With a bipartisan bill that moved through its legislature at a rapid pace, Virginia became the twenty-third state to repeal the death penalty this month. The state house and senate passed identical but separate bills that will now need to be reconciled before moving on to the governor for his signature. There are no roadblocks anticipated in the final phases of the process. Virginia is the first southern state to end its death penalty system and was formerly one of the leading executioners in the country.

Many Americans wrongfully believe that the majority of murder victims’ family members want and need the death penalty. At CCATDP, we know the opposite to be true. In fact, we work with coalitions of victims’ family members who are opposed to the death penalty and want to see its end in states across this country. Recently, efforts towards repeal have gained traction in Wyoming, and per usual, there are family members of victims lending their voice to the cause. Last month, the Wyoming Chapter of CCATDP hosted a local event to provide a space for one of those family members to tell her story. It was a powerful testimonial and one we hope everyone will take the time to watch. You can stream a recording of the full event here.

This week, the U.S. federal government resumed executions after a 17 year hiatus at the national level. A total of five men were given execution dates for this summer, and thus far, two have been carried out. As expected, there have been many procedural, constitutional, and ethical issues surrounding the cases. Though the government claimed these executions were to be carried out in the name of the victims’ families, the victims’ family members of Daniel Lewis Lee were adamant and vocal in their disapproval of the death penalty from the very beginning. They made numerous attempts to speak out and have their voices respected. Ultimately, they were not even able to be at the execution due to COVID-19 concerns – thus having this last dignity also taken from them by the administration. Lee’s execution transpired in the early morning hours of Tuesday. He had been strapped to the gurney for hours as courts decided whether or not he could actually be executed. Only a few members of the media were allowed to be present, and were even sent home at one point before being called back. Though his death warrant had expired Monday night when the clock struck midnight, the

At the end of February, Colorado’s legislature voted to repeal the state’s death penalty. The governor is expected to sign the bill within the next week, and the legislation would go into affect on July 1st. Once these actions occur, Colorado will become the 22nd state to repeal its use of capital punishment. Combined with three other states that have moratoriums in place, that brings the grand total to 25 states without the death penalty. We’ve officially hit a tipping point and half the country has turned away from this antiquated practice in favor of systems that actually protect human life, deter crime, and use taxpayer dollars wisely. Who will be next? It’s quickly becoming a question of if and not when several other states considering this action will move. Colorado’s neighbors, Wyoming and Utah, are both at its heels and may pursue similar actions soon. In the meantime, Colorado deserves praise for taking this monumental step forward. 

For the first time in history, a recent Gallup Poll found that the majority of Americans now support life in prison over the death penalty. This is a significant shift in the poll’s 34 year trend, with a 60% to 36% margin siding against the death penalty. These results come as the country consistently faces high-profile executions where the inmates have substantial innocence claims. Americans are also becoming more aware of the wasted costs of capital punishment, a system that provides no deterrent to crime while also flushing millions down the drain that could be better spent on responses to violence that actually work.  You can read more here. 

Republicans and Democrats banded together to override the Governor’s veto of a bill to repeal the death penalty in the state, making the Granite State the 21st to do away with capital punishment. When accounting for the states that have placed moratoriums on the death penalty, that brings us to half of all states that have made this move. Of the 25 states that still have the death penalty, over a third of them have not used it in a decade or more as executions continue to fall out of favor on both the right and left. Which state will be the next to go?

Last week, Louisiana and Georgia both saw Republican-sponsored bills to repeal the death penalty introduced, making them the ninth and tenth states to see bills of this nature introduced in the 2019 session. This remarkable year is set to break records for the numbers of conservative lawmakers pushing repeal, and is surely evidence of a growing bipartisan wave against capital punishment.

On Tuesday, April 2nd the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill to repeal the death penalty with a vote of 4-1! The bill will now move on to the full senate as soon as next week. Congratulations to our New Hampshire coalition and all of the amazing activists there!

Join the EJUSA Evangelical Network and Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty for this upcoming, groundbreaking event! We’ll be hosting a panel at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary on Tuesday, April 2nd from 6:30-8:00 pm CT in the Nelson Price Auditorium. We will be presenting a panel that will include two members of the Seminary’s staff, former death row inmate Billy Neal Moore, and the sister of Officer Bruce VanderJagt who was murdered in 1997, Gail Rice. The panel will be followed by a Q&A segment and will coincide with the official launch of our Louisiana Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty Chapter. Please join us if you are in the area, or help us spread the word if you cannot attend! The event is free and open to the public. You can register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/discussing-the-death-penalty-tickets-59120013552

Statement from Hannah Cox, National Manager Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty “With only nine Democrats in the Wyoming House of Representatives, this vote was driven by Republicans who value life, who want to be fiscally responsible, and who believe in limiting the scope of government. This active leadership of conservative state legislators wanting to end the death penalty reflects the trend we are seeing across the country. Wyoming is the latest signal that the death penalty is on its way out and that conservatives are leading the way.” For more information contactJon Crane at 203-982-4575 or email joncrane@criticalpr.com. About Us Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty is a nationwide group of conservatives questioning whether capital punishment is consistent with conservative principles and values due to the system’s inefficiency, inequity, and inaccuracy. Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty is a project of Equal Justice USA, a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization working to transform the justice system by promoting responses to violence that break cycles of trauma. To learn more, go to www.conservativesconcerned.org