2005 General Assembly Action Alert

If your Senator or Delegate serve on the Courts of Justice Committee, it is especially important for you to email, fax, or call as soon as possible.  You can send an email or fax directly from our Web site (our system will do this for you, you do not need any special fax equipment). 

If you do not know who your legislators are, please visit our Web site at:  http://capwiz.com/vic/state/main/?state=VA&view=myofficials#0

Senate Courts of Justice:  Stolle (Chair), Saslaw; Marsh; Quayle; Norment; Howell; Lucas; Edwards; Reynolds; Mims; Puller; Rerras; Blevins; Cuccinelli; and Obenshain.

Link to send a letter to your Senator:  http://capwiz.com/vic/issues/alert/?alertid=6813216&type=ST

House Courts of Justice:  McDonnell (Chair), Albo, Griffith, Kilgore, McQuigg, Black, Weatherholtz, Hurt, Athey, Janis, Bell, Marrs, McDougle, Reese, Johnson, Melvin, Armstrong, Moran, Barlow, Watts, Brink, Ware

Link to send a letter to your Delegate:  http://capwiz.com/vic/issues/alert/?alertid=6812941&type=ST

BACKGROUND:

Reasons to Abolish the Juvenile Death Penalty:

1. The execution of juveniles is morally wrong. Virginia should not act out of a need for revenge when justice will suffice. Only one other country besides the United States continues to use the juvenile death penalty and most states have abandoned the practice. Evolving standards of decency require that we eliminate the juvenile death penalty because it is cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.

2. The juvenile brain does not fully develop until the early twenties. New medical research strongly suggests that adolescents do not have the fully developed cognition that allows a person to think abstractly, anticipate consequences, control impulses, and control aggression. This does not excuse violent behavior, but it should make juveniles ineligible for the death penalty because it lessens their culpability.

3. The juvenile is not a mature adult. To hold juveniles to the same standards as adults, only when it comes to the death penalty, is a grave contradiction on the state’s part. Virginia law recognizes juveniles are less mature than adults by prohibiting their involvement in voting, serving in the military, serving on a jury, marrying, making medical decisions, entering into contracts, buying cigarettes, and drinking alcohol.

4. Abusive childhood experiences can trigger violent behavior. Research has shown 60% of juvenile death row inmates were victims of child abuse. Over two-thirds of all juveniles sentenced to death had backgrounds of abuse and neglect social and emotional dysfunction, substance abuse and poverty.

A selection of quotes from social statements of member faith communities:

• Capital punishment focuses on retribution, sometimes reflecting a spirit of vengeance. Executions do not restore broken society and can actually work counter to restoration. -ELCA
• The practice of the death penalty undermines any possible moral message we might want to 'send.' It is not fair and fails to make society better or safer. The message conveyed by an execution, reflected in the attention it receives from the public, is one of brutality and violence. - ELCA
• The use of the death penalty in a representative democracy places citizens in the role of executioner: "Christians cannot isolate themselves from corporate responsibility, including the responsibility for every execution, as well as for every victim." -PC(USA)
• The United Methodist Church cannot accept retribution or social vengeance as a reason for taking human life. It violates our deepest belief in God as the Creator and Redeemer of humankind. -United Methodist Church

Center Priorities (.pdf)

Bulletin Inserts
Child Support (.pdf)
Environment (.pdf)
Housing Trust (.pdf)
Indigent Defense (.pdf)
Payday Lending (.pdf)
Minimum Wage (.pdf)

Advocacy Resources
Advocacy Guide (.doc)
Advocacy Portal (link)
Lending Info. (.ppt)
Richmond Map (.pdf)

For Small Groups
Eco-Stewardship (link)
Prayers for Creation (link)
Poverty Diet (link)

Policy Briefs
EITC (.doc)
TANF Child Support (.doc)
Payday Loans (.doc)
Healing Creation (.doc)
Child Ombudsman (.doc)
Affordable Housing (.doc)
Indigent Defense (.doc)
Minimum Wage (.doc)
Wage & EITC (.doc)
VA Tribes (.link)

Actions
Lending Petition (link)
Title Petition (link)
Wage Petition (link)

Reports
Budget Analysis (.pdf)
Food Stamps (.doc)
Lottery Study (link)

FAQ's (link)

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