November 25, 2016
Dear <first name>,
Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP) has
arrived at a critical moment in its history.
We celebrated our 25th anniversary a few weeks ago with an
awards luncheon in Richmond that honored a citizen advocate and
legislator of the year. We also honored our founder, Henry
Heller, and past leaders like Jack Payden-Travers, Beth
Panilaitis, and Steve Northup.
There is much to celebrate. No one has been sentenced to
death in over five years! This remarkable accomplishment is due
largely to the great work of capital defenders, but VADP’s work
to educate the public about wrongful convictions and the
futility of state killing certainly played a role.
Despite all these accomplishments, we have achieved at best
a stalemate in our battle to end the death penalty in Virginia.
There are seven men on Virginia’s death row. Two recently
had their final appeals rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. By
the time you get this letter, execution dates for Ricky Gray and
Ivan Teleguz have probably been scheduled sometime in December
or January.
Another death row inmate, William Morva, will likely
receive a spring 2017 execution date.
While VADP and its allies will do all that we can to stop
these executions, the only way to end state killing is to
abolish capital punishment once and for all.
Unfortunately, VADP has done all that it can with its
current resources. We need to grow if we are to win.
That is why I am writing to you today.
We have a plan to seek a vote to abolish the death penalty
in the Virginia General Assembly by 2020. But we need your
support if we are to accomplish this audacious goal!
Grassroots organizing is essential to build political
support in districts where Delegates and Senators struggle with
the death penalty, and can be moved to our side as we provide
the “political cover” from key leaders in their home districts.
We need these legislators to come to our side if we are to
accomplish our goal of death penalty abolition by 2020!
That’s why I urge you to renew -- and even increase --
your financial support today.
To abolish the death penalty in Virginia, we need your
generous tax-deductible gift returned in the envelope provided
as soon as you can. (You can also give with your credit or
debit card at our secure web site: www.vadp.org “Donate”. )
With urgent thanks,
Michael Stone
Executive Director
