Young liberty activists continue to question the death penalty

EJUSA’s Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP) project spoke to a standing room only crowd of young liberty activists at last month’s Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) National Conference.

YAL members at the workshop learned more about the death penalty and the movement to end it. One participant approached EJUSA’s Marc Hyden after the workshop with a confession. “I came here tonight for the sole purpose of heckling you,” he said. “Now I am 100% with you.”

This kind of reaction is nothing new to CCATDP. If skepticism of government programs is a core tenant of the liberty movement, what could be more frightening than a government program that has the power to kill?

Marc also had the opportunity to shake hands with former Congressman Ron Paul, who helped form YAL after his 2008 campaign for President. Paul wanted to make sure Marc saw his recent statement against the death penalty and was aware of his endorsement of CCATDP.

Young Americans for Liberty is the largest, most active, and fastest growing liberty organization on America’s campuses. CCATDP’s strategic partnership with the group has lead to presentations with YAL college groups around the country, and more conference participants expressed interest in engaging in discussions about the death penalty following this year’s convention. Many YAL groups have become regular participants and even leaders of state death penalty repeal campaigns in places like Kansas, Tennessee, Florida, and Nebraska.

If you’re a supporter of the liberty movement or conservative and want to join a conversation with politically like-minded people about how to end the death penalty, sign up to join CCATDP today.


Sarah Craft

Sarah Craft is the program director of EJUSA's program to end the death penalty in the United States. She has worked with EJUSA’s state partners all over the country to develop winning strategies for their campaigns. Read More