All of us have suffered the tragedy of losing a loved one to murder. We intimately understand the deep pain caused by such loss and the challenges that families face in rebuilding their lives. Our criminal justice system must be responsive to the needs of murder victims’ families. Sadly, Duval County’s use of the death…
More than 20 Duval County, Florida, religious leaders participated in an EJUSA press conference in front of the County Courthouse today. They gathered in reaction to a report from the Fair Punishment Project branding Duval County an “outlier” in its overuse of the death penalty. Clergy released a letter to the State Attorney’s Office signed…
The latest sign that the death penalty is falling out of favor comes from Delaware, where earlier this month, the State Supreme Court struck down Delaware’s capital punishment statute as unconstitutional. The Court found that judges rather than juries wielded far too much power in determining who received a death sentence. The Delaware Attorney General…
Shortly after last month’s tragic mass shooting in Orlando, the American Medical Association declared gun violence a public health issue. EJUSA believes that this powerful frame applies to all violence. Public health models prioritize prevention, harm reduction, as well as trauma treatment. By completely changing the narrative on violence, its causes, and its solutions, we…
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,…
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…
Nevada just became the ninth death penalty state to go a decade or more without an execution. Add those nine to the 19 states without capital punishment, and you have 28 states that have abandoned executions in either law or practice. And in the remaining states? The death penalty is in complete chaos. Florida’s death…
Last week, I was a guest on Tipping Point with Liz Wheeler to discuss Oklahoma’s damning grand jury report on their lethal injection scandal and Florida’s unconstitutional death penalty. You can watch the segment below: Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP), a project of Equal Justice USA, is a network of political and social…
Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty (CCATDP), a project of EJUSA, crisscrossed the country in April. CCATDP’s National Coordinator Marc Hyden made trips to Tennessee and Utah, while I traveled to Orlando for the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) Florida State Convention and then to Philadelphia for the Life/Peace/Justice Conference. Our participation in these conferences…