Introduction Welcome, dear readers, to a journey through the intertwined threads of history, injustice, and the pursuit of a more equitable future. At Equal Justice USA (EJUSA), we set our focus with precision on dismantling the pervasive structures of anti-Blackness ingrained within the American criminal legal system. Historical Roots and the Legacy of Virginia Slave…
The idea began with a question: What would it look like to accompany a church willing to match faith with deeds so they can meet the justice needs in their community? The question that led to an idea led to a journey to Richmond, VA. I teamed up with Will Simpson, EJUSA’s director of violence…
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The past two decades have brought a steady, state-by-state dismantling of the death penalty, and 2021 proved no different. We saw the first former Confederate state repeal the death penalty when Virgina Governor George Northam signed the state’s new law into the books. That stroke…
Today, Governor Ralph Northam signed the bill to repeal Virginia’s death penalty, enacting it into law. Virginia is officially the 23rd state to end its death penalty. The work on the ground to achieve this victory was amazing, including our partners from Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the Virginia Interfaith Center on…
This. Is. Big. Virginia, a former Confederate state that has executed more people than any other state in the country, just just voted to end the death penalty, with the House of Delegates passing an abolition bill 57-41. Virginia’s achievement today once again sounds the death penalty’s demise. But it does more than that. It…
We’re less than a quarter into 2018, and the movement to end the death penalty has already made major strides in state capitols around the country. In Utah, a Republican-sponsored repeal bill passed out of a House committee for the first time ever. Two years ago, Utah came close to ending the death penalty but…
Every time I turn on the news I see another mass shooting. Another police shooting. I see people of color and poor people railroaded into prisons. And I see survivors struggling in silence – neglected, forgotten. It’s devastating. We need real solutions that address violence head on. Violence by the justice system. Community violence. All…
We’re closer than ever. This fall support for the death penalty plunged to its lowest level since 1972. You made that happen. You stood by us year after year, and now even red states and Republican lawmakers are leading the charge. Will you help us continue our work in 2018? Please make as generous a…
Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. Vice’s in-depth Charlottesville video is a horrifying look at hatred, The Boston Globe Our country watched white nationalists descend upon Charlottesville, VA, to deliver messages of hate and bigotry. Vice’s viral 20 minute…
In the past month, we’ve been confronted with our death penalty system’s dangers and flaws again. Rodricus Crawford was released from Louisiana’s death row in April and Ralph Daniel Wright Jr. from Florida’s death row just days ago because they had both been wrongly convicted and sentenced to die. Regrettably, this isn’t a rare occurrence….