Recently, I gave a talk at the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty’s annual conference about words we should stop using when we talk about the death penalty. They’re words like: controversial, courageous, brave, hard. These words send the wrong message. They give the impression that only a few people can change the conversation…
You might notice some differences in this issue of our newsletter. For starters, the name. Not to mention our logo, tagline, and overall look. The fact is, EJUSA has been changing and growing for a long time. Now, our outside is catching up to our insides. Where we were: Moratorium Now! The 1980s and ‘90s…
Tom Block, Convener Moratorium Planning Committee of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty (MADP) “I first contacted Equal Justice USA in the Fall 2002 for assistance in formulating a proposal to MADP to appoint an Ad Hoc Moratorium Planning Committee to build a long range strategy. EJUSA Organizer Shari Silberstein helped me identify areas that…
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…
Five years ago, we set out to build a movement to halt executions, resolution by resolution, church by church, and school by school. We dreamed that our strategy would shatter the political inertia of the anti-death penalty struggle and build the people’s movement that is now sweeping the nation. Capturing the imagination of local and…
The Quixote Center’s Equal Justice USA program made history this year when we won the nation’s second state moratorium in the country in our home state of Maryland. On October 26 in Chicago, the national movement honored that achievement when the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty named Equal Justice USA project coordinator and…
EJUSA seeks donors to support the launching of a new Partnership dedicated to underwriting state capacity building activities. The Partnership provides participants (State by State Partners) with a means to closely monitor and support the development of local grassroots groups working for state legislative moratoriums. The objective of the State by State Partnership is twofold:…
The Moratorium Now campaign hits a milestone What do the following places have in common? A church basement. A Democratic Club board meeting. City council chambers. A union hall. In places like these across the country, ordinary people debated the death penalty, examined the issues, and decided collectively to add their group’s name to the…
May 9, 2002. The state of Maryland is set to execute Wesley Baker in less than a week. Thousands of calls have been pouring in to the Governor from around the country calling for him to halt executions. Whatever the Governor’s decision, we know it will have to come sometime in the next two days….
In March, we deepened our long-term commitment to state capacity building by establishing our first Field Office and hiring Celeste Fitzgerald to run it. She is a talented organizer who emerged from the moratorium movement in New Jersey. Celeste provides technical assistance in organizing, strategic planning, message development, lobbying, and organizational capacity building to a…