Death Penalty Focus
Encyclopedia
Founded in 1988, Death Penalty Focus is a non-profit organization dedicated to the abolition of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

 through grassroots organizing, research, and the dissemination of information about the death penalty and its alternatives.

With over 35,000 members nationwide, Death Penalty Focus is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors composed of renowned political, religious, and civic leaders, along with legal scholars and attorneys involved in death penalty litigation. The President of Death Penalty Focus is actor and activist Mike Farrell
Mike Farrell
Michael Joseph "Mike" Farrell is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series M*A*S*H . He is an activist for politically liberal causes....

. In addition, DPF has an Advisory Board composed of community and religious leaders, celebrities, writers, and representatives of labor and human rights organizations who support anti-death penalty work. DPF conducts research on behalf of lawyers, educators, and the general public, and sponsors a variety of public education and media campaigns. DPF also serves as a support network for its ten chapters throughout California and as a liaison among anti-death penalty groups nationwide. The organization played a leading role in organizing opposition protests to the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams and was described as "the strongest voice in California’s abolition movement" by San Francisco Magazine.

Mission

DPF believes that the death penalty is an ineffective and brutally simplistic response to the serious and complex problem of violent crime. By diverting attention and financial resources away from preventative measures that would actually increase personal safety, the death penalty causes more violence in society. DPF is convinced that when the public is informed about the inherent racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

, injustice, and the true human and financial cost associated with the death penalty, the United States will join the growing community of nations throughout the world who have already abolished capital punishment.

See also

  • Helen Prejean
    Helen Prejean
    Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., is a Roman Catholic religious sister, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, who has become a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.-Death row ministry:...

    , a leading U.S. anti-death penalty campaigner and DPF advisory board member
  • Mike Farrell
    Mike Farrell
    Michael Joseph "Mike" Farrell is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series M*A*S*H . He is an activist for politically liberal causes....

    , President of Death Penalty Focus
  • Jeanne Woodford
    Jeanne Woodford
    Jeanne Woodford previously served as the Undersecretary and Director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Warden of San Quentin State Prison, where she oversaw four executions....

    , Consultant for Death Penalty Focus
  • James Lawson
    James Lawson
    James Morris Lawson, Jr. was a leading theoretician and tactician of nonviolence within the American Civil Rights Movement. He continues to be active in training activists in nonviolence.-Background:...

    , Board Member, Death Penalty Focus

External links

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