Report: Fast and Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty--RNS Article About Faith Leaders, Murder Victim Family Members and Abolitionists Response to 50th Anniversary of the Supreme Court Decision to reinstate the Death P...
Catholic Worker
Contact: Blair Fitzgibbon, bl...@blairfitzgibbon.com, 202-503-6141
Protesters to Rally at US Supreme Court as Country Marks 50 Years Since Landmark Gregg v. Georgia Decision
Amnesty International, Death Penalty Action, United Methodist Church, National Council of Churches, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia and Many Others Join Largest Annual Execution Protest at U.S. Supreme Court
Washington, DC – Protesters associated with Death Penalty Action, Amnesty International, Witness to Innocence, the National Council of Churches and various other faith groups will hold a press conference at 11am on Monday, June 29 on the sidewalk in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC as they commence with the 33rd Annual Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty at the US Supreme Court. Faith leaders, exonerated survivors of wrongful conviction who faced execution, murder victim family members opposed to the death penalty, and family members of those currently on death row are among anti-death penalty activists from more than 28 states protesting in front of the Court from June 29 through July 2.
Press Conference Details
WHEN: 11am, June 29, 2026
WHAT: Rally to mark the anniversaries of the historic 1972 Furman and 1976 Gregg Supreme Court decisions on the death penalty.
WHO: Exonerated death row prisoners, murder victim family members, 100+ anti-death penalty activists from more than 28 states, faith leaders, lawyers, scholars and leaders of state and national anti-death penalty and allied organizations - Full details at Abolition.org
WHERE: On the sidewalk in front of the United States Supreme Court in Washington, DC
"Fifty years after the US Supreme Court allowed a resumption of executions after more than a decade with out them, the death penalty remains a broken and failed public policy" said Scott Langley, Co-founder of Death Penalty Action and lead organizer for this annual event. "None of this is necessary. We can be safe from people who have committed terrible crimes, and punish them severely, without executions. We know that is true because that's exactly what we do in the vast majority of cases where execution is a possible punishment."
The press event on Monday and the larger rally at 6pm on July 2 are are part of "Starvin' for Justice: The 33rd Annual Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty," which takes place on the sidewalk in front of the US Supreme Court. Wearing t-shirts, holding massive banners and sharing information with tourists, students and other passers-by, anti-death penalty leaders are calling attention to a continuation of problematic executions and execution methods in the United States while marking the anniversaries of historic Supreme Court decisions halting and then allowing capital punishment in the United States.
Background - Historic Supreme Court Rulings: June 29, 2025 marks the 53rd anniversary of the 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated all death penalty laws in the US, finding capital punishment to be “arbitrary and capricious.” July 2nd marks the 49th anniversary of the 1976 Gregg decision, which upheld new state death penalty laws and allowed the resumption of executions. This is the 33rd consecutive year that the Abolitionist Action Committee is holding its annual Fast and Vigil between the dates of these two landmark decisions.
Visuals for media:
More than 100 activists with large banners, signs, distributing literature, etc., will gather on the sidewalk in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, with many of them fasting. High-res images from past events are available at Abolition.org and by request.
KEY TIMES to Join Us at the US Supreme Court. (All events are on the sidewalk in front of the US Supreme Court, except in the event of dangerous heat or storms, in which case we will be inside the United Methodist Church Building, immediately adjacent to the Court.)
- All day, June 29, 30, July 1 & 2
- Evening Programs - June 29, 30, July 1 & 2 from 6pm to 8pm: Join us for our speaker program each evening from 6-8pm, with issue experts, organizational leaders and powerful voices of people impacted by the system
- June 29 at 11am - Media Availability/Rally
- July 2 at 6pm - Rally with Multiple Organizational Sponsors
Over 80 participants are registered from 28 states: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
List of Speakers at Evening "Teach-ins" - Schedule posted at Abolition.org:
- Mary Beaudoin - Marianist Social Justice Collaborative
- Abraham Bonowitz, Executive Director, Death Penalty Action
- SueZann Bosler - Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, Murder victim family member and survivor of attempted murder
- Art Cody - Director, Center for Veteran Criminal Advocacy
- Marshall Dayan - Retired Federal Public Defender and Board Member, Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
- Shujaa Graham - Witness to Innocence, exonerated death row survivor from California
- Randy Gardner - brother executed by firing squad in Utah in 2010
- Jasmine Hall - Uri L'Tzedek
- Rick Halperin - Professor and historian, Southern Methodist University Human Rights Program, and Amnesty International
- Lamont Hunter - former death row prisoner from Ohio
-
Charles Keith - Brother of a murder victim, Brother of a wrongly convicted former death row prisoner
- Art Laffin - Catholic Worker, Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, murder victim family member
- Terri Steinberg - Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, Mother of wrongly convicted former Virginia death row prisoner Justin Wolfe
- Gavrillah Wells - Amnesty International and the California Clemency Campaign
- Matt Wells - Executive Director, Reprieve
- George White - Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, Exonerated after facing execution/murder victim family member
- Dina Windle - Board Member, Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing
To arrange interviews with speakers or activists from your specific state or region, contact Blair Fitzgibbon at bl...@blairfitzgibbon.com or 202-503-6141.
About
the organizers:
The Abolitionist Action Committee (AAC) is a project of Death Penalty Action, the only national, secular, single-issue anti-death penalty organization in the United States. Full list of sponsors at Abolition.org.
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