Racial disparities continue to plague Black Americans in part because of the persistent perception that they are, by nature, threats to law and order, said Jamila Hodge, CEO of Equal Justice USA. “We have won many legal battles — the…
Tennessee governor commended for ordering review of lethal injection protocols
Faith and civic leaders opposed to capital punishment commended Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee last week for ordering a deeper review of the state’s lethal injection protocols after an independent investigation discovered corrections officials consistently failed to follow proper procedures in…
The faithful understand how those harmed commit harm
I am among a growing number of Christians whose prayers for the death penalty’s continued demise are being answered. The latest year-end report from the Death Penalty Information Center provides abundant evidence. Once again, 2022 statistics show the death penalty continuing…
Campaign calls Christians to oppose solitary confinement on moral grounds
Natasha White spent more than a quarter of a 15-year prison sentence in New York banished to solitary confinement, an experience that inflicted so much emotional and physical trauma that it has shaped the course of her life since her…
He served on the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, and now he’s rallying conservatives to oppose the death penalty
A former member of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has helped launch a new anti-death penalty group to educate fellow conservatives and lobby state lawmakers about the flaws of capital punishment. The new branch of Conservatives Concerned About the…
Author explores contradiction of evangelical support for prison ministry and tough-on-crime laws at same time
It’s hardly surprising that evangelicals have a passion for jail and prison ministries in order to bring comfort and conversion to the incarcerated, historian Aaron Griffith noted during a recent webinar hosted by the Equal Justice USA Evangelical Network. But…
Hearing from victims’ families changed the death penalty debate in Connecticut
Activists involved in the 2012 abolition of capital punishment in Connecticut say the perspectives of murder victims’ families was the key element in their campaign’s success. Even Michael Lawlor, the state’s criminal justice “czar” at the time, confirmed that those…
Panel of faith leaders will raise awareness of death penalty injustice
A Christian organization active in the nation’s death penalty abolition movement has created a panel of faith leaders charged with addressing the systemic issues that give rise to capital punishment and rationalize its continued use. “This is not a board…
Ending capital punishment in Ohio should be a ‘pro-life’ ideal, evangelical speakers declare
Evangelicals must put their political and spiritual weight behind abolishing the death penalty because supporting the practice is tantamount to playing God, an evangelical preacher said during an online rally held to end executions in Ohio. “I never want to…