We’ve come a long way from our humble roots in Montana in 2009 and our national launch in 2013.
In the course of that time we have seen Colorado, New Hampshire, and Virginia repeal the death penalty with support from conservatives. Republican-sponsored repeal bills came close to passing in deep-red Utah and Wyoming. Right now in Ohio, conservatives are leading the push to end a system marked by inefficiency and inaccuracy.
Across the country, people from all walks of life are waking up to the fact that the death penalty is a failed public policy. In fact, a Gallup poll last year showed for the first time that a majority of Americans believe that capital punishment is unfairly administered.
But lately, we have also seen a resurgence in some of the “tough on crime” rhetoric and policies of the past. Executions are coming back in some states for the first time in a decade or more, enabled by disturbing secrecy laws. And recently a shocking wave of six executions in five states in less than two weeks has highlighted the urgency of our mission.
We face both new opportunities and challenges ahead. The time has come for a new Conservatives Concerned.
Here’s a glimpse of some of the changes we have made and what’s on the horizon:
- Modern branding with a name and logo that adapts to the importance of social media and mobile technologies in communications and activism;
- An overhauled website to keep conservatives up to date on news and developments and uplift and grow our network of state chapters and partners;
- Real stories and perspectives from conservatives, law enforcement, family members of victims, exonerees, and others impacted by violence and the justice system;
- Deeper conversations on topics closely connected to the death penalty like the legacies of slavery and Jim Crow, the causes and consequences of trauma, and effective responses to violence;
- Opportunities for action in support of campaigns to stop executions and end the death penalty;
- And more!
Our team will be adding more content and making additional updates to the new website in the coming days, weeks, months and beyond.
For now, check out the critical work of our chapters in Oklahoma, where conservatives are calling for a moratorium on the death penalty; Tennessee, where executions remain on hold after a report documented the state’s repeated failures to follow its own protocol; and Texas, where a bipartisan group of lawmakers took action that halted the execution of a man whose conviction relied on the discredited “shaken baby” theory.
Please reach out if you have any questions, and please also share this with anyone you think may be interested in learning more or joining Conservatives Concerned.
