Happy New Year to all!

At the beginning of this year we released our 2021 Annual Report with important news and information about the death penalty last year and those living under death sentences like Marcellus Williams. As we begin 2022 we are excited to share information about our upcoming legislative kickoff occurring January 26th, at 7PM. Please Register for the zoom meet-up today!

MADP is working hard to secure bill sponsors and garner support for legislation that can stop the death penalty in Missouri. With several new bills and sponsors being filed this week, here is what we are tracking:

• Full Repeal Bills have been introduced in the House by Democrat Sarah Unsicker (HB2028) and Republican Tony Lovasco (HB1612).  An article in the EMissourian this week highlights HB1612: “Honestly, the government messes up everything it touches,” Lovasco said. “It can’t be trusted to get even the most basic of tasks right, and anything that is as monumental as taking a human life needs to be held to a much higher standard than our process is able to provide.” 
• In addition to supporting full repeal bills, MADP works to chip away at the death penalty system. In order to stop new sentences, we need to end non-unanimous jury sentencing in death penalty cases. Missouri is one of few states that allow a judge to override a deadlocked jury and impose a death sentence. Republicans have filed bills that would eliminate this practice in the House and Senate.  We are grateful to Representative Shamed Dogan (HB1746) and Senator Bill White (SB825) for carrying these bills.
• This week Representative Nick Schroer filed HB2523 which creates standards for accountability involving informant testimony, a leading cause of wrongful convictions across the nation.  MADP is excited to be in coalition with several organizations to move this bill this session.

Other legislative topics we’ll be discussing include intellectual disability, severe mental illness, change of venue cases, and the cost of the death penalty. Be sure to register for the meetup today!

Sincerely, Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty