Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

DPIC Releases Year End Report: Historic Declines in Use of Death Penalty in 2015

December 16, 2015On December 16, DPIC released its annual report on the latest developments in capital punishment, "The Death Penalty in 2015: Year End Report." The death penalty declined by virtually every measure in 2015. 28 people were executed, the fewest since 1991. Death sentences dropped 33% from last year's historic low, with 49 people being sentenced to death this year. There have now been fewer death sentences imposed in the last decade than in the decade before the U.S. Supreme Court declared existing death penalty laws unconstitutional in 1972.

OADP Supports Taxpayer coalition effort to replace California death penalty

Oregonians for Alternatives supports and applauds the announcement by California Taxpayers for Sentencing Reform that it is launch a signature campaign for a November 2016 ballot initiative to end the state’s dysfunctional and costly death penalty system. The coalition that includes conservatives, liberals, law enforcement, religious leaders, and victims’ families made the announcement on Dec. 14th.

JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson

JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson - A story of justice and redemption.

"Every bit as moving as To Kill a Mockingbird"
The New York Review of Books

"Searing, moving….Bryan Stevenson may indeed, be America’s Mandela."
Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times and Oregon native.

Justice That Works: Taxpayer coalition launches effort to replace California death penalty

Signature-gathering begins for initiative to end costly, dysfunctional, ineffective system

SACRAMENTO – Dec. 14, 2015 - Taxpayers for Sentencing Reform, a coalition that includes conservatives, liberals, law enforcement, religious leaders, and victims’ families, announced today that it is collecting signatures for a November 2016 ballot initiative to end the state’s dysfunctional and costly death penalty system.

Death Penalty Discussion Jan 4th

OADP is sponsoring an informal discussion about repealing the death penalty in Oregon every first Monday.

Everyone is welcome to come and share your ideas about making Oregon a more peaceful place.

Talk about, learn about and get involved in the efforts to repeal the Oregon death penalty.

Discussion will take place at The Ike Box Green Room in Salem, from 7 to 8pm.

Event Details

Event:

Death Penalty Discussion at the IKE Box Green Room

Date:

Monday, January 4, 2016 -

7:00pm to 8:00pm

Location:

The IKE Box Green Room

299 Cottage St NE

97301 Salem , OR

See map: Google Maps

Dayton Rogers Sentenced to Death

Oregonians to pay millions more for an execution date that will never arrive
Opinion By Frank Thompson - Retired Superintendent, Oregon State Penitentiary

December 2015 Update Newsletter

Investing in our growth and progress

As we grow, the opportunities to do even more also present themselves.

Oregon's Justice Reinvestment Act and "Smart" Solutions for Criminal Justice

Viable alternatives to the death penalty that work, are less costly, and bring life.

Evangelical shift show conservatives' concerns about the death penalty

Fiscal and religious conservatives are moving away from DP support.

Advisory Council valuable component in repeal efforts

The Advisory Council is of enormous help as we strive to get on the ballot soon and repeal the Oregon death penalty for good.

OADP adds new board member Francisco Lopez

Lopez's community organizing and networking capabilities will be a welcomed addition to a board focused on repeal of the death penalty and alternatives that keep the public safe, while lifting up people in need of important social services.

Mark your calendar

Florida's death row Chaplain, Dale Recinella, speaking in March 2016.

Things to see and to read

Some good videos and articles:

• An award-winning short film that looks at social issues including criminal justice;

• The Marshall Project brings attention to executions and "The Next to Die";

• The death penalty abolition movement is coming out into the open through the 8th Amendment Project.

Additional national news from the DPIC

Important news articles from the Death Penalty Information Center:

• Battle Scars: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty;

• Deadliest Prosecutors, Worst Defense Lawyers Linked to High Rates of Death Sentences in Heavy-Use Counties.

Evangelical Group Changes Long-Standing Position on Death Penalty as 66% of Americans Support Capital Punishment

Recognizing that "a growing number of evangelicals now call" for a shift away from the death penalty, the National Association of Evangelicals - an umbrella group for congregations representing millions of evangelical Christians in the United States - has backed away from its prior strong support for capital punishment.

New York Times: Unable to Obtain Drugs, Ohio Suspends Executions

October 19, 2015 With the suspension of executions in Ohio, the New Your Times has a report on the Ohio suspension of executions until at least 2017. Ohio now joins Oklahoma and Arkansas as states with at least a de facto moritorium. The majority of the 50 states now either have already abolished the death penalty, have an official moratorium, like Oregon, or a de facto moritorium.

Ohio suspends all executions until 2017 as lethal injection drug runs out

Supplies of sodium thiopental and pentobarbital dry up as other states also forced into moratorium by botched procedures or legal challenges

Monday 19 October 2015 Ohio is putting off executions until at least 2017 as the state struggles to obtain supplies of lethal injection drugs, delaying capital punishment for a full two years, the prisons department has announced.

Ohio has run out of supplies of its previous drugs and has unsuccessfully sought new amounts, including so-far failed attempts to import chemicals from overseas. It is one of several states scrambling to obtain drugs for executions, since European pharmaceutical companies began blocking the use of their products in lethal injections.

Russ Feingold

Aberon Waugh

Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun

John Donne

Helen Prejean

Death Penalty Facts

News & Press

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DPIC Releases Year End Report: Historic Declines in Use of Death Penalty in 2015

OADP Supports Taxpayer coalition effort to replace California death penalty

JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson

Justice That Works: Taxpayer coalition launches effort to replace California death penalty