that followed a guilty plea could pay tribute to the victims, focusing on the value of their lives and the consequences of their loss. All family members could voice their pain, regardless of their view on the death penalty. It would not be an easy day, but far better than months of focusing only on Roof, followed by years of appeals and uncertainty.

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch has allowed this case to proceed as a capital prosecution until now, but a new decision point is coming soon. Most criminal cases settle before trial because it is in the best interests of the entire community. That could happen here; the offer is already on the table. The attorney general need only agree.

After the racially inspired attack on the parishioners of Mother Emanuel, as the church is known, South Carolina took the bold and important step of permanently lowering the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol grounds. This powerful symbol — perceived by many as the embodiment of racism and discrimination — had to go.

With the death penalty, the Justice Department now has the power to lower another flag that has torn communities apart along racial lines. Capital punishment in this case may appear to be just retribution for Roof’s unfathomable crime. Yet the real-life operation of the death penalty suggests that its application to Roof would only pave the way for future cases in which the death penalty is invoked to harm the very community on which he inflicted so much pain.

We would like to thank not only Governor Newsom for taking this reasoned and courageous step but also the countless anti-death penalty proponents who for decades have been fighting for this day to come. The heroes are not just in the Governor's mansion, they are also located in every street, neighborhood and community throughout the State of California.

Please show your appreciation to the Governor and those in California who fought on the frontlines for this moratorium. Please tag NCADP in a message of thanks and support you send to the Governor and the all the advocates who made today possible. You can reach Governor Newsom on Twitter @GavinNewsom and you can show your appreciation to the grassroots activists by including the hashtag #NoExecutionsCA in your message.

This is welcomed news and reason to rejoice. However, the fight continues on. Please know that NCADP and millions of like-minded, dedicated abolitionist are out there each day working to change hearts and minds in order to create a more just and humane criminal justice system that's free of the cruelty of the death penalty. We welcome your dedication and support in this effort.

• Washington becoming the 20th state in America to abolish the death penalty
• Death row decreasing for the 18th consecutive year
• Death sentences reaching a 25-year low.

In addition to these gains, DPIC’s “The Death Penalty in 2018” also raises the latest Gallup Poll on capital punishment released in October 2018. Gallup found that have fewer than half of Americans (49%) now believe the death penalty is “applied fairly.” This is the lowest level of support since Gallup began asking this question in 2000. The Gallup Poll also revealed that overall support for the death penalty was essentially unchanged from 2017’s 45-year low, and that 41% of Americans said they oppose the death penalty.

The midterm elections also bought encouraging news for the death penalty repeal movement.  The November results saw two prosecutorial candidates running on reform platforms win in Missouri, Alabama, and Texas. In addition, two of the nation’s most pro-death penalty prosecutors lost their re-election bids in California’s Orange and San Bernardino counties. Lastly, Governors in Oregon and Pennsylvania who had imposed or extended moratoria on executions were re-elected, and Colorado elected a new Governor who has openly opposed the death penalty. As these new elective administration take shape in early 2019, we remain optimistic that death penalty support will remain on its downward spiral.

This new reality of declining support is the result of the hard work performed by anti-death penalty organizations and activists nationwide. Our dedication to educating all Americans on the systemic flaws within our death penalty system and fostering a culture of mobilization through time-tested and innovative ways is the beating heart of our movement. We look forward to continuing this dialogue and picking up the fight in 2019.

Once again, thank you to the Death Penalty Information Center for releasing this impactful and difference-making information.

Words are inadequate. All we can do is to try to bear the burden of the suffering of our fellow brothers and sisters in our hearts and rededicate ourselves to our mission and vision.

We seek to build a world where compassion, love and respect for all is the currency of our interactions. We seek to build a world where all are equal in the eyes of their neighbors as well as the law.

We rededicate ourselves in humble tribute to all those who have been lost to violence and to a world where justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.

In America today there is one less state in our country that uses the death penalty. Congratulations to lawyers for this litigation victory which now enables Washington State to join the noble ranks of American states who have abolished the death penalty. 

The language the Washington State Supreme Court used to unanimously strike down the death penalty has sent reverberations across the nation. The Washington Supreme Court confirmed something that we in the movement have known and communicated all along; that the death penalty is arbitrary and racially biased. In her lead opinion, Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst wrote: “The death penalty is unequally applied – sometimes by where the crime took place, or the county of residence, or the available budgetary resources at any given point in time, or the race of the defendant. Our capital punishment law lacks ‘fundamental fairness.’” 

The abolition of the death penalty in Washington State did not occur overnight. It is the result of a years’ long strategy of public education, policy maker influence and providing competent legal representation, that was carried out by a strong core of death penalty abolitionist united by a single, driven mission: to end this barbaric practice in their state. 

This three-pronged approach to achieving abolition has been at the center of NCADP’s work. With our webinar series, NCADP has given a new generation of abolitionist the facts they need and grassroots strategies that result in effective engagement with policy makers, friends, family and colleagues. In addition, for over a decade, NCADP has been there in Washington supporting training and technical assistance to the capital defense teams that have saved so many lives in the state. 

In the past 15 years, seven states – Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York – have abolished capital punishment either via court order or legislative act. And in Colorado, Oregon and Pennsylvania, moratoriums that have halted executions have been adopted. 

Clearly, the national mood against the death penalty is rising. Each day, abolitionists are taking important steps by utilizing proven and tested strategies to reach new people to help achieve our historic goals. Washington is yet another step closer to the ultimate goal of abolishing the death penalty in America.

The news out of Washington shows we’re on the right path, and that the strategy we’ve employed is educating new people each day about the systemic flaws in the death penalty. With your help, we will continue to make history each day. 

We are encouraging all our supporters to say “Thank You” to the legal team in Washington State that devised the litigation strategy that paved the way for abolition. Please show your support via Twitter by sending this message: 
“As a dedicated supporter of @ncadp and #deathpenalty repeal, we congratulate the #WashingtonStateDPLegalTeam on their historic victory leading to abolition of the death penalty in #WashingtonState.”

Thank you again for being such an important part of our movement.

There are currently six executions scheduled in the state of Texas for the remainder of the year. Ruben Gutierrez, Kwame Rockwell, Emanuel Kemp, and Joseph Garcia are all set to be put to death before the end of 2018, in that order. With a current push for speedier death penalty appeals in the state and a waning supply of lethal injection drugs (all of which will expire by the end of June 2019), Texas will likely remain #1 in the country for executions. 

Activists can contact Governor Greg Abbott and urge clemency for any individual on death row:

NCADP Recommends: 2018 Suggested Reading List

We have compiled a list of valuable books that discuss capital punishment, the criminal justice system, and social reform. Some are primarily analytical texts and some are emotional in nature, but all are valuable in educating us about the problems of today and helping us envision the solutions of tomorrow.

https://smile.amazon.com/Sun-Does-Shine-Freedom-Selection/dp/1250205794/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533760194&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sun+shines+on+death+row

In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free. Hinton’s memoir tells his dramatic thirty-year journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humor, or joy.

https://smile.amazon.com/Death-Row-execution-Americas-infamous/dp/1911600621/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533772055&sr=8-1&keywords=death+row+the+final+minutes

In 12 years, Michelle Lyons has witnessed nearly 300 executions. Michelle supported the death penalty, before misgivings began to set in as the executions mounted. She began to query the arbitrary nature of the death penalty and ask the question: do executions make victims of all of us? 

https://smile.amazon.com/Policing-Black-Man-Prosecution-Imprisonment/dp/110187127X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1533772407&sr=1-1&keywords=policing+the+black+ma

A comprehensive, readable analysis of the key issues of the Black Lives Matter movement, this thought-provoking and compelling anthology features essays by some of the nation’s most influential and respected criminal justice experts and legal scholars. Essays range from an explication of the historical roots of racism in the criminal justice system to an examination of modern-day police killings of unarmed black men.

https://smile.amazon.com/End-Its-Rope-Killing-Criminal/dp/0674970993/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533789045&sr=8-1&keywords=end+of+its+rope+book

It isn’t enough to celebrate the death penalty’s demise. We must learn from it. The failed death penalty experiment teaches us how inept lawyering, overzealous prosecution, race discrimination, wrongful convictions, and excessive punishments undermine the pursuit of justice. Garrett makes a strong closing case for what a future criminal justice system might look like if these injustices were remedied.

https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_15?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=deadly+justice+a+statistical+portrait+of+the+death+penalty&sprefix=deadly+justice+%2Cstripbooks%2C160&crid=3VZSYR090EDV8

The eminent political scientist Frank Baumgartner along with a team of younger scholars (Marty Davidson, Kaneesha Johnson, Arvind Krishnamurthy, and Colin Wilson) have collaborated to assess the empirical record and provide a definitive account of how the death penalty has been implemented. Each chapter addresses a precise empirical question and provides evidence, not opinion, about how the modern death penalty has functioned.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0815728891?pf_rd_p=d1f45e03-8b73-4c9a-9beb-4819111bef9a&pf_rd_r=32H7QERPF85JNTZ4XMXE

Does the death penalty violate the Constitution? In Against the Death Penalty, Justice Stephen Breyer argues that it does; that it is carried out unfairly and inconsistently and, thus, violates the ban on "cruel and unusual punishments" specified by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. Breyer was joined in his dissent from the bench by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Their passionate argument has been cited by many legal experts including fellow Justice Antonin Scalia—as signaling an eventual Court ruling striking down the death penalty.

https://smile.amazon.com/End-Policing-Alex-S-Vitale/dp/1784782890/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534885789&sr=1-1&keywords=the+end+of+policing

Recent years have seen an explosion of protest against police brutality and repression—most dramatically in Ferguson, Missouri, where longheld grievances erupted in violent demonstrations following the police killing of Michael Brown. This book attempts to spark public discussion by revealing the tainted origins of modern policing as a tool of social control. Drawing on groundbreaking research from across the world, and covering virtually every area in the increasingly broad range of police work, Alex Vitale demonstrates how law enforcement has come to exacerbate the very problems it is supposed to solve.

https://smile.amazon.com/Start-Here-Road-Reducing-Incarceration/dp/1620972239/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534886002&sr=1-1&keywords=start+here%3A+a+road+map

A bold agenda for criminal justice reform based on equal parts pragmatism and idealism, from the visionary director of the Center for Court Innovation, a leader of the reform movement. Start Here is a must-read for everyone who wants to start dismantling mass incarceration without waiting for a revolution or permission. Proceeds from the book will support the Center for Court Innovation’s reform efforts.

https://smile.amazon.com/No-Choirboy-Murder-Violence-Teenagers/dp/1250044456/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534886158&sr=1-1&keywords=no+choirboy

No Choirboy takes readers inside America's prisons, and allows inmates sentenced to death as teenagers to speak for themselves. In their own voices—raw and uncensored—they talk about their lives in prison, and share their thoughts and feelings about how they ended up there. Susan Kuklin also gets inside the system, exploring capital punishment itself and the intricacies and inequities of criminal justice in the United States.

https://smile.amazon.com/When-They-Call-You-Terrorist/dp/1250171083/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534886291&sr=1-1&keywords=when+they+call+you+a+terrorist

A poetic and powerful memoir about what it means to be a Black woman in America—and the co-founding of a movement that demands justice for all in the land of the free. In 2013, when Trayvon Martin’s killer went free, Patrisse Khan-Cullors's outrage led her to co-found Black Lives Matter with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi. Condemned as terrorists and as a threat to America, these loving women founded a hashtag that birthed the movement to demand accountability from the authorities who continually turn a blind eye to the injustices inflicted upon people of Black and Brown skin.

To confront the shortage states like Oklahoma turned to alternatives for executions. Specifically, correctional institutions have proposed using nitrogen, or gas chambers to execute inmates. Opponents, like Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, have questioned the effectiveness of nitrogen protocols. Dunham claimed that in other instances when using nitrogen to euthanize mammals, the American Veterinary Medical Association deemed the process inappropriate — to euthanize a 70lb pig it would take seven minutes of nitrogen, a length of time incompatible with the promised “few minutes” Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter described nitrogen would need to execute an inmate.

Other states have approached the drug shortage by turning to other drugs, some lacking scientific evidence of effectiveness within the standards of the 8th Amendment. Nevada’s solution to the drug shortage is using a new drug combination, fentanyl, diazepam, and cisatracurium. Susi Vassallo, a New York University professor of emergency medicine has commented on the lacking scientific basis for the drug combination and the increased risk factors associated with incorrectly administering the cocktail. The questionable effectiveness of Nevada’s cocktail increases risk for painful and inhumane executions.

These instances have led to public outrage. Executions are becoming less and less effective. With the climbing amount of accounts contending “botched” executions, news media and the public have begun demanding disclosure of information about execution drugs. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press describes that lawsuits brought nationwide have been on the grounds that denial of information violates inmates’ Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment, and the inmates Fourteenth Amendment rights of due process, by not giving inmates enough information exercise their appeal rights. 

However, lawsuits have also claimed a violation of First Amendment rights “for the person being executed as well as for the general public; for instance, for the press,” claimed Muhammad Faridi, an expert on lethal injection right of access issues.

In California news media organizations are suing the state to make all positions of executions public knowledge. This includes the preparation of the drug cocktails used for lethal injection. This arose from the conjunction between nationwide “botched” executions and California’s denial of public rights, to know whether execution staff properly prepared and administer the lethal dosage, the types of chemicals used, the number of doses, how the inmate reacts to each dose, and general effectiveness of the execution. 

This lawsuit can potentially stall executions that were intended to be speed up with the passage of Californias Proportion 66 in 2016.

-- Jacqueline Lantsman

ead Wrong and Grave Injustice. These books largely make the innocence case for death penalty abolition; that is, they recognize that states frequently execute men and women who are posthumously found to be innocent. Stack is also a professor at American University’s School of Communication.

This year, Maggie Stogner and Richard Stack will premiere their film In the Executioner’s Shadow. This film centers on people whose lives grew focused around capital punishment and the ethical questions it raises. They profile Vicki and Syl Schieber, a Maryland couple whose daughter, Shannon, was raped and murdered in Philadelphia. In the film, the Schiebers recount how they struggled to forgive the man who murdered Shannon. Stogner and Stack also interview Karen Brassard, a Boston resident. Brassard, her husband, her daughter and her best friend were all hospitalized after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Karen candidly expresses her feelings as the perpetrator, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, goes to trial. Finally the directors talk to Jerry Givens, who conducted 62 executions for the state of Virginia.

For all of those profiled, capital punishment, which for many seems distant and irrelevant, becomes personal. It raises for them weighty questions, ranging from “what does it mean to take a life?” to “what is true justice?” St

ack told us that he grew interested in film after seeing Tim Robbins’ Dead Man Walking, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Robbins adapted Dead Man Walking from the memoir of the same name written by Sister Helen Prejean, who was a spiritual advisor to two men on death row at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Much like Sister Prejean in her book, Stack and Stogner hope that In the Executioner’s Shadow prompts conversations of the death penalty and its ethical permissibility. After all, “what does it say about the United States that we champion freedom and human rights yet also kill our own citizens?” asks Stogner. Moreover, the two hope that their film offers balance. Those prosecutors, judges, and citizens that favor the death penalty by no means underestimate the gravity of the topic. For that reason, Stogner and Stack hope, ultimately, that their film will spark dialogues between individuals who disagree so that we might work toward a more fair, transparent, and righteous criminal justice system.

View the trailer and learn more about the film here.

--Nathan Steinberg

Our series will have the directors and producers of the selected films translate to the audience the themes exhibited in the film, and how they intersect with current grassroots movements across social justice sectors. Audience members will walk away with better tangible skills used to engage the subject of abolition. Some examples of this are learning to better communicate across ideological differences, best practices for engaging and influencing lawmakers, and addressing root problems in violence as a means to preventing capital punishment.

Join us in our upcoming two Webinars, taking place in May and June, that will be showing films The Last Day of Freedom, and In the Executioners Shadow.

Register for The Last Day of Freedom here

Register for In the Executioners Shadow here

Now, Francome and Pizzey are again teaming up on the film The Penalty, a ninety-minute film that is currently screening in select locations. Each individual in The Penalty has a different relationship to the death penalty, but for all of them it is a tremendous source of grief. Damon Thibodeaux, who appeared in One for Ten, served fifteen years on death row in Louisiana after giving police officers a false confession in 1997. In The Penalty, Thibodeaux discusses his life since being released, including his criminal justice activism. The directors also shadows Darlene Farah, whose daughter was murdered in Jacksonville during a 2013 robbery. As the county prosecutor pursues the death penalty for the assailant, Farah and her children’s lives get embroiled in the protracted legal procedure. Finally, Francome and Pizzey travel to Columbus to talk to Allen Bohnert, a public defender whose latest client, Dennis McGuire, is executed with an untested combination of chemicals. Francome told me that originally The Penalty would consist heavily of interviews with academic experts. Then he and Pizzey realized that they could tell just as powerful a story with perspectives from Thibodeaux, Farah, and Bohnert.

This year Francome is once again traveling the United States in order to promote this film. They just finished a tour in Ohio and soon they will head for Alaska, Florida and Louisiana. Each state tour will center around a local criminal justice shortcoming, allowing the audience to take action immediately after the credits roll. In Florida, for example, the screenings will raise awareness for a state court ruling that a trial that results in a death sentence must be retried if the decision is not unanimous among jurors. This ruling will result in prolonged legal proceedings. By blending social justice filmmaking with taking action, Francome and Pizzey have pioneered a new form of activism that enables you, the viewer, to propel the death penalty abolition movement forward in 2018. You can find a screening near you here: http://www.thepenaltyfilm.com/screenings/.

The NCADP will be screening ten minutes of the film during our upcoming April Webinar. Register Here: https://events.genndi.com/register/169105139238473655/93e67c79be

-- Nathan Steinberg 

Failed executions across the United States have largely been attributed to expiring lethal injection drugs, and negligence on the part of correctional officials. The visible physical struggle experienced by inmates as they were administrated untested lethal injection has led to increased standards and expectations for proposed alternatives to execution. This is exemplified in scrutiny towards Oklahomas recently mishandled execution. The most recent execution taken place in Oklahoma, of inmate Charles Warner in January 2015, attracted major national attention. The execution had taken place for 20 minutes, and the last words to leave the mouth of Warner were, “my body is on fire.” Post execution officials acknowledged that the wrong drug was used during the lethal injection. Scott Pruitt, then the state’s attorney general and now the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency referred to the incident as “careless, cavalier and in some circumstances dismissive of established procedures.” Accountability was achieved as prominent officials stepped down during the investigation that proceeded the incident. Today, Oklahomas inhumane execution translates into increased hurdles and criticism to instituting alternative policies to proceed with executions.   

Dale A. Baich, attorney for Oklahoma death-row prisoners challenging the new nitrogen protocol, claims the following, “This method has never been used before and is experimental… Oklahoma is once again asking us to trust it as officials ‘learn-on-the-job,’ through a new execution procedure and method. How can we trust Oklahoma to get this right when the state’s recent history reveals a culture of carelessness and mistakes in executions?” 

Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, further questions the effectiveness of using nitrogen. Dunham claimed that in other instances when using nitrogen to euthanize mammals, the American Veterinary Medical Association deemed the process inappropriate — to euthanize a 70lb pig it would take seven minutes of nitrogen, a length of time incompatible with the promised “few minutes” Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter described nitrogen would need to execute an inmate.

Nitrogen as an execution method is evidently largely untested, untried, and experimental on the human body. However, it is an example of states adopting alternatives to inaccessible lethal injection drugs. Advocates must closely assess the evolution of the legal rational permitting alternative execution methods across the United States. The NCADP will persist to inform our members of the evolution of lethal executions in the United States.

-- Jacqueline Lantsman

https://events.genndi.com/replay/169105139238473655/27ab8aa89d/0/0

The aging death row population has been growing. In 2000, the sixty and older population consisted of 2.3%, whereas the fifty to fifty-nine population was 11.1%  In 2009, inmates between the ages of fifty and fifty-nine increased to 21.1%. This exists within the context of only 15% being executed since 1977, while 40% are waiting on appeals and growing older. Moreover, experts explain that old age comes early in prison populations, with the typical inmate entering the system in poor health, and prison conditions further eroding at the physical and mental health of the individual. As a result of these factors there is a growing population of geriatrics across state death row populations. The following accounts provide insight into terminally ill inmates approaching their scheduled executions.  

Jimmy Dale Bland

Bland has diagnosed with a fatal case of lung cancer, that spread to this brain. His physicians put him on a treatment regimen of radiation and chemotherapy, predicting he would live as little as six months. During the last months of his life, Bland appealed his execution, arguing that executing the terminally ill violates the Eight Amendment ban on cruel and usual punishment. Jonathan Turley, constitutional law professor at George Washington University School of Law explains that Bland’s claims of violation of the Eighth Amendment failed uniformly, and that was reflected in the Supreme Courts rejection of Bland’s appeal. However, Bland maintained that the Supreme Court, in some instances, has been willing to restrict the death penalty when applied to juveniles or the mentally disabled, but fails to extend sympathy for the elderly and terminally ill. Advocates and leaders in abolition have began to challenge the objective of executions. Dianne Rust-Tierney, director of the NCADP, has claimed that the logic of deterrence in the case of the terminally ill fails, “No one is going to argue that he's still dangerous.” Rust-Tierney furthers that, although it is understood that the objective of deterrence no longer stands, “there is something unsettling about the government doggedly getting its pound of flesh whether or not it matters anymore.” Jimmy Dale Bland was executed on 6/26/07.

Vernon Madison

Madison had experienced multiple strokes over the span of multiple years, leading to a chronic condition of vascular dementia. To compound this Madison also faces other health conditions— legally blindness, incontinence, limited ability to walk, and slurred speech. The outcome of Madison’s chronic condition was the inability to remember the crime he had committed, leading to a scheduled execution. Madison’s attorneys argue that due to the inability to rationally understand the reason for being executed, the execution could not take place. In 2016 the federal appeals court ruled that due Madison was incompetent to be executed due to his lack of understanding of the crime he was convicted. Unlike Jimmy Dale Bland, the court rationalized that executing a person currently suffering from dementia would be cruel and unusual punishment. Following this decision the Supreme Court overturned the ruling of the lower court. Comparing the Jimmy Dale Bland’s case to Vernon Madison’s case reveals the discretionary process of distinguishing between forms of terminal and chronic illness, and the process of deeming one over the other a matter of cruel and unusual punishment.

Alva Campbell

Campbell, incapacitated on Ohio death-row, 69 years old was diagnosed with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, making him terminally ill. This chronic illness inhibits his ability to walk without assistance, causes his reliance  on a colostomy bag, attached to the side of his body, and requires four breathing treatments daily. In addition to this Campbell is also allergic to midazolam, commonly the first drug used in lethal injection protocols. This led Campbell to challenge the constitutionality of Ohio’s lethal injection protocol. He claimed that his health conditions increase the risk of failing to find a vein for lethal injection, heightening the potential for suffering during the execution. However, the Ohio Federal courts denied Campbell’s challenge. The Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections claims that medical accommodations will be made for Campbell during his execution. Campbell’s attorney, David Stebbins, objected, claiming that “All of this in an attempt to execute an old and frail man who is no longer a threat to anyone… Killing Alva Campbell is simply not necessary.” In the attorneys legal briefs the lawyers argued that the medical condition sets a stage for an executions that would violate Campbell’s constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Once the scheduled execution date approached the execution team tried to insert the needle in four places. After 30 minutes of failing to successfully insert the needle the witnesses were told to leave the death chamber. The execution was officially called off.

Doyle Lee Hamm

Hamm, death row inmate in Alabama of the age of 60 years old, is scheduled for execution on February 22, 2018. Doyle is currently suffering from the terminal illness of lymphatic cancer, and undergoing radiation treatment to prevent the progression of the cancer. However, the medical treatment has left Hamm without accessible peripheral veins that are required during lethal injection. Doyle’s attorney of 28 years, Professor Bernard Harcourt of Columbia Law School,  claims that by using the common method of lethal injection, Doyle will suffer an “agonizing, bloody, and painful death.” To support his argument Harcourt brought anesthesiologist, Dr. March Heath, to testify about Hamm’s medical conditions. Heath explained that there is a high probability that intravenous lethal injection could cause paralysis and suffocation leading to “an agonizing death.” In the last month, with the approaching execution Harcourt proceeds to challenge the court to rule a stay of execution. Another group of advocates, including Governor Bill Richardson and the International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP), issued a letter addressing Alabama Governor Kay Ivey expressing concern about the approaching execution with regard to Doyle’s “serious medical conditions.” The ICDP calls on Governor Ivey to halt Hamas execution and rule life without parole, for Hamm to serve the rest of his life in prison. Moreover, United Nations human rights experts have called the US Government to halt the execution of Doyle Lee Hamm, due to concern that lethal injection can amount to cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment, and possibly “torture.” The intersection between terminal illness and execution is a pertinent issue today, here is what you can do: http://blogs.law.columbia.edu/update-hamm-v-alabama/what-you-can-do/

These four inmates demonstrate the variation in cases of terminal illness on death row. With the aging death row population courts will be posed with ethical questions surrounding what constitutes “too sick” for execution. Medical practitioners will likely become consultants to such cases, on the frontline of preventing the executions of terminally ill inmates.

The NCADP opposes the upcoming execution of Doyle Lee Hamm, and any execution of a terminally ill inmate. Join our movement, sign this petition to persuade Governor Kay Ivey to grant clemency to Doyle Lee Hamm.

— Jacqueline Lantsman

In 2014 Governor Jay Inslee made the following statement "Equal justice under the law is the state's primary responsibility. And in death penalty cases, I'm not convinced equal justice is being served.”  His conviction he explains came from research on current cases and discussion with the family members of homicide victims, death penalty prosecutors, and law enforcement. He then toured Walla Walla State Penitentiary to observe the conditions of death row, and the execution chamber that has taken 78 lives. Governor Inslee argues that there have been too many exonerations in the past 30 years — reflecting the inconsistency and “imperfect system”  guiding capital punishment.

With advocacy to abolish the death penalty growing across the United States, exonerations increasing in numbers, public opinion dropping in numbers, Governor Jay Inslee, Democrat is not alone in his stance. Leaders are claiming that the bipartisan support for bill SB 6052 is the foundation to the passage and abolition of the death penalty in Washington state. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Democrat, and Attorney General Rob McKenna, Republican, have following suit, joining Governor Jay Inslee in proposing the bill SB 6052. To compound this, soon after Republican Senators began to question the value of the death penalty as a criminal justice procedure Senator Mark Milsocia (R-Milton) dedicated an op-ed in the Seattle Times to describe the re-traumatizing process capital trail and executions have on murder victim families.  Senator Maureen Walsh (R- Walla Walla) further argues that the death penalty is ineffective in one of its main purposes, providing relief to the victims families. Bipartisan sponsorship for bill SB 6052 is “a sign of changing views on the death penalty,” explained Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

On the ground activism is exemplified by the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle who represents the Catholic Bishops of Washington State in claiming opposition for capital punishment. The stance is rooted in victim wellbeing, “[The Catholic Bishops] have made very clear their deep concern for the families and friends of victims of violent crimes and their commitment to helping them heal.”

Political and activists support for the abolition of the death penalty also hinges on the cost required to try, house, and execute inmates on capital punishment. In Washington states, three capital cases at their starting stages, located in one country have amounted to $10 million in costs Capital trials in particular are costly. A Seattle study, conducted by Peter A. Collins and colleagues, found that compared to non-death penalty trials, an average of $1 million more in taxpayer money was spend on capital trail for aggravated murder cases. Taxpayer money is also unequally distributed across the state. Defense  Attorney Mark Larrañaga, explains that death penalty is unequally applied in court, largely depending on the budget of the country where the crime occurred. Taxpayer money could be better spent on rehabilitation, mediation, and re-entry programs, especially considering the decreasing rate of murder in Washington State.

Across Washington, the murder rate is significantly below the national average. In 2016, the Seattle murder rate decreased by 16 percent compared to previous years. When combing the number of murders across cities — Bellevue, Everett, Seattle, and Tacoma — there was a drop of more than 20 percent. Researchers have described the positive relationship between falling murder rates and increased public support to abolish death penalty.

The timing of bill SB 6052 is reflecting a momentous shift in Washingtons politics and ideology surrounding effective criminal justice. Retributive law, the root of capital punishment is being rejected across the United States. Washington State exemplifies this stride, shifting focus to reduction of financial and social expenses associated with the death penalty and to a more just and rehabilitative criminal justice system.

-- Jacqueline Lantsman

In the upcoming three months Texas will account for the execution of four inmates, John Battaglia, Thomas Whitaker, Rosendo Rodriguez, and Erick Davila. Lethal injection drug shortages facing states across the United States is reflected in Texas’s modest stock of 14 doses of pentobarbital.  Pharmaceutical companies terminating the supply of drugs vital to the lethal injection cocktail used in executions, is slowing the rate of executions. 

The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP) has organized vigils on the days of executions, as s form of witness against state-sanctioned killing. 

TCADP urges activists to contact the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Texas Governor Greg Abbott to urge clemency for any individual scheduled to be executed in Texas. 

Ohio

The state of Ohio will account for two executions in the upcoming months. Raymond Tibbetts and William Montgomery will be executed by lethal injection, by a 3-drug protocol using midazolam.  A previous ruling of Supreme Court case Glossip V. Gross— reviewing the claim that midazolam is in violation of the Eight Amendment because it fails to render a person insensate to pain during execution— rendered midazolam not in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

Ohio coalition, Ohioans to Stop Executions in response to the upcoming execution of Raymond Tibbetts  is holding a “Prayerful Vigil to Stop Executions” inside of the Ohio Statehouse. 

Alabama

Alabama will be executing one inmate, Doyle Lee Hamm, a 60 year old inmate with cranial and lymphatic cancer. Criticism surrounds Hamms scheduled execution with overwhelming evidence supporting that the cancer, and radiation treatment are likely to negatively interact the Alabama’s lethal injection protocol, resulting in a botched execution. 

Bernard E. Harcourt, Director of the The Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought, having represented Doyle Lee Hamm since 1990 has organized the gathering of letters to support to support clemency for Doyle Lee Hamm. The Center has started a petition to pressure the government to grant clemency. 

Missouri

Missouri has scheduled the execution of inmate Russell Bucklew. Advocacy group, Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, warns that Russell Bucklew rare medical condition cavernous hemangioma increases risk of a botched execution which has previously raised the concern of the American Civil Liberties Union. His medical conditions previously caused a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, and have gone unchanged. Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is petitioning the re-scheduling of the execution.

-- Jacqueline Lantsman

Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck announced in July 2011 it has restricted the supply of drugs to government agencies for the purpose of execution. This policy would prohibit Akorn, Inc. Illinois based company from selling controversial drug, Nembutal, for execution purposes. Moreover, advocacy on the part of Lundbeck led to the shut down of the FDA-approved pentobarbital to U.S. prisons, leading 10 other pharmaceutical companies to follow

Of these companies, an example is Pfizer. After acquiring Hospira— pharmaceutical company that provided the correctional industry seven drugs, and became responsible for an agonizing execution in Ohio in 2014— Pfizer restricted the sale of the seven drugs used for executions.

The justification for prohibiting drug use for execution is largely rooted in ethical reasons. In the last five years manufacturers are increasingly seeking to avoid association with executions due to the botched executions, and the contracting nature of having drugs intended for curative purposes simultaneously used for execution. Advocate and director of the death-penalty team at Reprieve, Maya Foa emphasizes the responsibility of pharmaceutical manufactures to produce medicines for improving and saving lived of patients.

Executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, Richard C. Dieter, further explains that drugs such as nembutal, sodium thiopental, or propofol are not designed to kill people.

The timing of drug restrictions is reflective of advocacy to abolish capital punishment and growing public disapproval of capital punishment in the United States. A Gallup poll taken in 2017, reveals that since 1972 Americans support for the death penalty has decreased, with opposition in 2017 reaching 41%. In accordance with this, specific pharmaceutical companies and medical professionals are following suit in denouncing the role of medicine in executions. 

The unintended consequence associated with this form of advocacy has been the use of untested, experimental drug cocktails. Nevada’s solution to the drug shortage is using a new drug combination, fentanyl, diazepam, and cisatracurium. Susi Vassallo, a New York University professor of emergency medicine has commented on the lacking scientific basis for the drug combination and the increased risk factors associated with incorrectly administering the cocktail. Further, Joel B. Zivot, an Emory University anesthesiologist explains that drugs fentanyl and diazepam are limited in their ability to act as pain blockers and for psychosomatic purposes. The questionable effectiveness of Nevada’s cocktail increases risk for painful and inhumane executions.Other states incorporating fentanyl in their drug cocktail due to drug shortages are also running the risk of cruel and unusual executions.

As pharmaceutical companies resist by curbing correctional facilities access to fentanyl, we as grassroots activists must persist in our fight to abolish the death penalty. There is no method for humane, just, and safe lethal executions— we must abolish the Death Penalty in order to prevent risky executions.

-- Jacqueline Lantsman 

--Jacqueline Lantsman

VIP Briefing for Activists on the Death Penalty Information Center’s Year-End Report
Co-sponsored with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
FREE WEBINAR* 
Description: This webinar will be the first of a series sponsored by the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty in its Justice Powered by Information (JPI) series.  This segment will focus on the Death Penalty Information Center’s year-end report. We will be sharing behind the scenes details about the report and its conclusions. Speakers from the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) will be available to answer questions surrounding the current state of the death penalty and shed some light on the national situation. The webinar will focus on death penalty trends and examine the circumstances behind them. We will also look at regional and demographical differences across the nation and what that means for the fight to end the death penalty. The webinar is free of charge.

NACDL Webcast: Tuesday, December 19, 2017
When: 2:00 - 2:30 pm ET  EASTERN
Cost: FREE
CLE credit: Not Available
NOTE: Confirmed registrants will receive a web link via email the morning of the event.

Register Now

CONTACT: Toni Perry (202) 331-4090

Death Penalty Abolitionists Gather in Washington DC for Annual Awards:

Democracy Alliance President Gara LaMarche, Lush Cosmetics, and Arkansas Coalition Honored

Washington, DC: The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will recognize those who have had a major impact in shifting the momentum away from capital punishment.

The Annual Awards Reception hosted by the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) takes place on October 17 at the historic Mott House in Washington, DC. The event recognizes those who have made groundbreaking, game changing contributions to the struggle to end capital punishment in the United States.

This year’s recipient of the Hugo Adam Bedau Visionary Leadership Award is Gara LaMarche, President of the Democracy Alliance.
“This year we honor a committed activist, a brilliant strategist, and thought leader. Gara has been on the front lines fighting to end the death penalty and for human rights. He has organized, written, spoken eloquently and marshalled the considerable resources necessary for the abolition movement to be successful,” said Diann Rust-Tierney, Executive Director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

North American-based soap and body care company Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics will receive the inaugural NCADP Corporate Leadership Award, presented to acknowledge Lush’s call to abolish the death penalty in the United States. In May 2017, Lush announced its Death ≠ Justice campaign, which was featured in all of Lush’s 200 U.S. shops and included a limited-edition product that raised over $130,000 to support abolition efforts.

“The Lush Cosmetics Company’s unique and innovative model for partnering with human rights and environment organizations across the country is a powerful force for good”, said Rust-Tierney.  “They bring their entire team of marketing, communications, campaigning professionals and in-store leadership to the table. They have been the wind beneath the wings of this struggle.”

Furonda Brasfield, the Executive Director of the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, will also be recognized for her exceptional work. Under the extraordinary pressure of eight executions in 10 days in April 2017, Furonda shined the spotlight on the travesty of justice taking place in Arkansas and forced a national debate. Working closely with national organizations and the legal community, four of the eight lives were spared.  Some of the proceeds from this event will support Furonda’s work and the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

This is what we do: We celebrate those who make the commitment to advance human rights, and we bring more people to this struggle to help build the resources to be successful.

Karen Yarborough, co-chair of the 90 Million Strong Campaign and lead sponsor of legislation that repealed the death penalty in Illinois was the first recipient of the Hugo Adam Bedau Visionary Leadership Award in 2016.
The reception on October 17th will start at 6:00 pm at the historic Mott House located at 122 Maryland Avenue N.E., Washington, DC.  Award presentations begin at 6:30.

Information and registration is available online by clicking here.

According to their findings: "at least 17 out of the 26 men experienced serious childhood trauma – horrifying instances of extensive physical and sexual abuse. At least six men appear to suffer from a mental illness, and at least 11 have evidence of intellectual disability, borderline intellectual disability, or a cognitive impairment, including brain injury."

The report also reveals that a few individuals were under the age of 21, "a period during which an individual’s brain, especially the section related to impulse control and decision-making, is still underdeveloped," according to The Fair Punishment Project. 

Ohio recently lifted its three and a half year moratorium on July 26, 2017 after executing Ronald Phillips at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. The state plans to execute another inmate, Gary Otte, on September 13, 2017. 

More information about the report can be found on the Fair Punishment Project's website: fairpunishment.org