Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty

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A Successful Ride for Repeal- Thank you Bill!

Written on June 19, 2013 by Maria Cuevas in featured, news

KCADP would like to thank Bill Lucero for all his time and efforts in helping raise awareness, and money, to support our campaign for abolition here in Kansas!

Click here to see more about Bill’s ride!

He rode his bike 102.8 miles through the heat and rain yesterday – and raised nearly $2,000 for KCADP while doing so! Thank you Bill!

(Bill Lucero after his 102.8 mile ride)

But wait, it is not too late… You can still show your support for Bill’s Ride for Repeal!

Yes, Bill completed the ride yesterday, but even though his ride is over, the books are still open! If you meant to donate, there is still time. If you forgot – it’s not too late. Help us show Bill that his ride was worth it!

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Join Bill on his Ride for Repeal on Tuesday, June 18th!

Written on June 14, 2013 by Maria Cuevas in featured, news

Bill Lucero, a longtime friend and volunteer of KCADP is setting out to ride 100 miles on his bike, in a single day, in order to raise awareness about the death penalty repeal efforts in Kansas.

Lucero will bike 100 miles: Tuesday, June 18th, starting from his home at, 1176 SW Warren Ave. at 6:15 a.m. Bill will then head south to 93rd and Burlingame Rd where he will turn west to Auburn, pulling in at around 7:30 a.m. He will then be accompanied by several friends from the Kaw Valley Bike Club’s Ol’ Phogey. From Auburn they will bike to Eskridge, Harveyville, Burlingame, Scranton, Overbrook, Lake Shawnee finally finishing at the KCADP office located at 3rd & Kansas Ave.

“Forty years following my father’s murder I am still working for repeal of the death penalty in Kansas. I know first-hand that capital punishment will not bring solace or closure to murder victim family members. Rather, I believe this method of retribution only hardens affected families and perpetuates an endless cycle of suffering.” ~ Bill Lucero

Click here for more information on how you can support his Ride for Repeal!

KCADP would like to thank Bill for all his efforts and involvement in the repeal movement here in Kansas! KCADP can not make abolition possible without such amazing grassroots efforts like this! Thank you Bill!

If you would like to support Bill on his Ride for Repeal please click here to make your donation.

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Why I Oppose the Death Penalty–Will Stewart Starks

Written on May 23, 2013 by Allison in featured, Updates

Will Stewart-Starks is just one of many Kansans who are opposed to the death penalty. Will is the Kansas State Chair of Young Americans for Liberty, and he is concerned with issues of innocence, cost and morality. Watch the video below to hear Will talk about why he thinks Kansas should replace the death penalty with life without parole.

Want to share why you oppose the death penalty? You can submit your story using this online form, or contact a KCADP organizer at infoksabolition dot org.

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Commemoration Ceremony at the Tree of Healing

Written on May 1, 2013 by Maria Cuevas in featured, Victim Voices, Voices of Innocence

Mary Sloan, KCADP Executive Director, ties a yellow ribbon around the Tree of Healing at the annual Commemoration Ceremony. Thank you to all of those who participated!

A Matter of Innocence – Kirk Bloodsworth Speaking Tour

Written on April 11, 2013 by Maria Cuevas in featured, Voices of Innocence

Kirk Bloodsworth, Advocacy Director of Witness to Innocence and a death row exoneree, will speak on wrongful convictions and the death penalty here in Kansas (please see below for locations, dates, and times of each event).

Mr. Bloodsworth was accused and convicted of a horrific crime: murdering and raping a nine year-old girl. The evidence used to convict him was the testimony of five eyewitnesses. He spent eight years in prison before DNA evidence proved his innocence. Mr. Bloodsworth is one of 142 individuals in the US to be sentenced to death and later found innocent. Ten years after the initial tests, investigators matched DNA from the case to the real killer.

In Kansas, DNA evidence has played a role in exonerating both Eddie Lowery and Joe Jones of rapes that they did not commit. To date, DNA evidence has led to the release of 305 individuals in the US wrongfully convicted and incarcerated from crimes they did not commit.

While in Kansas, Mr. Bloodsworth hopes his story will highlight how anyone can suffer the injustice of a wrongful conviction: “I was a former Marine with no criminal record, who was nowhere near the scene of the crime, but I was still convicted and sentenced to death for a crime I didn’t commit. If it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody. And it does.”

EVENTS:

Sunday, April 14^th

9:15am – Grace Gathering Room at Grace UMC, 11485 S Ridgeview Rd., Olathe, KS 66061

(free to the public)

6:30pm – An Evening with Kirk Bloodsworth Dinner Event, St. David’s Episcopal Church, 3916 SW 17th St., Topeka, KS

($25 per person)

Monday, April 15^th

7:00pm – Big 12 Room, Kansas Union, Level 5, University of Kansas, 1301 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS

(free to the public)

Tuesday, April 16^th

7:00pm – Dugan-Gorges Conf. Ctr., Dugan Library & Campus Ctr., Newman University, 3100 McCormick, Wichita, KS

(free to the public)

Wednesday, April 17^th

7:00pm – FHSU Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center, 600 Park St., Hays, KS

(free to the public)

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Spotlight on an Abolitionist: George Weeks

Written on April 3, 2013 by Allison in featured, Updates

George Weeks, a KCADP volunteer from Pittsburg, was featured in the Pittsburg Morning Sun this week.

George says that he always “leaned against” the death penalty, but in the last three years he has become much more supportive of abolition.

Issues like the cost of the death penalty, the harmful effects for the families of murder victims, and the risk of executing an innocent person are the biggest reasons he opposes the death penalty.

George told the Pittsburg Morning Sun:

“It’s very likely that some innocent people have been executed. Once somebody is executed, you cannot give them their life back.”

George added that his goal is to repeal the Kansas death penalty:

“The hope is to change only one law, a law that doesn’t work, and eliminate the death penalty from Kansas statutes.”

You can read the full article about George and why he opposes the death penalty by here.

Photo by Sean Steffen, Pittsburg Morning Sun.

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Video: Father of Murder Victim Shares Why He Opposes Death Penalty

Written on March 28, 2013 by Allison in featured, Victim Voices

Bob Hessman, Dodge City, shares the story of his and his wife’s efforts to forgive the man who murdered their daughter.

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Watch KCADP’s Advocacy Training Webinar

Written on March 14, 2013 by Allison in featured, Updates

On March 9th, KCADP hosted an advocacy training webinar focused on training members to be more effective advocates against the death penalty.

The presentation is now available to watch online in the videos below. The webinar includes information on the best messages against the death penalty, and strategies for how you can be an effective activist in support of repealing the Kansas death penalty once and for all!

There is a small glitch in the first few minutes of the recording where we only have sound and no picture. The full training is full of good information, so we hope you’ll bear with us and tune in to the whole presentation. You can also view a PDF of the webinar slides by clicking here.

The presenters include:

Jeremy Schroeder, former National Strategy Counsel for the National Coalition and former Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty who led the successful Illinois repeal campaign
Mary Sloan, Kansas Coalition Executive Director
Lori Baux, Senior Campaign Consultant and National Coalition State Organizer for Kansas
Allison Green, Kansas Coalition Communications Director

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Abolition Bills Introduced in Kansas Legislature

Written on March 9, 2013 by Allison in featured, Updates

On Thursday, a bill to repeal the death penalty and replace it with life without parole was introduced into the Kansas House of Representatives.

The bill, HB 2397, also establishes a fund to help the families of murder victims and provide for mental health services by redirecting savings that will come from abolishing the death penalty.

A similar bill, SB 126, was introduced in the Senate in February.

Contact your legislators today and ask them to support HB 2397 and SB 126!

It’s important for legislators to hear from constituents like you! Call, write or email your legislators today and tell them you support ending the Kansas death penalty!

To confirm your legislators’ contact information, just visit www.openkansas.org. Type in your address to see updated contact information for your Senator and Representative.

We know that in Kansas, death penalty cases can cost up to 70 percent more than non-death penalty cases. That high costs diverts important financial resources away from prevention and victims’ services.

These bills will end the death penalty, replace it with life in prison without parole and direct savings to programs that will assist victims of crime and enhance public safety.

If you have questions, need assistance, or want to share your legislator’s response, please contact KCADP at 785-235-2237 or infoksabolitionorg.

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Kansas Op-Ed: Neely Goen, Daughter of Murder Victim, Opposes Death Penalty

Written on February 7, 2013 by Allison in featured, Updates, Victim Voices

Neely Goen never met her father. His name was Conroy O’Brien, and he was a Kansas state trooper who was murdered in the line of duty.

Neely told her story, and how she came to oppose the death penalty, in an op-ed to the Wichita Eagle published today.

Neely wrote:

“My father’s murder, along with other cases, led people to call for a return of the death penalty, which Kansas eventually reinstated in 1994.

But over time, after I saw how the death penalty system actually works, my feelings on the issue changed.

What I’ve discovered is a legal process that no murder victim’s family should have to endure.”

You can read the full story by clicking here.

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