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A nationwide movement for justice

In the last 25 years, our movement has radically reduced the use of the death penalty across the United States. Thirty-three states have either formally ended capital punishment or haven’t carried out an execution in more than 10 years. New death sentences have declined by nearly 90 percent. This progress has resulted from a unified strategy to shine a light on the death penalty’s failures.

A group of advocates gathers in front of the California state capitol for a press conference calling for an end to the death penalty. A man in a light-colored suit speaks at a podium with a sign reading “Commute All Death Sentences”. Behind him, a diverse group of people stand holding yellow signs that also read “Commute All Death Sentences.” On either side of the podium are large poster boards with photos of men labeled “INNOCENT”. One sign reads, “Vicente Benavides Figueroa — Innocent”. The other reads, “Shuja Graham — Innocent”. The signs show text stating that every exoneree in California has been a man of color and that Black Californians are four times more likely to be sentenced to death.

Who We Are

The U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty (formerly known as the 8th Amendment Project) is leading a coalition of 60+ organizations in a coordinated strategy to end the use of capital punishment once and for all. Members of the coalition are engaged in public education, advocacy, organizing, communications, litigation, and research at the state and national level.

What We Do

  • Consensus: We build consensus around a national strategy to end the death penalty.
  • Coordination: We bring together 60+ partners from across the country to engage in strategic dialogue, campaign planning, training opportunities, skill-sharing, and leadership development.
  • Communications: We shape the national dialogue on the death penalty while also providing our partners with messaging research, communications strategy, technical assistance, and professional media relations services.
  • Campaigns: We collaborate with stakeholders to build support for state and national campaigns and to shine a light on how the death penalty’s systemic flaws show up in individual cases. We rapidly coordinate responses to new challenges and emerging opportunities.
  • Collaborative funding: We offer guidance to funders about how to align their investments with the national strategy and maximize their impact. We help identify new funding streams, and provide technical assistance and support to our partners.
  • Communities of Color Leadership Development: We are dedicated to building equity, power, and leadership opportunities for people of color working on this issue through sustained leadership development and support.
  • Capacity: We are engaged in numerous activities to increase the capacity and impact of the U.S. campaign to end the death penalty. We are focused on strategies that contribute to long-term movement building and increasing organizational capacity.
  • Create: In consultation with partners across the country, we look for opportunities to incubate new strategies and initiatives that can significantly advance the goals of the national campaign.

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