SISTERS OF BON SECOURS, USA 7
THE SISTERS OF BON SECOURS
MINISTRY GRANT
Application
Please complete the following questions using no more than six pages maximum.
1, Project Description
a. Please give the project’s name and location
“Severe mental illness death penalty exemption in Virginia” is our project. If successful, the
project would result in exempting people with severe mental illness (SMI) from being
punished for capital murder with a death sentence.
VADP is seeking funds to educate the public about the diminished capacity of people with
SMI who are charged with capital murder. The project, if funded, will educate local
religious, civic, and business leaders within key legislative districts across Virginia.
b. Briefly describe this project and the organization to which it belongs.
Virginians for Altematives to the Death Penalty (VADP) is a statewide citizens’ organization
founded in 1991 to end the death penalty through education, organizing, and advocacy.
VADP works closely with the American Bar Association, National Alliance on Mental
Illness Virginia, Virginia Catholic Conference, and ACLU of Virginia on this SMI project.
Other organizations supporting the SMI exemption include the Virginia Counselors
Association, Mental Health A merica of Virginia, and the National Association of Social
Workers Virginia Chapter.
c. How is this project in keeping with the Sisters of Bon Secours Mission and the purpose
of the Sisters of Bon Secours Ministry Grant?
First, capital punishment is contrary to essential human dignity as articulated by Pope John
Paul II in Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) and affirmed in the Catechism of the
Catholic Church (2266 & 2267).
For decades, the Vatican as well as the U.S. Bishops have called for an end to executions. On
May 6, 2015 the Virginia Bishops wrote, “By ending the use of the death penalty we would
take one important step - among significant others we must take - to abandon the culture of
death and embrace the culture of life.”
Second, those sentenced to death in Virginia are overwhelming the poor, people of color, and
those with mental illness. For example, Dinwiddie County recently sought the death penalty
for a black man who shot and killed a state trooper, then fled after taking off his clothes.
After his capture, this man was ruled incompetent by the court and was treated in a state
psychiatric unit for over a year before he could assist in his own defense.
Bon Secours Ministry Grant VADP Funding Application Page 2
In Henrico County, the Commonwealth’s A ttomey is seeking a death sentence against
William Brisette, a young mentally ill man who murdered his parents - both active
Catholics at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church - on Easter Sunday in 2016.
Third, death row inmates in Virginia have been held in solitary confinement for years at a
time, depriving them of any meaningful relationships. They meet with spiritual
counselors through solid steel doors and speak through a small slit in the door. This
practice has serious negative consequences and has driven at least one death row inmate
insane. A recent court case has forced the Virginia Department of Corrections to improve
conditions and allow limited social interactions among death row inmates.
Finally, VADP has a close partnership with the Virginia Catholic Conference in its work.
Feel free to contact its Executive Director, Jeff Caruso, about VADP (see references).
2. Needs Assessment
a. What is the scope and significance of the unmet or underserved need addressed by this
project?
It is difficult to know how many people will be affected by the SMI exemption in Virginia.
However, the requirement of the presence of a severe mental illness with significantly
impaired capacity at the time of the offense ensures that this would remain a limited
exemption. This restrictive standard only includes the most serious forms of mental illness.
Many mental health diagnoses — and many people with any given diagnosis — would not
meet the requirements of the exemption.
A 2006 study by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics showed that 64
percent of local jail inmates, 56 percent of state prisoners, and 45 percent of federal prisoners
have symptoms of serious mental illnesses.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the data from this DOJ study holds true for death row.
Perhaps as many as half of death row inmates suffer from severe mental illness.
b. Is anyone else providing this service? If so, how does the proposed project compliment or
differ from the other project(s)/service(s).
VADP is the only organization in Virginia that is solely dedicated to reform and abolition of
the death penalty. It plays a leading role in convening SMI coalition partners (see 1b) and
coordinates joint efforts in education, organizing, and advocacy.
c. How many people and who will be served by this project?
The most direct beneficiaries of VADP’s work are the seven inmates on death row and those
accused of capital murder as well as their attomeys. There is no database on the number of
capital prosecutions in Virginia despite a 2002 recommendation to create one by the Joint
Legislative A udit and Review Commission of the Virginia General Assembly.
In addition, employees in our courts, criminal justice system, and prisons would be relieved
of the burden to try, sentence, and carry out executions. Many of these individuals suffer
psychological trauma from their involvement with the state’s death penalty system.
Finally, the taxpayers of Virginia would benefit from ending capital punishment which is far
more expensive than the alternative sentence of life in prison without parole. While no
comprehensive cost analysis has been done in Virginia, it is estimated that ending capital
punishment would save Virginia at least several million dollars each year.
Bon Secours Ministry Grant VADP Funding Application Page 3
3. Project Goals
a. List the goals and specific objectives of this project and provide an estimated timetable for
implementation.
VADP has a ultimate goal of seeking a vote to abolish of the death penalty in the 2020
session of the Virginia legislative session. In order to reach this goal, VADP and its partner
organizations will introduce reform legislation like the severe mental illness exemption to
educate legislators and the public about the serious problems in our death penalty system.
VADP, the Virginia Catholic Conference, and the ACLU of Virginia have identified a core
group of legislators who have struggled with their consciences to vote in favor of death
penalty-related bills in recent years. Our educational efforts with local religious, civic, and
business leaders will take place in the districts of these Delegates and Senators.
This project would take place during the 2017, 2018, and 2019 years to build local support
from religious, civic, and business leaders for the severe mental illness exemption and death
penalty abolition. No politician will vote in favor of a controversial policy like the SMI
exemption or death penalty abolition without strong local support.
Objectives for this project in 2017 are:
= Identify at least 50 significant religious, civic, and business leaders in each of the 22
target legislative districts identified by VADP and its partner organizations.
= Camry out research on the backgrounds of as many of these local leaders as possible.
= Contact at least 20 of these leaders by phone and/or e-mail each week.
= Meet in person with at least 5 of these leaders each week to assess their knowledge and
attitudes on severe mental illness and capital punishment.
= Build ongoing relationships with many of these local leaders, sending information on
SMI and the death penalty and having follow-up meetings to provide education.
= Recruit at least five local leaders in each of the 22 target legislative districts to contact
their legislator and advocate for the severe mental illness exemption in Virginia.
b. How will you measure the achievement of these objectives?
The Field Organizer will create an online spreadsheet or database of each identified local
leader and his or her background as well as logs of each contact made, individual meeting,
follow-up actions, and those who oppose the death penalty.
These activities will be reviewed in weekly supervision meetings between the Field Organizer
and VADP Executive Director. They will discuss successes and failures as well as work
together to resolve problems encountered by the Field Organizer.
c. If this is a request for a second grant for the same project previously awarded by us, how
have you accomplished your goals and objectives? How do these goals and objectives
differ from those of the new request?
Not applicable.
Bon Secours Ministry Grant VADP Funding Application Page 4
4. Project Management
a. How will the project be managed?
VADP currently has only one employee - Executive Director Michael Stone. He will
provide direct supervision of the Field Organizer hired for this project. Board chairperson
Kent Willis will play a key role in assisting the Executive Director in planning,
management, and evaluation of this project.
There will be weekly meetings between the Executive Director and Field Organizer - in
person, via Skype, or by phone. In addition, the Field Organizer will submit written reports
on the work twice each month that will be sent to the VADP board of directors for review.
A written work plan will be produced that specifies where the Field Organizer works, the
number of contacts made each week, and goals for religious, civic, and business leaders to
endorse the severe mental illness exemption here in Virginia.
b. Who are the key people involved in managing this project. Please include a brief
biographical sketch including each person's skills, experience, and expertise as they
relate to implementing and continuing the project.
Michael Stone is the VADP Executive Director. Prior to this position, he worked as a Field
Organizer for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. In that role, he worked
with abolition organizations in Virginia, Missouri, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania. He has
spoken about capital punishment to faith communities and other organizations across the
Commonwealth. He has also identified opponents to the death penalty among “unlikely
allies” - including political conservatives and violent crime victims.
Michael also worked for 25 years in social ministry for Office of Justice & Peace for the
Catholic Diocese of Richmond from 1984 to 2009. During that he served as Respect Life
Coordinator and worked on issues such as abortion, stem cell research, assisted suicide, and
capital punishment as well as economic justice, affordable housing, immigration reform, fair
trade, and socially responsible investment.
He is a former board member of the Virginia Catholic Conference and the Virginia Interfaith
Center for Public Policy.
Kent Willis is the VA DP board chairperson. He is the former Executive Director of the
American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, retiring in 2012. At the ACLU, Kent helped to
establish VADP. In 1998 he secured a grant to produce the first comprehensive study of
the death penalty in Virginia, Unequal, Unfair and Irreversible, which was followed by
Broken Justice, a second critique of the death penalty by the ACLU.
Kent recognized VA DP as the state’s preeminent voice for death penalty reform, and the
ACLU provided free office space and clerical support for its Richmond operations for
nearly ten years as a means of advancing the shared objectives of the two organizations.
5. Budget
a. What are the specific uses of the grant funds you are requesting, e.g., salary for a social
worker to enroll children in Medicaid and office supplies?
Salary for the new Field Organizer position.
Bon Secours Ministry Grant VADP Funding Application Page 5
b. Please attach a complete budget summary for the project for one year, including revenue,
expenses and principal sources of funding, to include budget assumptions. (e.g. 4 aides X
$100 X 2080 hours = $$ per year; or travel 100 miles / week at_____ federal cost per
mileage).
See the completed budget template below.
c. Please attach copy of actual revenue and expenses for preceding year if applicable.
See attachment for VADP’s 2015 income and expense report.
6. Project Sustainability
a. What efforts have been made to raise money from other sources? Please list name(s) and
amount(s) of past, currently secured, pending and p ial sources of funding. Include
potential untried sources (name and dollar amount). Please specify.
Historically, VADP has raised funds from three sources - individuals, faith communities, and
the Death Penalty Mobilization Fund (DPMF). DPMF isa consortium of foundations and
major donors managed by the Tides Foundation in San Francisco.
Very few foundations are willing to even consider grants for an issue as controversial as the
death penalty. In the past year VA DP received fundraising technical assistance from the
Tides Foundation. Our Executive Director identified eight Virginia and national
foundations from a search of the online Foundation Directory provided by Tides.
Our consultant helped analyze these results. Together we identified four most likely to
support abolition work - the Harris & Frances Block Foundation, Morris & Gwendolyn
Cafritz Foundation, Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation, and the Moriah Fund.
The Executive Director contacted each foundation by phone to talk about our work. All four
said that they would not consider funding for VADP.
Since then, the VADP Executive Director has focused on meetings with current major
donors, potential new major donors, and pastors of churches that have not yet provided
financial support for our work.
These contacts have so far produced two new $1,000 individual gifts and another $2,800
from three new churches. This is not an insignificant amount given that that VADP’s
annual budget for the current 2016 year is only $100,285.
In addition, VADP supporters have hosted “friend-raising” events in Herndon, Richmond,
and Roanoke so far in 2016 to introduce new donors to our work. Other events in
Charlottesville, Norfolk, Richmond, and Arlington are in the early planning stages.
b. What are the long-term plans for continuing this project? Can this project become self-
sustaining? Please explain.
This is a new project with a three-year timeline. We hope that funding from the Bon Secours
Sisters Ministry Fund would help us to create matching funds from more churches, major
donors, and other congregations of women religious.
7, Reapplication for same project
Not applicable.
Bon Secours Ministry Grant
VADP Funding Application
Page 6
BUDGET SUMMARY OF PROPOSED PROGRAM/PRO] ECT - 2017
Outline your anticipated annualized operational budget and key revenue sources for calendar year 2017:
Please indicate which year you are using.
BUDGET CATEGORIES
(1) Amount
Requested from Bon
Secours Grant Fund
(2) Other Sources
of Funding
Other Funding
Offsets
Total Program
Operating Budget
PERSONNEL*:
Salaries
$ 20,000
Individuals &
churches
$15,000
$ 35,000
Fringe (specify)
Consultants/other costs
Volunteer - In-Kind
OFFICE SUPPLIES:
Supplies
Postage
Training
Travel (10,000 miles @
$0.54/mile)
Individuals &
churches
$5,400
5,400
Telephone
PROGRAM MATERIALS:
(Please specify)
a.
b.
FACILITIES:
Rent
Utilities
Maintenance
Other (specify)
EQUIPMENT: (Specify
equipment needed)
INSURANCE
OTHER (specify)
a.
b.
PROGRAM FEES*:
TOTAL
$ 20,000
$ 20,400
0
$40,400
(1) Include specific assumptions for each budget category (include in-kind services).
(2) Identify sources by name and amount in budget assumptions
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