Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
Minutes of Board Meeting,
September 12, 2016
Present: Pat Delahanty, Kate Miller, Ben Griffith, Aaron Bentley, Chris Beckett, Mark
Meade; Zach Everson and Stephanie Wurdock were present on speakerphone.
Kaye Gallagher, Ray Schweri, Richard Mitchell and Brad Castleberry sent regrets.
It was noted that Patsey Jacobs, Maria Hines, Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, and Alvin Seales are
no longer on the Board due to health, inactivity, or resignation.
1. Minutes from June were approved without any additions or corrections.
2. Treasurer Report. We received a photo file of the report from Kaye who was unable to
attend. We could not accept or approve the report because there were discrepancies in the
handwritten beginning-ending balance to the 2" Quarter and the published
income/expense activity to the Quarter. There were also a few questions about a few
specific lines of activity.
3. Board Elections to replace vacancies. Two names had been brought forward for
nomination. The bios of Dawn Jenkins and Kate Mudd were distributed last month for
consideration. Aaron nominated Dawn and Kate Miller nominated Kate Mudd. Each gave a
short overview of the prospective candidate’s qualifications.
We unanimously approved Dawn Jenkins and Kate Mudd to serve on the Board.
Congrats to Dawn and Kate!
4. Witness to Innocence Tour. Kate reported that with Shekinah’s resignation there has
been some delays but the fall tour is now scheduled for mid-November. Randy Steidl will be
the speaker. Already there have been some stops scheduled for the Pikeville area. Kate will
be working with the new ACLU Outreach person to organize the full tour.
5. Current Activities. Pat reported that the Tides Grant had be used to enhance our social
media presence (our Facebook page just hit 2500 likes, up 1000 from January), our mailing
list is now over 2500 names, and a contract with long-time Republican Bobby Heleringer
has been used to build ties with more conservative groups and people. Pat noted that some
good work has been done by Bobby in this regard. He has registered Bobby as a legislative
agent over the next three months to build some access and in-roads with some Republican
legislators. Pat said we should expect to see a couple of House Republicans file the
abolition bill this year. In the Senate, Pat will be working with Gerald Neal to see if he thinks
a strategy allowing a Republican senator to be primary sponsor will help us in the Senate.
6. Northern Kentucky Event. On November 9" there will be a 5 member panel at Gateway
College featuring KY innocents, KY murder victim families, a former prosecutor, a member
of the team who wrote the ABA report on Ky’s death penalty, and Ed Monahan (public
advocacy). There has already been some buzz for this event as Bobby H. has heard about
the event from one legislator.
7. Salt Lake City National Event. Pat gave a brief report. He didn’t learn much at the
event. Tides money for this year is gone and we will be relying on our own fundraising for
now until the next cycle of grant funding. Pat has been hesitant to hire a new full-time
staffer as a result of this.
8. Evangelicals. Pat asked Miriam Hans, a murder victim family member, if she might be
willing to work toward bringing some evangelical groups toward our position. He noted
that Bobby Heleringer’s work has been effective with prolife Republicans. Miriam could be
an effective voice with evangelicals. Pat and Miriam will soon be meeting with Heather
Beaudoin, who works with Equal Justice USA to develop evangelical support nationally. She
will provide information and training opportunities for Miriam. In lieu of hiring another
full-time staffer, Pat noted that this might be a very effective way to build our capacity.
9. Board Activities. We spent some time going around and talking about what abolition
work each of us has done since our last Board meeting. The exercise yielded a number of
responses —~ social media, talking with people, etc. Especially poignant was Sister Chris
talking about her encounter with one of the two Sisters who were murdered in Mississippi
just weeks before the murder. We hold all family members and the Sisters’ families in our
thoughts and prayers as they deal with the unsettling process of losing loved ones to violent
acts and standing against the death penalty.
10. Next Meeting, December 12, 6:30 in Frankfort.
The meeting adjourned at 8pm.
Respectfully Submitted, Ben Griffith, Secretary
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