New Yorkers have rejected our state’s failed experiment with the death penalty. However, New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NYADP) believes abolition means much more than the absence of death row. Abolition means that responses to violence are constructive, just and work toward the betterment of all members of society. It means responding proactively, humanely, and constructively to violence.

NYADP’s holistic mission is to unite five key constituencies

•  Victims/survivors

•  Law Enforcement

•  Advocates for the mentally ill

•  Prison Families
  

•  Restorative Justice Practitioners

around common ground policies that address their real and immediate needs and reduce the likelihood of violence. In doing so, we are changing the paradigm that suggests retributive punishment is the only solution to crime.

We strongly believe that common ground and shared values represent the foundation for progress. People of good will must work together to build a safer society and to heal the damage caused by violence.

NYADP’s activities include:

• Convening regional meetings across New York where common ground initiatives/legislation are identified by the five constituencies.

• Political and public advocacy of the legislative agendas identified.

• Supporting victims of violence through the work of our victim/survivor advocate Marie Verzulli, founder of Friends and Family of Homicide Victims and a board member of Murder Victim Families for Human Rights.

• Continued public education on the death penalty in colleges, high schools, faith and social groups