Capital Punishment Project of the ACLU

Our mission is to abolish the death penalty in the United States through vigorous public education, legislative advocacy, litigation and grassroots organizing. We are mobilizing our national staff and network of affiliates and volunteers across the country to achieve this goal. Our campaign against the death penalty is grounded in a solid understanding of the public’s views on the death penalty that enables us to marshal the facts in the most persuasive ways.

The ACLU Capital Punishment Project has played a leadership role in developing and implementing a coordinated strategy against the death penalty among national organizations. The Project provides on-going logistical and technical support to this effort. The ACLU has launched a national campaign against the death penalty that seeks to take advantage of openings in public opinion to make significant changes in death penalty law. Our state campaign manager works with ACLU affiliates and local coalitions to design and develop comprehensive public education and advocacy campaigns that can win moratoria or significant restrictions on the death penalty.

The Project’s casework program enables the Project to highlight the current flaws in the system locally and nationally. Working with lawyers and other advocates, the Project seeks to mobilize the media and the public to advocate for relief in individual cases.