April 15, 2022
Dear <first name>,
After achieving death penalty abolition last year, our
board decided to maintain staff and keep our offices open,
just in case we needed to overcome legislation that might
weaken or overturn our victory.
As you know, this turned out to be a wise decision, as
legislation was indeed filed to reinstate capital
punishment for killing a law enforcement officer in the
2022 Virginia General Assembly session,
While we blocked this legislation, further challenges
are inevitable. We must be ready. But...
Right after we achieved death penalty abolition, some
of our donors figured “Mission Accomplished” and did not
continue their financial support. If you’re among them,
please make an extra-generous donation to help us get back
to full strength.
If you did make a VADP donation since abolition, THANK
YOU. You knew challenges were coming. Yet I also must ask
you to make an extra-generous donation. We must make up
for lost funding. And soon.
Here are some reasons to give generously to Virginians
for Alternatives to the Death Penalty today....
The speaker of the House of Delegates, Todd Gilbert,
is a strong supporter of the death penalty. The chair of
the House Courts of Justice Committee, Del. Rob Bell, is a
long-time proponent of capital punishment.
Attorney General Jason Miyares has spoken fervently in
favor of the death penalty. And we cannot rely on Governor
Glenn Youngkin to veto reinstatement of the death penalty.
Our work is not done. We still need your help.
Only 4 of the 17 new House of Delegates members oppose
reinstatement of the death penalty. Our pro-abolition
majority in the Senate is razor-thin, plus...
With the new redistricting, less than half of the
lawmakers in each chamber will still represent the
district in which they reside. They won’t know how many
of their constituents oppose the death penalty!
Given the last election and redistricting, the
Virginia General Assembly’s overall stance on the death
penalty is not reliable, not in the least, so...
In the coming months VADP lobbyists must meet with ALL
legislators to build up as much opposition as possible
to reinstatement of the death penalty.
We may not have even the slim majorities that
abolished the death penalty. We must aggressively
lobby to defend our historic victory, and success once
again depends on the generous financial support of the
few hundred ardent VADP Members.
We could not have become the first Southern state
to end capital punishment without your financial
support and your public policy advocacy.
And we cannot protect that victory without your
continuing support ... aS generous as you are able,
returned with your donation form in the envelope
provided.
We are deeply grateful ..
CPi
Best wishes,
Michael Stone
P.S. Executive Director Dale Brumfield’s book, Closing the
Slaughterhouse: The Inside Story of Death Penalty Abolition
in Virginia, will serve as a guide to success for other
states trying to attain our (now threatened) achievements.
As promised, everyone who donates $250 or more to VADP will
receive a copy of Closing the Slaughterhouse signed by
Dale.
That said, any amount you can give VADP today will be well
used and greatly appreciated.
