Texas’ reputation as a lock-em-up state is losing steam. Over the last several years, Texas has closed three adult corrections facilities, reduced probation term lengths, improved funding for substance abuse treatment and other alternatives to incarceration, and helped people returning from prison to rebuild their lives. State policy-makers have also rejected various bills that would… Continue reading Reforming the Justice System in the Lone Star State
Author: Sarah Craft
Video: International attention to the death penalty
The death penalty is not only dying in the United States. It’s dying all over the world. In the Western Hemisphere, 34 of the 35 countries have ended the death penalty in law or in practice. That was the subject of the 56th Lecture of the Americas, sponsored by the Organization of American States last… Continue reading Video: International attention to the death penalty
New report calls for a new paradigm for addressing safety, crime, and victimization
A new report, Bridging the Divide: A new paradigm for addressing safety, crime, and victimization, was released today calling for a different approach to addressing crime. The report says that many of the communities that are currently hurt by a prevalence of crime and violence are also being damaged by the criminal justice system’s response… Continue reading New report calls for a new paradigm for addressing safety, crime, and victimization
Another death row exoneration
In a North Carolina Courtroom on Tuesday, a judge overturned the death sentence and conviction of the state’s longest serving death row inmate. Henry McCollum walked free after DNA evidence linked the crime to another person. He had been on death row for over three decades – since he was 19 years old. McCollum’s brother,… Continue reading Another death row exoneration
EJUSA to headline at the CCDA Conference
EJUSA National Organizer Heather Beaudoin will be traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina later this month to attend the Christian Community Development Association’s (CCDA) conference. The annual gathering brings together more than 2,500 young, dynamic faith leaders who are making change in underserved communities around the country. CCDA will hold its first dialogue on the death… Continue reading EJUSA to headline at the CCDA Conference
Conservatives Concerned About The Death Penalty receives 500th media hit
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,… Continue reading Conservatives Concerned About The Death Penalty receives 500th media hit
Connections, connections, connections
The NAACP has been an essential partner in our most recent campaigns to end the death penalty. This year marked their 105th National Convention, and EJUSA National Organizer Cherrell Brown traveled to Las Vegas to participate. In addition to catching up with some of our strongest allies in the organization, Cherrell made new connections with… Continue reading Connections, connections, connections
National Latino Evangelical Coalition calls for a closer look at the death penalty
The National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NaLEC), a coalition of over 3,000 Hispanic evangelical churches, released a call yesterday for “Hispanic evangelical leaders to closely examine their stance on capital punishment and mass incarceration.” President of NaLEC, Rev. Gabriel Salguero, says that the death penalty is “too broken to ensure that innocent persons are not executed.”… Continue reading National Latino Evangelical Coalition calls for a closer look at the death penalty
“Pumping Oxygen into the Room”
EJUSA Executive Director Shari Silberstein and EJUSA’s longtime friend and partner, Jonathan Gradess, are featured in the Winter 2014 issue of the Government, Law and Policy Journal from the New York State Bar Association. Jonathan is the former Board Chair of New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and now sits on EJUSA’s Board… Continue reading “Pumping Oxygen into the Room”
Illinois Celebrates Repeal of the Death Penalty
EJUSA’s Executive Director, Shari Silberstein, and State Campaign Organizer Colleen Cunningham joined our state partners, the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (ICADP), in Chicago a couple of weeks ago for the repeal celebration! The event honored Governor Pat Quinn, State Senator Kwame Raoul, and State Representative Karen Yarborough for their role in the… Continue reading Illinois Celebrates Repeal of the Death Penalty