Your donation matched dollar for dollar
for our SMI Campaign!
Dear <first name>:
When Virginia killed William Morva on July 6, 2017,
it executed an obviously disturbed young man who
thought his supernatural powers would save indigenous
tribes .. someone who subsisted on a diet of raw meat,
pine cones and cheese while living in the woods
barefoot in winter.
An expert witness at Morva’s trial told the jury
only that he had “odd beliefs.” But after his
conviction, a mental-health expert diagnosed him with
delusional disorder, a serious psychotic condition
similar to schizophrenia.
Capital punishment is dehumanizing. But, as The
Washington Post editorialized: “The execution of a man
suffering from severe mental illness is an act of
particular barbarism — especially if his condition may
have been misdiagnosed in trial.”
The next achievable step toward death penalty
abolition is to further shrink capital punishment by
fighting to pass “SMI” legislation that will exempt
those with Severe Mental Illness from lethal injection.
We were cautiously optimistic after the last
election dealt death-penalty hardliners a blow. The SMI
exemption bill was endorsed by 18 conservative leaders,
like former Virginia Attorneys General Ken Cuccinelli
and Mark Earley and former Congressman Tom Bliley.
Still, we ran up against implacable opposition by
the new chair of the Virginia House of Delegates Courts
of Justice Committee. He simply refused to even allow
the bill to be heard!
In the Senate, SMI died in committee, yet was
referred to the Crime Commission for study by the
powerful Senate Majority Leader, a positive sign.
Our further progress in the coming months depends
on you and other VADP supporters.
I urge you to make your most generous donation now,
since it will be matched by a new $15,000 grant from
the Sisters of Bon Secours. This grant and your match
enables us to have a full-time Field Director, an
activist who has already awakened a number of new
legislators to our cause.
The work of Field Director Dale Brumfield in key
areas of the state has created constituent pressure on
important legislators to support this reform
legislation.
Your donation will be put to work at once for Field
Director outreach and face-to-face advocacy for the SMI
exemption. Every move forward for our cause is thanks
to one convincible legislator.
Our work is effective. The death penalty is on the
decline in Virginia, as seen in zero death sentences in
over six years and a dwindling number of cases or
juries willing to consider the ultimate penalty.
Please help us keep up this good fight by making a
generous VADP donation today!
With thanks,
Michael Stone
Executive Director
P.S. AS a small non-profit organization, we rely
heavily on people like you to fight injustice. Please
mail your donation and gift form in the envelope
provided today. Thank you for your support!
