Colorado’s Governor Signs Abolition Bill; Commutes Sentences!
We have some GREAT NEWS, and while we hesitated for a moment, we decided this is exactly the sort of distraction we all need right now.
It is official… Colorado has abolished the death penalty! Congratulations to everyone who had a hand in this victory. It has been a long time coming. Click here to help Death Penalty Action build on this momentum!
Governor Polis’s signature on Colorado’s death penalty repeal bill, which passed the legislature last month, makes Colorado the 22nd state death to be penalty-free! Combining those 22 states with the four that currently have governor-imposed execution suspensions, that officially puts the United States past the halfway point. We now having a majority of states refusing to execute its prisoners. The tide is turning, and we are winning!
Death Penalty Action Co-Directors Scott Langley and Abe Bonowitz have been involved over the years with abolition work in Colorado and we are thrilled with this victory. Abe was deeply involved with Coloradans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty in past years, and was just there in January as this now complete effort was kicking off the current legislative session. Scott has spoken at schools and events across the state. Both Scott and Abe have presented the keynote address at the Coloradans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty annual dinner in years past.
But with 24 states (plus the military and the federal government) still retaining the threat of executions, there is still much work to do. What’s next? Keep standing up with us in opposition to executions:
- Death Penalty Action will launch a new activism program later this week to help us all keep the pressure on to stop executions even as our nation grapples with the pandemic. Please watch for that announcement.
- Death Penalty Action protests every execution. Click here to sign & share petitions for the executions scheduled this spring.
- Plan now to participate in other protests, such as the 27th Annual Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, and/or the next Tennessee March4Mercy on May 31st in Nashville. *NOTE: Plans may shift as necessary in consideration of the pandemic.
- Lastly, please celebrate this victory by making a donation today. Click now to help Death Penalty Action continue this critical work. (Use PayPal, here.)
Onwards toward nation-wide abolition!
With hope,
Scott Langley and Abraham J. Bonowitz
Death Penalty Action Co-Directors
PS: Like what we do? Help make it happen with your donation today, here!
