A new coalition has been formed to bring about the end of the death penalty in the United States.
Called 90 Million Strong, the coalition’s director, Diann Rust-Tierney, said it would work on a state-by-state basis to add to the 16 states that currently ban capital punishment.
“Enough is enough,” declared Hilary Shelton, NAACP senior vice president for policy and advocacy and director of its Washington bureau, during a Dec. 9 news conference unveiling the campaign.
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Since the Supreme Court reinstated the use of the death penalty in 1976, about 1,400 people have been executed. However, close to 150 others convicted of capital crimes later were later freed when evidence surfaced that pointed to their innocence.
“God knows how many innocent people have been killed at the hands of the state,” said Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, at the news conference.
Wallis said opposition to capital punishment is part of “the consistent ethic of life,” and a measure of how society treats its most marginalized.
Speakers brought up recent police killings of African-Americans in Missouri, New York and Cleveland to highlight what they say is racial injustice throughout the criminal justice system. Most victims of crimes that earn death sentences are white, while a majority of those found guilty of capital crimes are black.