VADP Vision: Abolish the Death Penalty in 2020
VADP Today
Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is a citizen organization
established in 1991 to end the death penalty in the Commonwealth through
education, organizing, and advocacy.
VADP is a lean organization with a $100,000 budget that employs one staff
person. Since January 2015 VADP has been led by Executive Director
Michael Stone, a former field organizer with the National Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty who has 25 years of experience in social justice work with
the Catholic Diocese of Richmond and the wider interfaith community in
Virginia.
Current Environment
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have banned the death penalty,
six in the past ten years - New York, New Jersey, Illinois, New Mexico,
Maryland, and Connecticut. In 2015 the Nebraska legislature also voted for
abolition. Even in death penalty states, the number of executions and death
sentences have declined significantly.
Virginia is rapidly moving toward de facto abolition. In years past Virginia
sentenced 5-10 people to death and executed as many as 14 people annually.
Despite the October 1st execution this year, the Commonwealth has executed
only three in the past five years and no one has been sentenced to death in
the past four years. There are seven currently on Virginia’s death row.
Goal
Abolish the death penalty in Virginia in 2020.
Strategy
By 2020 VADP will develop enough support for a debate at the General
Assembly to end capital punishment. To that end VADP will work with
legislators to introduce and debate reform bills recommended by the 2013
American Bar Association’s Virginia Death Penalty Assessment Team. This
debate will reveal flaws in the capital system and move legislators toward
abolition. As a first step, in 2016 there will be Republican patrons for a bill
to ban the execution of people with serious mental illness.
Tactics
Today, an overwhelming number of Democrats serving in the Virginia House
of Delegates and Senate oppose the death penalty. The challenge for us is to
engage Conservatives to discuss the issue and persuade Republican
legislators to support an end to capital punishment in Virginia.
VADP’s Executive Director has met with a number of local Conservative
activists and Republican leaders. Our initial goal is to get 20 prominent
Conservatives to sign and release a death penalty statement rooted in
Conservative political principles. Already, five prominent Virginia
Conservatives have agreed to support such a statement.
We will host a press conference in 2016 announcing this Conservative
support. This public event will generate significant media attention and
provide political cover for Republican legislators to support reform
legislation.
Staffing
While VADP’s Executive Director has already had success in securing
meetings with Conservative leaders, it is clear that additional, specialized
support will be necessary to move the issue further. An additional full time
staff person or consultant with deep roots in Virginia Conservative circles is
essential to help carry out this work.
Joining forces with Conservative forces in other states is proving to be
highly effective. Conservative organizing was essential to the repeal effort
in Nebraska. Abolition campaigns in Montana, Kansas, Colorado, and North
Carolina all employ Conservative organizers.
Budget
Generate $40,000 to hire an experienced activist to do Conservative
outreach work.
Donor Opportunities
$10,000 One donor
$ 5,000 Two donors
$ 2,500 Eight donors
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