Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. Reckoning with Violence, New York Times People convicted of violent crimes are too often overlooked in justice reform movements. If the ultimate goal is to end mass incarceration, though, we cannot…
Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. In honor of National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims (Sept 25), EJUSA’s staff extend deep-filled gratitude to the hundreds of family members of murder victims we have had the privilege to…
This piece first appeared at usnews.com on August 23, 2017. Tuesday night, Missouri almost executed a man who is likely innocent. Marcellus Williams came within mere hours of execution, and the process that put him there is a scathing indictment of our justice system. Bloody footprints at the scene did not match Williams’ shoe size. The…
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…
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…
Most states will start the New Year with a new legislative session, which means supporters of death penalty repeal are preparing efforts to end the death penalty across the country. In the wake of repeal in Nebraska – an effort championed by conservatives – more Republicans are stepping up to lead many of these campaigns. In…
Tom Block, Convener Moratorium Planning Committee of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty (MADP) “I first contacted Equal Justice USA in the Fall 2002 for assistance in formulating a proposal to MADP to appoint an Ad Hoc Moratorium Planning Committee to build a long range strategy. EJUSA Organizer Shari Silberstein helped me identify areas that…
Moratorium bills passed the Nevada Senate and the Maryland House of Delegates. A moratorium amendment lost by only 3 votes in the Connecticut House, while Texas bills passed committees in both legislative houses. Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, and North Carolina enacted legislation banning the execution of the mentally retarded. 17 states improved access to post-conviction…
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…