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The Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty (CNADP) has been working to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut since 1986. We stand strongly opposed to the death penalty as it is poor public policy. The death penalty does not deter crime, it is not cost efficient, it kills the mentally ill, it is economically and racially biased, it kills the innocent, and it does not provide closure to families - it is simply revenge, not justice.
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Come to a special advance screening of "At the Death House Door," an Independent Film Channel documentary. The CNADP has been awarded the advance rights to the documentary "At the Death House Door." We will show this Independent Film Channel documentary at our monthly meeting, Tuesday, May 13, 2008. However, due to the nature of the meeting, we will have to change locations. We will be meeting at Trinity College at the McCook Auditorium starting at 7 p.m. (The documentary will be shown on the Independent Film Channel on May 29.) Refreshments will be served and the documentary will be followed by a discussion period. ADVANCE RESERVATIONS ARE REQUESTED, ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO ADMISSION CHARGE. To reserve your seat, please contact robertnave@cnadp.org. "At the Death House Door" tells the story of Carrol Pickett, the Chaplain for the Texas Department of Corrections. During his tenure with the Department from 1982-1995, Pickett counseled 95 inmates executed by lethal injection. The film chronicles Pickett's experience and ideological transformation from supporting to opposing the death penalty. "At the Death House Door" is produced by Kartemquin Films and filmmakers Peter Gilbert, Steve James and Gordon Quinn. For directions to Trinity College which includes a map of the campus at the top left of the page, go to: http:// www.trincoll.edu/ AboutTrinity/ VisitingTrinity/ DirectionsToTrinity.htm For more information on this Independent Film Channel production, please go to: http://www.ifc.com/atthedeathhousedoor. And, don't forget to tune into the IFC on May 29 at 9 p.m. for the premier of this production as well!!!! |
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Meet With Us in Hartford on May 13 CNADP holds regional monthly meetings in Hartford, on the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings start at 7:00 PM. Everyone is welcome. See above for special May meeting. |
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U.S. Supreme Court Issues Ruling in Lethal Injection Case
On April 16, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in the case of Baze v. Rees, that lethal injection is constitutional as long as there is “no substantial risk of severe pain,” and as long as there is no alternative procedure which is “feasible, readily implemented, and in fact significantly reduced a substantial risk of severe pain.” The ruling features no fewer than seven separate opinions which debate both lethal injection and the constitutionality of the death penalty itself. It is far from clear what, if any, impact this decision will have on the death penalty or future litigation. It certainly does not impact the work of CNADP. Connecticut is a state that effectively does not practice capital punishment (the only execution in 45 years was a volunteer). Our work is focused on abolishing the death penalty from the statute books in our state. We will continue to work toward that goal. However, this decision does make one thing clear: there will be more and more litigation on this issue. Once again, the death penalty and the divisiveness around it has sentenced families of murder victims to decades more of suffering the process. |
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Judge Fuger's Decision
Read Judge Fuger's decision in the on-going law suit by death row inmates here in Connecticut Click here to read more. |
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New Jersey Abolishes the Death Penalty
Following a similar vote in the New Jersey Senate earlier this week, today, the General Assembly of New Jersey voted to abolish the death penalty. New Jersey now becomes the first state in the nation to legislatively abolish the death penalty since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, bringing the number of states to now have the death penalty down to 36. The Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty applauds the legislature and governor of New Jersey and is hopeful that Connecticut will soon follow this action. The system of capital punishment in New Jersey was all but identical to that of Connecticut with one exception, nobody in New Jersey ever volunteered to be executed, so New Jersey has not executed anybody in the modern era. In their introduction of the bill in the General Assembly today, Assemblymen Wilfredo Caraballo (D) and Christopher Bateman (R) stated that the death penalty is not cost effective, is not a deterrent to crime, does not provide closure to the families, risked executing an innocent person, is prone to arbitrary decisions that has led to racial and geographic disparity, and cited a poll that showed that more people in New Jersey prefer the sentence to life without release over the death penalty. The Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty recognizes that the death penalty in Connecticut is identical to that of New Jersey in every aspect mentioned above. The Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty wishes to congratulate the people of New Jersey for their enlightened leadership. |
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The Death Penalty is not Justice - For Anyone
Op-Ed piece published in the New Haven Register, September 27, 2007 Read it here. |
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2008 I Dream A World arts contest is underway!
This is a contest sponsored by the CT Network to Abolish the Death Penalty and the American Friends Service Committee and is for Connecticut high school students who want to express their ideas on peace, justice and the death penalty. The 2008 I Dream a World contest closed April 4th and we have organized the entries for judging. We have a good variety of entries and thank all those who entered for your effort. The judges are all around the state and we hope to complete the judging process by mid-May. Stay tuned to this site for more information. For more information on the contest, go to our website: http://www.afsc.org/ct/idream.htm |
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Stay Informed CNADP maintains an e-mail listserve which circulates current information on the death penalty in Connecticut. The listserve is used to send updates on death penalty related issues. Your privacy is important to us and your e-mail address will not be shared with anyone. To be included on the list, send a request to: naverobert@yahoo.com |
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Write Your Newspaper Editor and Legislator Let your legislator and newspaper editor know how you feel about the death penalty in Connecticut. Contact information for your legislators can be found here. It is important that your representatives know your position on this issue. Each of the newspapers in Connecticut is listed on this page. Write your newspaper editor today. |