We’re less than a quarter into 2018, and the movement to end the death penalty has already made major strides in state capitols around the country. In Utah, a Republican-sponsored repeal bill passed out of a House committee for the first time ever. Two years ago, Utah came close to ending the death penalty but…
Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. In honor of National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims (Sept 25), EJUSA’s staff extend deep-filled gratitude to the hundreds of family members of murder victims we have had the privilege to…
Late last month, after serving several years on Delaware’s death row, Isaiah McCoy was released and acquitted of the murder for which he was originally convicted. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime, and the testimonies that were used against him were inconsistent. Despite this, McCoy was sentenced to die, but after…
The death penalty continued its historic decline in 2016, according to the year-end report put out by the Death Penalty Information Center. The report found: The number of death sentenced imposed by American juries was lower than in any other year since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1972. The 30 death sentences from…
Mass shootings. Black men killed by police. Shootings of police officers. These incidents seem to keep coming, highlighting deep tensions, fear, and pain across our nation. Despite these and so many other tragedies, hope abounds in communities large and small. Join EJUSA in building a movement to transform the justice system with a gift of…
“Recommended this week” features highlights from the past week in news about the death penalty, crime survivors, and trauma-informed responses to crime. Are Evangelicals Ditching the Death Penalty?, The Marshall Project Another sign of how the U.S. is changing on the death penalty: Evangelical Christians are turning against it. Heather Beaudoin, our Director of Evangelical Outreach quoted in…
The latest sign that the death penalty is falling out of favor comes from Delaware, where earlier this month, the State Supreme Court struck down Delaware’s capital punishment statute as unconstitutional. The Court found that judges rather than juries wielded far too much power in determining who received a death sentence. The Delaware Attorney General…
Yesterday, Delaware’s death penalty was ruled unconstitutional! “Delaware’s death penalty is gone,” said EJUSA’s Executive Director Shari Silberstein. “It’s only a matter of time before the whole house of cards that is the death penalty in the United States comes crashing down.” Delaware joins the growing number of states that have abandoned the death penalty…
On June 16, 2016, the Delaware Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Rauf v State, a case that will decide the future of Delaware’s death penalty. This case is the latest ripple effect from the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hurst v Florida ruling earlier this year, which struck down Florida’s death penalty and impacts other states,…
“Recommended this week” features highlights from the past week in news about the death penalty, crime survivors, and trauma-informed responses to crime. Letter from Jack The Reverend Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr., Facebook A beautiful message in reaction to last weekend’s tragedy in Orlando from our friend and the Executive Director at Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation. Delaware Supreme…