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What an amazing year it has
been at VADP! Thanks to your support, we
once again led the successful effort in the General Assembly to defeat a bill
to expand capital punishment by eliminating the “triggerman rule.” We have presented educational programs
throughout Virginia, expanded our base of supporters to more than 4,000, worked
with our legislative allies to develop plans to counter future death penalty expansion
efforts, and continued to build the foundations for ending the death penalty in
Virginia. We could not have done all
this without your support.
I’m excited to tell you about
a number of initiatives we have begun this year to enhance VADP’s ability to
accomplish our objectives in the future.
First, we upgraded our presence in the increasingly important social
media world by launching a new Facebook page.
We've used that page, together with our website, to educate our
supporters about key developments impacting capital punishment, both in
Virginia and beyond our borders. For
example, thanks to these platforms, many of you were able to educate yourselves
and others effectively about the Justin Wolfe case; earlier this year, Justin
became the second Virginian released from death row with evidence of his
innocence.
Second, we have invested in
new technologies that will greatly enhance our ability to educate the public,
mobilize our supporters, and influence our legislators. We have a new website
on the way, due to launch in the New Year, which will be informative, engaging
and easy to navigate and will provide you with real time news updates,
including during those crucial weeks of the General Assembly. The new site will be fully integrated with
our Facebook and Twitter pages and will be capable of hosting dynamic video and
audio content from leaders and newsmakers in the death penalty movement.
We have also invested in a
powerful new supporter database that allows us to strategically target our communications
and focus our advocacy efforts in ways that were not previously possible. We now have the tools necessary to wage a 21st
century campaign to inform and educate the public about important issues
relating to capital punishment.
Please be especially
generous with your support for VADP this year to help us defray the costs
of these long-needed investments in our work.
Recent executions, like that
of Troy Davis in Georgia, have made international headlines and highlighted the
very real risk of executing innocent persons.
Some states, like Texas, continue their heavy use of the death
penalty. Others—like New Jersey, New
Mexico, and Illinois—have recently said “enough” and have joined the growing
number of states that have ended the death penalty.
In which camp will we find
Virginia ten years from now? Recent
declines in death sentences and executions suggest that Virginia is moving out
of the "heavy use" category.
To enable us to continue moving Virginia down the road toward abolition, we need your
continued financial support. Please
help us by completing the enclosed form and sending your contribution
today. If you prefer, you can make a
credit card donation by visiting our website www.vadp.org or calling toll-free at (888) 567-8237. If you want your contribution to be
tax-deductible, please make your check payable to Virginia Organizing and note
“for VADP” on the memo line.
Sincerely,
Steve Northup, Executive
Director
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