Maryland victory at a glance.

In 2002, EJUSA…

…Produced and distributed 30,000 action alert postcards in conjunction with the NAACP, and a follow-up emergency mailing to Quixote Center constituents. The Governor’s staff reported that they were flooded with e-mails, calls, and letters.

…Led a delegation to meet with Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who expressed support for a moratorium and promised to talk to the Governor. The following week, the Governor halted executions.

…Assisted Maryland Citizens Against State Executions with a successful grant proposal to hire their first temporary staff person for the post-moratorium campaign.

…Provided information to the media about the moratorium, the forthcoming race study, and the new Republican Governor’s pledge to lift the moratorium.

Beyond 2002… Race study was released in January 2003, revealing serious racial bias in Maryland’s death penalty. EJUSA and others embarked on an intense campaign to pass emergency moratorium legislation to preserve Maryland’s moratorium. It is pending.

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.