November 18, 2019
Dear <first name>,
Abolishing the death penalty in Virginia is now within
reach. For years VADP targeted 2020 as the year when we would
launch a campaign to repeal the death penalty.
Our time has come. So we need YOUR support now more than
ever to make Virginia the first Southern state to abolish
capital punishment.
For the past four years VADP has built support for death
penalty reform and abolition across party lines - engaging
Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Libertarians alike.
We believe we now have enough broad-based support that an
abolition bill has a good chance in the General Assembly.
For the past two years VADP Field Director Dale Brumfield
has been organizing grassroots support for our work in key
legislative districts. He has been especially active in
southside Virginia, Chesterfield County, Tidewater, and in
Fairfax and Prince William Counties in northern Virginia.
That hard work made a legislative breakthrough possible
earlier this year. The state Senate voted to pass a bill to
exempt people with severe mental illness from capital
punishment. It was the first time that either chamber of the
Virginia General Assembly had voted to limit the death penalty
in_any way.
OPTION 1
The results of the recent Virginia legislative election
provides an extraordinary opportunity for VADP. The change in
the party controlling the House of Delegates will sideline the
primary obstacle to death penalty reform and abolition from
leadership of the key Courts of Justice Committee.
There is now a strong possibility of passing legislation in
either 2020 or 2021 to end the death penalty once and for all in
Virginia. The legislature is now far friendlier to our cause
and we have a Governor who has pledged to sign an abolition bill
if it reaches his desk.
OPTION 2
In the coming weeks you will see several op-eds and
articles from media releases and press conferences organized by
VADP. We will feature the voices of murder victim family
members and Conservatives calling for abolition of the death
penalty. We will also release striking data on the dates of the
last execution in every Virginia locality showing that most of
the Commonwealth abandoned capital punishment decades ago.
The past year, while successful, was not an easy one for
VADP. Last year we lost funding from our largest supporter,
blowing a $40,000 hole in our modest $165,000 budget.
But thanks to the tremendous response to our 2018 end of
year appeal, supporters like you contributed $10,000 more than
in 2017. That gave us enough of a cash cushion to make it
through this year without any staffing cuts.
Now we need another generous response to THIS appeal in
order to end 2019 with enough funds to get through next year
without cutting our staff of two full-time employees.
It would be tragic if VADP had to cut staff just as we
begin our long-planned push. To be successful, we need to be
operating at full strength in order to continue building support
for abolition across the political spectrum.
Your last contribution to VADP was *, given on *.
Today, I ask you to not only match that, but to increase
your support by 25%, 50%, or even double it.
We need many committed people like you to together donate
an _ additional $15,000 so we can finish the year with enough cash
to make it through 2020 without slashing budget and staff.
To abolish the death penalty in Virginia, we need your
generous tax-deductible gift returned in the envelope provided ..
Please be as generous as you can and support us as soon as
possible. (You can also give with your credit or debit card at
our secure web site: www.vadp.org “Donate”. )
With urgent thanks,
Michael E. Stone
Executive Director
P.S. As I explain above, we need each of our individual donors
to increase their contribution by an average of 25% by the end
of 2019 to help us overcome the loss of that $40,000 grant.
Please return your VADP donation today, using the enclosed form
and envelope.
