1500th U.S. EXECUTION

Activists at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2017 marking the 40th anniversary of the first execution under modern death penalty law.

This year, the United States is scheduled to mark a troubling and shameful milestone: it is the 1500th prisoner execution since Gary Gilmore was the 1st person executed in 1977.

On June 20 at 7:00 pm EDT, the state of Georgia is scheduled to execute Marion Wilson, Jr. for the murder of Donovan Corey Parks.  If carried out, this will be execution #1500.  READ THE PRESS RELEASE HERE. Also, check out this in-depth article in The Intercept.

As with previous milestones of the 500th and 1000th execution, coordinators of Death Penalty Action will be organizing around this execution. See below for actions you can take either from home or on the ground in Georgia. And make sure to join our email list for up-to-date notifications.



ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE

1. The online petition to Governor Kemp has closed.  But you can still stay involved and up to date via our sign up page.

2. Print out a sign (here are PDFs and also customizable files) and take a serious (or neutral expression) photo with it to post to your social media. Use the #Hashtag #StopThe1500th, and we’ll share it on the Death Penalty Action Facebook and Twitter sites.

3. Tweet: The June 20th execution in Georgia will be the #1500th in the USA since 1977, even as #DeathPenalty stats continue to trend downward. Please sign and share now to say #StopThe1500th! https://t.co/Z1SeuFWAvB

4. Organize your activist network or your faith community to hold an action or vigil at a visible location sometime on June 19 or 20. Solidarity vigils are already being planned in Dallas, Washington DC, the U.K. and France.

5. Make a generous donation to support this work (all gifts are being matched dollar-for-dollar until we hit $5,000). Also, you can order a shirt to wear the message and increase your visibility while supporting the cause.


(Download a PDF to print your own sign or banner!)

SCHEDULE OF GEORGIA EVENTS

If you plan to be a part of the local presence in Georgia, please email us at info@deathpenaltyaction.org or text 518-249-8094 with your name and phone number.

Read the PRESS RELEASE here.

Wednesday, June 19th
Deliver petitions to Governor Brian Kemp. This is a private meeting, and not open to the public.

Thursday, June 20th
6:00 pm – Vigil at the Capitol in Atlanta. Location: 206 Washington St SW, Atlanta

6:00 pm – Prison vigil in Jackson. Location: Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, 2978 GA-36, Jackson. Please note: Car and persons subject to search. Need photo ID. Bathrooms available. Directions: Take I-75S toward Macon to Exit 201, Jackson/Barnesville. Exit and turn left, go over the bridge. Turn left at the second traffic light, you will see the entrance to the Diagnostic Center ahead on the left, a Wilco Travel Plaza and Hess fueling station on the right. Follow Prison Boulevard to the facility.

And don’t forget to join us for our other events this year, including the annual Fast and Vigil in Washington, DC June 29-July 2 and the Ohio Journey of Hope October 11-20.


ENDORSERS

If your organization or business would like to be a cosponsor and endorse the actions being planned, please contact us at info@deathpenaltyaction.org. Endorsers to-date include:


CURRENT STATISTICS

The following graphics from the Death Penalty Information Center show us that:

* The death penalty is in decline, in both annual death sentences and executions.

* The death penalty is not less arbitrary today. If anything, it is more so.

* Executions today are the legal mistakes of 20 years ago.


Stand up and say “NO” to executions by wearing the message.

Visit the AbolitionWear merch store online

DPA co-director Abe Bonowitz at the 1000th execution in 2005 in North Carolina.