John,

The death penalty is a cruel, unjust, and barbaric practice. While federal executions in the United States were put on hold in 2003, Donald Trump reinstated the practice in 2020, and 12 states have continued to actively carry out executions.

In a flawed criminal justice system like ours in which wrongful convictions happen far too often, innocent people can end up being sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit. One of those people is Robert Roberson, a Texas man wrongly convicted of murder who was sentenced to be executed last week on October 17th.

Robert is an innocent man who has been held in solitary confinement for 23.5 hours a day for more than two decades after the accidental death of his chronically ill, two-year-old daughter. He was judged by hospital staff at the time who did not realize he had autism and was found guilty under the now discredited shaken baby syndrome (SBS) hypothesis.

Thankfully, through medical and scientific evidence and the advocacy of doctors, investigators, faith leaders, and groups like the Innocence Project, Robert’s execution was delayed when the Texas Supreme Court reinstated a temporary restraining order requested by Texas lawmakers.

But Robert is not fully in the clear just yet. And last month, we witnessed the execution of another innocent man in Missouri named Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams despite prosecutors’ efforts to overturn his wrongful conviction, as a result of racism and corruption in our so-called justice system.

As long as the death penalty exists in this country, we risk killing innocent people.

It’s time to end this barbaric practice for good: add your name if you agree that the U.S. should abolish the death penalty now!

Add Your Name

No more lives should be stolen by the state.

In solidarity,

Justice Democrats