November 29, 2021
Dear <first name>,
In May, I wrote to express our appreciation. Without
your financial support and public policy advocacy, we would
not have achieved our goal of becoming the first Southern
state to end the death penalty.
Yet even then .. we shared our concern that our victory
might be short-lived!
Other states had achieved abolition, only to see their
victories overturned within a year or two, like Oregon,
Arizona, and, most recently, Nebraska.
As you know, the recent state elections created a
dramatically different political environment, one in which our
historic victory could be at risk in the coming months.
The new speaker of the House of Delegates, Todd Gilbert,
is a strong supporter of the death penalty. As Speaker he
will appoint committee chairs, including head of the House
Courts of Justice Committee. A pro-execution chair of that
committee could pose a big challenge.
Jason Miyares, the new Attorney General, spoke fervently
against death penalty abolition in the legislature before its
passage.
In the state Senate, the pro-abolition majority remains
razor thin. If even one Senator who supported abolition last
year reverses that vote, the death penalty could conceivably
be reinstated in Virginia.
Glenn Youngkin’s campaign for governor did not address
capital punishment, but we cannot rely on him to veto
reinstatement of the death penalty.
So our work is not done. We still need your help.
If anything, we must now ramp up our pressure in the
Legislature to ensure that our victory is not overturned. Your
continuing financial is now needed to strengthen VADP’s
presence at the 2022 session.
Please give as generously as you are able, today, using
the donation form and envelope provided.
The VADP board of directors has decided to maintain our
current level of staffing through at least April 2022 and to
hire our long-time lobbyist for the upcoming legislative
session.
We could not have come this far, becoming the first
Southern state to end capital punishment, without your
financial support and your public policy advocacy.
We are deeply grateful ...
Best wishes,
Michael Stone
P.S. Executive Director Dale Brumfield is nearing completion
of his book about death penalty abolition in Virginia, now a
300+ page guide to success for other states aspiring to attain
our (now threatened) victory. As promised, everyone who
donates $250 or more to VADP will receive a copy of our book
that is signed by Dale.
That said, any amount you can give VADP today will be well
used and greatly appreciated.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0