Christians opposed to the death penalty but unsure how to effectively challenge it can begin by educating themselves about the practice, civil rights activist Joia Erin Thornton said during a webinar hosted by Equal Justice USA. As founder and executive…
Americans are not safer because of failed prison policies, but there is a better way, speakers urge
The nation’s criminal legal system fails to lower crime rates or bring healing to victims and communities because its chief aim is retaliation instead of restoration, according to an expert on alternatives to mass incarceration. Courts, jails and prisons utilize…
Testimony of exonerees is best way to sway opinion on death penalty
Death row exonerees represent some of the most powerful arguments against capital punishment, especially for legislators and others who have no idea how the U.S. death penalty system works, Death Row survivor Herman Lindsey said. “You’re able to reach people…
Evangelical leaders condemn DeSantis for politicizing state executions
The presidential aspirations of Gov. Ron DeSantis have exacerbated the challenges facing Florida’s Death Row inmates and the activists trying to help them, said one of the state’s leading opponents of capital punishment. “Florida is a very dark place for…
Awareness should lead to action, author urges churches
Delving into the nitty gritty of faith-based community development and restorative justice work is neither a political expression nor a ministry distraction for the church, author and activist Michelle Ferrigno Warren said. They are instead forms of biblically informed Christian…
Opposition to death penalty gaining steam through broad coalition
America’s anti-capital punishment movement is growing in political, religious and racial diversity even as the nation continues to fracture along partisan lines, a leading death penalty abolitionist said. “It does feel hopeful to work on this issue because we work…
‘Public safety ecosystems’ could help replace nation’s broken criminal justice system, evangelical leaders say
American churches are ideally positioned to help replace a broken criminal justice system with one that empowers communities to heal the trauma that fosters violent crime, according to panelists on a Jan. 17 webinar. The online conversation hosted by Equal…
‘Give up desire for control if you want to reach your community’
Church leaders must abandon the desire for control and prestige and cooperate with other ministers if they seek to be effective agents of change in their communities, a New Jersey pastor and street minister believes. “One of our main responsibilities…
Image of the Cross led him to oppose death penalty
Activist and photographer Scott Langley said the direction of his life and ministry changed the moment he spotted and photographed a large Cross atop the state death chamber in Huntsville, Texas, in 1999. Langley was present on an execution day…