Last month, EJUSA Campaign Strategist Ben Jones wrote a powerful post about the history of racial oppression in the U.S. death penalty. The post was so popular, we decided to create a fact sheet with the material. You can now find the information in our ‘Learn’ pages, where you can download a formatted version to…
“Recommended this week” features highlights from the past week in news about the death penalty, crime survivors, and trauma-informed responses to crime. Execution drop makes some think death penalty is fading away, Associated Press The end is near. Executions are on track to hit a 25-year low in 2016. Colorado Rep Don Pabon on John Fugelsang’s ‘Tell Me Everything’,…
EJUSA attended the 6th Annual Healing Justice Alliance Conference, a convening that brought together crime survivors, innovative community-based violence prevention programs, hospital-based violence reduction programs, and other criminal justice and public health partners. EJUSA is pleased to have been a part of a number of convenings in recent months that break down silos between public…
Race has played a disturbing role in the death penalty’s application throughout its long history in the United States. During slavery, this discrimination was explicitly written in many states’ laws. Blacks and slaves faced the death penalty in cases where the same crime committed by a white person would not even be eligible for death….
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…
The events of the last 72 hours have left us reeling. So much carnage, so much fear. Justice, broken down into bite sized pieces, can sometimes feel so close within reach. The death penalty stopped here, more healing services there. And then we are confronted with these big moments that remind us how inadequate bite-sized…
EJUSA staff were at the White House last week with health and violence experts, discussing the national movement to frame and address violence as a public health issue. Executive Director Shari Silberstein, Director of the Trauma Advocacy Initiative Fatimah Loren Muhammad, and Director of Campaigns and Strategy Laura Porter (pictured with Roy Austin, Deputy Assistant…
“Recommended this week” features highlights from the past week in news about the death penalty, crime survivors, and trauma-informed responses to crime. Supreme Court To Hear Cases Challenging Two Texas Death Sentences, Buzzfeed The high court agrees to hear the death penalty cases of Duane Buck and Bobby James Moore. After nearly 40 years, murder charges dropped against…
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches (LAM) is building a network of local churches and community groups to provide trauma-informed services to African-American, Latino, and immigrant crime survivors in South Los Angeles. And now, for the first time, they are receiving federal VOCA funds – funds earmarked for victims services – in order to carry out…
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…