April 15, 2022
Dear <first name>,
After achieving death penalty abolition last year, our
board decided to keep VADP going, just in case we needed to
defeat 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 a
contribution to keep VADP strong.
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 need to 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.
At this time, we only know 4 of the 17 new members of the
House of Delegates oppose reinstatement of the death penalty.
Our pro-abolition majority in the Senate is razor-thin, plus...
With the new redistricting process, just more than half
of the lawmakers in each chamber will still represent the
district in which they reside. Soon the General Assembly
will look very different than it does now.
Given the last election results 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 leaders will meet with ALL
recently elected legislators to build as much opposition to
reinstatement of the death penalty as we can.
Before long we may not have even the slim majorities
that abolished the death penalty. We must continue to
advocate with legislators to defend our historic victory.
Our success once again depends on the generous financial
support of the few hundred stalwart VADP supporters.
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. Dale Brumfield’s book, Closing the Slaughterhouse: The
Inside Story of Death Penalty Abolition in Virginia, will help
other states trying to attain our (now threatened) achievement.
As promised, everyone who donates $250 or more to VADP will
receive a copy of Closing the Slaughterhouse personally signed
by Dale.
That said, any amount you can give VADP today will be well
used and greatly appreciated.
