Today’s op-ed in the Pensacola News Journal marks the 500th media hit for Equal Justice USA’s Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty project. Stories about or sparked by the project have appeared in print, online, over the radio, and on television since the project’s national founding in March of 2013.
Sources have ranged from small, independent blogs to nationally televised news shows to local talk radio to national newspapers.
In addition to seeing the mainstream media reporting on the growing number of political and social conservatives who have concerns about the death penalty, there has been a steady stream of stories in traditionally conservative media sources that outline the flaws in the death penalty.
“Conservatives of all stripes are questioning whether the death penalty is compatible with conservative values like limited government, fiscal responsibility, and a culture of life,” said Marc Hyden, EJUSA’s Conservative Outreach Specialist and national coordinator of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP).
EJUSA officially launched the national CCATDP project at CPAC in 2013 after working with a group of Montana conservatives who had formed their own Conservatives Concerned project. With the support and wisdom from the Montana group as well as a strong interest from conservatives from around the country, EJUSA saw the opportunity to form a network of conservatives who question the alignment of capital punishment with conservative principles and values.
Visit the Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty news feed to see many of the media hits from the last 18 months, or visit their YouTube Channel to see several of the television and radio broadcasts in which they’ve participated.
Just a few of our favorites:
- Religion News Service – “Will conservatives unite against the death penalty?”, March 2013
- Lincoln Journal Star – “Conservatives and the death penalty,” March 2013
- The Daily Caller – “Why conservatives should oppose the death penalty,” April 2013
- RedState – “Conservatives should change mind on death penalty,” November 2013
- Reason TV – “CPAC: The Conservative Case for Criminal Justice Reform,” March 2014
- Washington Times – “Pruden: When capital punishment gets no sanction,” April 2014
- The Christian Post – “Samuel Rodriguez Challenges Evangelicals to Reevalulate Death Penalty,” May 2014
- Newsweek – “An Unlikely Conservative Cause: Abolish the Death Penalty,” May 2014
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – Stirring GOP opposition to the death penalty,” June 2014
- USA Today – “Kristin Powers: Conservative case against death penalty,” June 2014
