KENTUCKY
COALITION to
ABOLISH the
DEATH
PENALTY
P.O. Box 3092 « Louisville, KY 40201-3092 * 502.636.1330 «
staff@kcadp.org * www.kcadp.org
August, 2014
Friend,
Our names are Ben Griffith and Ruth Lowe. We are each survivors of murder victims and we oppose the use of the
death penalty under any circumstances. Our losses have been great, and we do not believe that more death will
bring justice for our families. We have both been volunteering for the Coalition. Recently we attended a hearing
about the death penalty in Paducah before the Kentucky Interim Joint Judiciary Committee. That experience
confirmed for us that our voices are having an impact on legislators. Senator Westerfield told a reporter: “I continue
to grapple with questions about redemption and any number of things those crime victims brought up.”
Each of us lost a brother to murder. Both were senseless, cruel killings. We both experienced anger and rage as a
result and the incidents deeply impacted all our family members. Working through the grief and allowing our
religious faith to guide us we both concluded the execution of our loved one’s killers is not an answer. We loved our
brothers and we want their killers and other killers held accountable, life without parole being the better option. We
agree that no one should have the power to take another’s life and call it justice. Capital punishment is legalized
retaliation and revenge and we want no part of it.
And that is why each of us gives of our time, talent and resources to the Coalition. We believe that working together
we can end the use of the death penalty in Kentucky. We write to invite you to join us in this effort.
For starters we encourage you to make a generous donation to the Coalition in the envelope provided with this
mailing. It takes money to pay staff, maintain a website, engage in social media, keep supporters updated and
operate a successful campaign to bring people together on this issue.
In addition, both of us have been visiting lawmakers and raising our voices with them. We encourage you to contact
your own State Senator and State Representative and have conversations about your own reasons to repeal the death
penalty. If you need help getting appointments with them, or you are nervous about such meetings, KCADP staff is
available to you, as they have been to us, to make this happen. We believe you will find this invigorating and
enjoyable.
The death of a loved one is always a life-changing event, it affects family members and close friends especially, but
entire communities mourn the loss of any human life. As family members of murder victims, we know the profound
grief shared by those who are taken from us by the cruel and thoughtless actions of another. While we mourned the
loss of our loved ones, we also contemplated the lives and actions of those who thrust this grief upon us. With our
moral convictions in mind, we have concluded that we cannot in good conscience support a system that seeks to
revenge the lives of our loved ones with the life of another human being.
We thank you for taking the time to read this letter and we look forward to continue working together with you to
end the use of the death penalty in Kentucky. Keeping it is not a way to honor our brothers or the loved ones of
others who are taken from them by murder.
Sincerely,
Ben Cngih. Ga UFone
Ben Griffith Ruth Lowe
Secretary, KCADP Board Murder Victims’ Family Members for Reconciliation
Murder Victims’ Family Members for Reconciliation
Don’t Kill For Us—H______—_.
