A Season for Activism

The League of Women Voters of Palo Alto in conjunction with the Santa Clara Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty sponsored a forum on November 17th with guest speakers Natasha Minsker of the ACLU of Northern California and Judy Kerr, Spokesperson for California Crime Victims for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. These two women spoke to an attentive audience about the impacts of the death penalty on our local communities, and discussed effective ways to get involved in the struggle to end the death penalty in Santa Clara County.

Judy Kerr began the evening by sharing her personal story about the unsolved murder of her brother and how it eventually led her to speak out against the death penalty. Her moving personal account was followed by Natasha Minsker, who broke down the numbers and informed the audience just how much it costs local taxpayers to continue to fund this broken system of punishment. Ms. Minsker argued that the additional $125 million spent on the death penalty should instead be used to employ more teachers, more homicide investigators and more social workers, three jobs proven to prevent homicides. She continued by saying that since the death penalty impacts us at the county level, we can initiate effective change at the county level as well.

Ms. Minsker and Ms. Kerr encouraged the audience to initiate in local level activism to end the death penalty. Something as simple as writing a letter to the editor or getting a resolution passed in the groups or associations they belong to are easy and effective ways to begin a dialogue about alternatives to the death penalty in Santa Clara County. The two presenters also highlighted the upcoming District Attorney election as a perfect vehicle to engage the community in this discussion. Since the District Attorney decides when to seek the death penalty, it is important to support those candidates who are committed to seeking alternative punishments. The first and most important place to initiate a conversation, however, is right at home with your family. Ms. Minsker and Ms. Kerr urged the audience to take advantage of the upcoming holidays to breach this difficult topic.

To prepare the audience to engage with their friends and families about the death penalty this holiday season, the presenters led a Thanksgiving Dinner exercise. The crowd was split into groups of three and rotated playing the role of a pro-death penalty person, a person advocating for alternatives to the death penalty and an observer. As they switched around roles, the observer shared what they saw, what worked, and what didn't. At the end of the exercise one member of the audience voiced a concern, “As a group of ladies from the League of Women Voters, we were civil, but I don't know about how it will go sitting around my Thanksgiving table." The presenters responded by asking, “if not there, then where?” In these dark days of the California budget axe taking money from schools, health care for children from low income families,and welfare-to-work programs, we can't afford not to talk about it.

So this holiday season, when you're sitting around the table, take a moment to talk to those you love about why you are for alternatives to the death penalty. No need to memorize facts and prepare a PowerPoint, just express your view on a personal level, talk about shared values and make your statement about public safety and the future of our state.