The Next Big Step to
ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky has been a leader in
efforts to abolish the death penalty in Kentucky since the Supreme Court
permitted the reinstitution of the death penalty in the late 1970s. Over the
years a Coalition of some forty groups has joined with the ACLU in the
Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, led by Father Pat
Delahanty, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Louisville, assisted by
Kaye Gallagher, part-time campaign coordinator.
Kentucky is a state of considerable violence in which killing as a
punishment is deeply ingrained. As recently as 1998 polls showed 69% of
Kentuckians favored the death penalty.
In the past ten years however the educational efforts of KCADP and
highly publicized national events disclosing innocent and wrongfully
convicted men on death row have brought about a dramatic change in public
opinion. The most recent poll conducted by the University of Kentucky
reveals that 64% of Kentuckians now state they prefer a prison sentence to
the death penalty and only 34% still are for the death penalty.
In April KCADP announced the Next Big Step program to raise
$240,000 to fund a three year major effort to achieve legislation abolishing
the death penalty. The key is the hiring of a full time staff person —
organizer, lobbyist, educator - to build on the work already accomplished,
and bring the changed public opinion into the halls of the legislature.
Thus far, with major help from the ACLU, almost $200,000 has been
raised, and we are now seeking and will hire a full time staff person. We
invite each of you who has the time and interest to join with us in the Next
Big Step. Give us a call, email us, suggest a candidate for the job, join
hundreds of others and help lobby and educate our legislators.
Killing for killing is barbaric, accomplishes nothing but harm, and is
just plain wrong. Come join the cause.
Carl Wedekind
KCADP
502 636 1330
kcadp@earthlink.net
www.kcadp.org
