Prioritizing the Community | Reimagining Justice This Month

Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. Prioritizing the Community: Funding Alternatives to Reduce Reliance on the Justice System in Oakland The city of Oakland is becoming a leading model for hospital- and community-based violence intervention programs. These… Continue reading Prioritizing the Community | Reimagining Justice This Month

The New EJUSA Website!

I’m so proud to kick off 2020 with two big announcements. First, EJUSA is turning 30 years old this year! And we’re celebrating this milestone with this new website! The site is a declaration of our bold vision for justice reimagined. With your support, we’re transforming what justice is. We’re rejecting mass incarceration, executions, police… Continue reading The New EJUSA Website!

Families of Murder Victims to Call on Lawmakers to End the Death Penalty

Family members of murder victims will gather for a press conference at the Colorado State Capitol Monday morning to call on lawmakers to end Colorado’s death penalty. Below is the letter they will be presenting, signed by more than 55 Coloradans who have lost loved ones to violence. January 27, 2020 To the Members of… Continue reading Families of Murder Victims to Call on Lawmakers to End the Death Penalty

Another Year in Impact: Read the Report

Looking back on 2019 reminds me of what an incredible experience it is to do our work. Reflecting also confirms how 2019 set us up for yet another decade of monumental change. I am so grateful for our team, board, partners, and supporters like you because you all make the work successful. And I’m excited… Continue reading Another Year in Impact: Read the Report

Highs and Lows

Each December, the team at the Death Penalty Information Center provides an enormous and essential service to justice reform when it releases its annual year-end report. The report tells the comprehensive story—in statistics and graphics, in narrative, and in expert analysis—of the death penalty in the U.S. for the previous 12 months. The reports of… Continue reading Highs and Lows

The Gibbons Fund — Our First Three Years

EJUSA launched the John J. Gibbons Fund in 2016 to honor the life and legacy of Judge John J. Gibbons, former Chief Judge of the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Gibbons was a tireless advocate who used his position to protect and expand civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights in our nation.… Continue reading The Gibbons Fund — Our First Three Years

The world has lost a giant

EJUSA Founding Board Member Jonathan Gradess

It is with a broken heart that I’m writing to share the news that one of our founding board members, Jonathan E. Gradess, passed away last week. I met Jonathan 15 years ago, on the eve of the nation’s first successful death penalty abolition campaign. The courts had just thrown out New York’s death penalty… Continue reading The world has lost a giant

A Movement Matures

Conservative leaders against the death penalty convened in New Orleans to recap this year's efforts toward repeal.

In September, Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP) hosted its first national gathering for staff, supporters, and volunteers from across the country. We converged on New Orleans and spent two thrilling days talking about our numerous recent victories and strategizing for future campaigns. The past year has been amazing. Conservatives were the deciding votes… Continue reading A Movement Matures

Centering Trauma, Healing Communities

For generations, communities of color have experienced deep mistrust of police, resulting from years of institutional racism and violence. Only after the 2014 police murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Ezell Ford, all within a month of each other, did discussions of police violence and accountability become a part of the larger national conscience.… Continue reading Centering Trauma, Healing Communities