In one of his strongest statements against the death penalty to date, Pope Francis said that capital punishment “is inadmissible, no matter how serious the crime committed.” The Pope’s comments were submitted in a forceful call to the International Commission against the Death Penalty in Madrid. The Pope added that the death penalty “contradicts God’s…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
EJUSA 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…
Today’s op-ed in the Pensacola News Journal marks the 500th media hit for Equal Justice USA’s Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty project. Stories about or sparked by the project have appeared in print, online, over the radio, and on television since the project’s national founding in March of 2013. Sources have ranged from small,…
The NAACP has been an essential partner in our most recent campaigns to end the death penalty. This year marked their 105th National Convention, and EJUSA National Organizer Cherrell Brown traveled to Las Vegas to participate. In addition to catching up with some of our strongest allies in the organization, Cherrell made new connections with…