Since Equal Justice USA launched MORATORIUM NOW! in 1997, we’ve played a unique national role by forging strong ties to state organizations. States are the frontline of our movement. They are where the vast majority of prisoners are sentenced to death and executed and where grassroots pressure for a moratorium can have the most impact.… Continue reading From the grassroots to the statehouse!
Tag: Death Penalty
Issue
Hope for 2002: State by State
In many ways, 2001 was a laboratory year in which state-based moratorium strategies were tested and strengthened. 2002 offers new openings to advance the national movement. We embark on a multi-year organizing offensive, State by State: from the grassroots to the statehouse. The aim is to improve and expand our national efforts to strategically sharpen,… Continue reading Hope for 2002: State by State
Expanding Grassroots Momentum and Organization
Nationwide, 63 local governments and nearly 2,000 national, state, and local organizations and faith communities have adopted resolutions urging a moratorium. Equal Justice USA maintains this national listing on its National Tally. Momentum continued after September 11 with the Lincoln, Nebraska City Council; West Hollywood and Santa Clara County, California; and Cincinnati, Ohio all adopting… Continue reading Expanding Grassroots Momentum and Organization
Activists Gather in Texas to Organize Towards Moratorium
Plagued with campaign trail questions about the moratorium in Illinois, and the likelihood that the innocent will be executed, Governor George Bush keeps insisting on the guilt of everyone he has executed. No wonder. Already this year, Texas has sent 13 people to its execution chamber, including 62-year old domestic violence victim Bettie Lou Beets.… Continue reading Activists Gather in Texas to Organize Towards Moratorium
Moratorium Bill Introduced in House
Innocence Bill Introduced in Senate Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. introduced HR 3623, “The Accuracy In Judicial Administration Act of 2000” (AJA), on February 10. The AJA would impose a minimum 7-year national moratorium on all U.S. executions until all inmates currently sitting on death row have an opportunity to explore potentially exculpatory DNA and… Continue reading Moratorium Bill Introduced in House
Four Major Cities Urge Moratorium
With populations around one million people, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco and Pittsburgh are the largest U.S. cities to date to call for a moratorium on executions. Each city’s action came within a month of Governor Ryan’s declaration of a moratorium in Illinois. Eight other local governments have also asked lawmakers to stop and take a closer… Continue reading Four Major Cities Urge Moratorium
Clinton Urged to Declare Moratorium
On January 31 – the day Governor George Ryan announced a moratorium in Illinois – Senator Russ Feingold took to the Senate floor to urge President Clinton to impose a moratorium on federal executions. “The problems of inadequate representation, lack of access to DNA testing, police misconduct, racial bias and even simple errors are not… Continue reading Clinton Urged to Declare Moratorium
Illinois Governor Halts Executions
Governor George Ryan declared an indefinite moratorium on executions in Illinois on January 31. Calling the prospect of executing an innocent person “the ultimate nightmare,” Ryan declared, “Until I can be sure with moral certainty that no innocent man or woman is facing lethal injection, no one will meet that fate.” Illinois has exonerated more… Continue reading Illinois Governor Halts Executions
How I Helped Texas Kill Billy Hughes
It is 6:00 pm, January 24, 2000, and I am walking across the open space between the “Justice” Building and the Walls Unit, Huntsville, Texas. Thirty State Troopers, in full uniform, stand at attention to my left. I have come to witness the execution of my friend, Billy Hughes, convicted of killing a police officer… Continue reading How I Helped Texas Kill Billy Hughes