FW: Save the date - Spero Justice Center Launch Party on 9/27!
dia...@coloradocure.org
From: Kristen Nelson <kristen...@powellproject.org>
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2022 8:07 AM
Dear friends, friends of friends, former colleagues and other allies,
As some of you know, our small nonprofit, the Powell Project, has been undergoing a significant mission expansion. I took over directorship of the Powell Project in 2018 after my departure from the Colorado State Public Defender's Office. At that time, the Project provided national capital trial consulting services to defense teams representing people facing the death penalty in select jurisdictions around the country, with the goal of reducing the number of new death sentences and furthering the goal of statewide abolition.
While that important work has been spectacularly successful and continues today, for over a year now, we have been in the process of expanding our mission and have recently launched a new, Colorado-based excessive sentencing initiative. This new side of the project involves direct representation of excessively-sentenced individuals in Colorado in postconviction and clemency proceedings, decarcerative policy and advocacy work in partnership with allies, and narrative-changing/public education work. This initiative was born out of our desire to take an inclusive approach to sentencing reform (to ensure we aren't working to end one excessive punishment while inadvertently legitimizing another) and our belief that all people are capable of growth and change over time--even those who have made serious mistakes in their lives.
Because our existing name (a reference to the landmark US Supreme Court case Powell v. Alabama) did not fully encompass our new, expanded mission, we are rebranding, and will relaunch (with a new and much improved website!) as Spero Justice Center in September 2022. Spero is the Latin word for hope, a value that grounds our work.
Gail Johnson has been incredibly supportive of our mission expansion from the beginning, and has graciously offered to host an official Spero Justice Center Launch Party at her home in Boulder on Tuesday, September 27, 2022 from 6-8 p.m.
Many of you on this list have been supporting us through this process in ways large and small, and I am so grateful to be a part of this wonderful community. And for those of you I don't yet know (who are on this list at Gail's suggestion), I'm excited to share this news with you, get to know you, and expand our network of allies who care about this important issue.
A more formal (electronic) invite will follow, but for now, please save the date and stay tuned.
Gratefully,
Kristen
P.s. I chose not to bcc this list on purpose - so if you see that I have left anyone off who should be invited, please feel free to let me or Gail know and we will add them to the formal invite list.
--
Kristen Nelson, Esq. Director
The Powell Project
phone: (303) 495-1153 | email: kristen...@powellproject.org