Help End New York's Death Penalty for Good!
Your letter or call will help make it happen!

IF YOU CAN DO ONE THING – Contact your State Legislators.

If you have done it before, do it again! A short letter or brief phone call will do the trick. See below for suggestions on what to say. Be sure to give your address – this is key to effective constituent action.

For the name and address of your state senator and assembly member, go to the New York State League of Women Voters Citizen Action Toolkit and scroll down to My Elected Officials. Or call 518-455-4218 for assembly member information and 518-455-2800 for state senators.

IF YOU CAN DO TWO THINGS – Copy and distribute this request to friends and neighbors.

IF YOU CAN DO A THIRD THING – Contact Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

It was his decision that the Assembly hold the recent, ground breaking series of hearings on the death penalty. We are grateful and hope that he will continue to move in our direction.

IDEAS FOR LETTERS AND CALLS

Here are points you can raise. A very brief letter or call is all that's needed.

• We have learned a lot in 10 years.
(This point is very important.)

• Life without parole keeps us safe.
   Please oppose reinstatement of New York's death penalty law. A sentence of life without parole is now on the books and will protect us from truly dangerous killers.

• My faith teaches me that the death penalty is wrong.
   I am morally opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances.

• There are much better ways to spend money than on revenge.
   Please help keep the death penalty out of our state. It is revenge, not justice and the huge amount of money spent on it can be put to use on programs that really do benefit us like education, crime control, victims' services, mental health care and other programs that improve all our lives.

• The death penalty is not a deterrent and we don't need it.
   I oppose the death penalty. I know it's not a deterrent and there are much better ways to keep us safe. States without the death penalty have lower murder rates than states with it.

• The death penalty is biased.
  The death penalty is implemented in a racially and geographically biased manner and members of unpopular groups are less likely to be treated fairly by the system.

• There's a real risk of executing an innocent person.
   Many people have now been exonerated when they were on death rows across the county. In New York State, we have read about recent cases where people serving life sentences were found to be completely innocent. We must not risk executing an innocent person. Let the death penalty die.

• Please continue to support human rights.
   I know that you have long supported human rights causes and I ask that you continue to do so and to oppose any attempt to bring back the death penalty in New York State.

• New Yorkers don't want it and my family and neighbors don't either.
   I saw a New York Times poll saying that more New Yorkers prefer other punishments for murder over the death penalty, by a wide margin. More recently, I read that an actual majority of New Yorkers now prefer life without parole over the death penalty. I know that my neighbors feel this way.

• AND THANK YOU.
 

For more information, contact:
NEW YORKERS AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
40 North Main Avenue
Albany, New York 12203
Phone: 888-224-6579, 518-453-6797
http://www.nyadp.org/