Benevolence Committee
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP)
Response to Committee Questions
April 4, 2019
What is your past and current relationship with Westmi ?
VADP has a long history with Westminster Presbyterian Church. One of your church’s stalwart
members, the late Betty Gallagher, was a leader in the Charlottesville death penalty abolition
community and worked closely with VADP. In 2015 VADP established the Betty Gallagher Citizen
of the Year Award to honor her memory.
One of our former board members — Rev. Lauren Ramseur — served as a minister at Westminster
Presbyterian Church for a number of years. In addition, a staff member at the church —-Steve Brown —
has a lengthy personal relationship with VADP Executive Director Michael Stone.
Please tell us how your work intersects our church’s mission — sustained by grace, to serve Christ,
share God’s love and work for justice in a complex world — and any of these areas of engagement.
The mission of VADP is to “end the death penalty in Virginia through education, organizing, and
advocacy.” It seeks to outlaw state-sponsored killing and thus to put an end to what the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. described as “‘a descending spiral [of violence].” Those sentenced to death in
Virginia are overwhelming the poor, people of color, and those with mental illness.
How might partnership with Westminster develop beyond fiscal support?
There are several ways in which your faith community can partner with VADP. Some churches have
encouraged its members to become individual supporters of VADP through sign-up Sunday programs.
Others have hosted VADP speakers for educational events. Some faith leaders have hosted “friend-
raising” events for VADP at their homes or churches. Finally, volunteers from your church could
staff VADP outreach tables at public events like the Vegetarian Festival.
lick hall
Please share some of your ac and ¢
in the past year.
For the past four years VADP has worked with mental health groups to support a bill to ban the
execution of people with severe mental illness (SMI). In January this legislation passed the Senate
Courts of Justice Committee, then the full Senate with bipartisan support. While the bill ultimately
was defeated in a House of Delegates subcommittee, this was an enormous step forward. It was the
first time ever that a Virginia legislative chamber voted to reduce the scope of capital punishment!
VADP had long targeted 2020 as the year when we would seek death penalty abolition. Our grassroots
organizing work over the past two years has built credible bipartisan support for this step. We are
now scheduling meetings with individual legislators across the Commonwealth to identify bipartisan
co-patrons for an abolition bill for the 2020 Virginia legislative session.
No jury in Virginia has sentenced anyone to death in over 7/2 years. There are only two men now on
death row and both of their sentences are under review by federal courts due to improprieties in their
trials. We are hopeful that both death sentences will be overturned later this year.
How much support are you requesting in 2018 and what percentage does that request represent in
your operating budget, or for the project you are requesting funds for?
Westminster has sent $1,000 to VADP for the past six years. A donation of $1,000 in 2019 would
represent less than 1% of our $152,496 budget. Of course, a larger donation would be most welcome.
