THIS JUST IN… Big news. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley is poised to sign a bill to abolish the death penalty in the state. Earlier today the state legislature passed the measure! Oh yeah!
Only 32 more states to go.
It’s time we stop killing people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong.
Below is a list of the states that still have the death penalty and the states that have abolished it (along with the year of abolition). As a follower of the executed and risen Jesus – this is beautiful grace-filled news.
States Without the Death Penalty – 18 (year abolished)
| Alaska (1957) Connecticut (2012) Hawaii (1957) Illinois (2011) Iowa (1965) Maine (1887) Maryland (2013) Massachusetts (1984) Michigan (1846) |
Minnesota (1911) New Jersey (2007) New Mexico (2009) New York (2007) North Dakota (1973) Rhode Island (1984) Vermont (1964) |
West Virginia (1965) Wisconsin (1853) ALSO |
States With the Death Penalty – 32
| Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Indiana Kansas Kentucky |
Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon |
Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Washington Wyoming ALSO |
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Shane Claiborne is a prominent author, speaker, activist, and founding member of the Simple Way. He is one of the compilers of Common Prayer, a new resource to unite people in prayer and action. Shane is also helping develop a network called Friends Without Borders which creates opportunities for folks to come together and work together for justice from around the world. His most recent book is Red Letter Revolution, which he co-authored with Tony Campolo.