The near victory in Maryland demonstrated a new political strength for the moratorium movement. Grassroots support, which in Maryland included moratorium resolutions adopted by local governments representing the state’s three most populous jurisdictions, can indeed be translated into political change! Our Maryland campaign provided us intensive on-the-ground training which has enriched our organizing staff’s capacity to coach, mentor, train, and otherwise assist organizers in other states. In 2001, we provided training to groups in Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee.
MORATORIUM NOW! also provided emergency assistance to advocates in NEVADA when its Senate unexpectedly passed a moratorium bill in April. We mobilized Nevadans to support the bill via phone banking and mailed an urgent action alert. While the moratorium ultimately failed to pass the state Assembly, a study bill was approved. We continue to provide needed technical assistance to the state coalition in its efforts to inform the study commission and prepare for the state’s next legislative session in 2003.
By Shari Silberstein
Since 2000, Shari Silberstein has dedicated her career to transforming the justice system from one that harms to one that heals. Under her leadership, and using campaign strategies she helped develop, Equal Justice USA has helped end the death penalty in nine states, built first-of-its-kind conservative and evangelical coalitions for justice reform, secured millions in state funding for healing services to families of murder victims, launched an innovative model for training and dialogue between police and communities on trauma and race equity, and strengthened dozens of local organizations across the nation working for justice, violence reduction, and healing. Shari has been a national voice in helping to break down the silos between criminal justice reformers and crime survivor advocates. Her expertise has been a source in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, and Harper’s Magazine, and she has written op-eds for an array of media outlets, including Fox News, the Marshall Project, and U.S. News and World Report. Shari has a bachelor's degree in film from New York University and a master's degree in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
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