On March 17, a group of Kansas conservative leaders gathered in Topeka to declare their support for repeal of the death penalty. Their case is straightforward: the death penalty is at odds with core conservative values – a commitment to fiscal responsibility, limited government, and valuing life. The group presented an open letter signed by…
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In 2014, the United States saw its fewest executions in twenty years. Now, less than a quarter of the way into 2015, two new governors – Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania and Kate Brown of Oregon – have declared a halt to executions in their states. In other states, lingering questions over lethal injection are also…
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It’s a big day in Nebraska: a key committee voted unanimously for death penalty repeal! The sponsor of the bill, Senator Ernie Chambers told the Lincoln Journal Star that this was “as good a chance to get it passed as there has ever been.” Nebraskans from all over the state descended on the capital last…
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Every doctor that ever examined him found Warren Hill to be intellectually disabled. His attorney said he had the “emotional and cognitive functioning of an 11 year old boy.” And on Tuesday, he was executed, despite the protest of the victim’s family and thousands of others. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional to…
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We will be updating our Twitter feed and this post with more information as it comes in. *Update – 12/4/2014, 1:56pm ET* Here is the statement from Panetti’s attorneys at the Texas Defender Service. It includes a thorough background on the case. *Update – 12/4/2014, 12:01pm ET* The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued…
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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…
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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…
Read MoreA 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…
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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,…
Read MoreEJUSA 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…
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