Texas is scheduled to execute Jeff Wood on August 24, 2016, even though he never killed anyone, had no previous criminal history, and suffers from borderline intellectual functioning and mental illness. Although Wood was involved in a robbery, he didn’t plan to kill anyone and wasn’t even inside the gas station when the victim, Kris…
Race has played a disturbing role in the death penalty’s application throughout its long history in the United States. During slavery, this discrimination was explicitly written in many states’ laws. Blacks and slaves faced the death penalty in cases where the same crime committed by a white person would not even be eligible for death….
Almost 50 Evangelical leaders from Texas and around the country called upon state officials to stop the execution of Jeff Wood. In a letter released Monday, the religious leaders urged Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Paroles and Pardons to grant Wood a new sentencing hearing, saying he “never should have been sentenced…
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…
“Recommended this week” features highlights from the past week in news about the death penalty, crime survivors, and trauma-informed responses to crime. Retain a Just Nebraska – Kirk Bloodsworth, Innocence The campaign to keep the death penalty out of Nebraska released its first TV spot this month, featuring the first man to be exonerated from death row…
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,…
More than 4,000 people are expected to attend the 7th annual Western Conservative Summit, said to be the largest gathering of conservatives outside of the annual CPAC conference in Washington, DC. Also known as “Rally in the Rockies,” the 3-day event takes place this weekend in Denver. EJUSA’s Marc Hyden will be attending the conference…
Dawn Mancarella, a member of EJUSA’s Crime Survivor Network, put out a special appeal today for family members of murder victims to sign on to suspend use of the death penalty in a key Florida county. If you’ve lost a family member to murder, read Dawn’s letter below and consider taking action. If you know of…
“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…
Thank you so much to everyone who has written to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) about the flaws in their proposed lethal injection procedures. Thousands of comments have been submitted, calling on California to leave executions is the past – where they belong. There is still time for you to speak out….