Utah Senators approved legislation to repeal the death penalty last night by a vote of 20-9! The Republican sponsor of the bill, Senator Steve Urquhart, used to support the death penalty. Just last year, he joined most of his Republican colleagues (only 5 of the 29 Senators in Utah are Democrats) in a vote to bring…
by Megan Ward, Catholic Mobilizing Network Pope Francis has become a torchbearer of peace and justice, not just for Catholics, but also for many people around the globe. Last week, he appealed directly to public officials, especially those who are Catholic, to “make a courageous and exemplary gesture by seeking a moratorium on executions during…
Lawmakers in Delaware allowed a bill to repeal the death penalty to get a full debate on the House floor for the first time. The bill had been stuck in the House Judiciary Committee for the last several years. The growing coalition in Delaware is fired up at having broken through the logjam. Though the…
The bill to repeal the death penalty will be debated on the House floor this Thursday, January 28. After being stalled in committee for three years, the full House will finally get a chance to weigh in. Now is the time to contact your Representative and tell him/her to say YES to repeal. Delaware’s death…
Earlier this week, an article that I wrote was published in the ultra conservative Washington Examiner. In the piece, I expanded on the conservative case against the death penalty. I wrote: Regardless of whether one supports the death penalty in theory, in practice capital punishment has a long documented history of failing to live up to conservative…
Our friends at the Legislative Initiative Against the Death Penalty (LIADP) are sponsoring a writing contest for high school seniors (class of 2016). LIADP’s Pauline Underwood Memorial Scholarship urges students to write a persuasive letter to the editor, supporting repeal of the death penalty in their state. Author of the winning letter will receive a…
Former New York City Council member Ronnie M. Eldridge hosted EJUSA Executive Director Shari Silberstein for her 30-minute show, Eldridge & Co. The show airs several times this week on local New York City’s CUNY TV with Shari and Ronnie talking about the national decline in the death penalty, EJUSA’s campaigns in favor of repeal, and…
By every measure the death penalty is in decline, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC)’s 2015 Year End Report. Executions, death sentences, public support, and the number of jurisdictions participating in the death penalty were all at historic lows. Even Texas only sentenced two people to death in 2015. DPIC’s report went national, with…
As the Chair of the EJUSA Board of Directors, I know all about the difference EJUSA makes in the movement to end the death penalty and transform the justice system. I see it every day. That is why it brings me great pleasure to share with you EJUSA’s 2015 impact report. Click here to read the…
By every measure, the death penalty declined again in 2015. A new report released today by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) found: There were fewer executions in 2015 than any year in the last two decades. The number of death sentences in 2015 is down 33% from just last year, and down 84% from…