Repeal

The work to repeal the death penalty in Georgia

As pro-life people, we cannot accept the risk of wrongful conviction, leading to the execution of an innocent person. Seven people have already been exonerated from death row here in Georgia. The imposition of the death penalty is riddled with racial bias and unequal justice for the accused. Georgia’s standard for proving intellectual disability is capital cases is the highest in the nation, risking sending people with intellectual disabilities to death. In addition, millions of dollars are spent on capital trials, incarceration, and lengthy appeals. This money should be used for solving other crimes, investing in education to prevent crime, and providing more services to victims and their families. Georgia already leads the way with some of the nation’s strongest pro-life laws.

As we continue to work for the abolition of the death penalty in Georgia, there are several actions Catholics in Georgia can take to support this effort:

Contact your Georgia legislators directly
Even when the Georgia General Assembly is not in session, you can contact your legislators directly (in person, phone, letter, or email) and tell them that you oppose the death penalty and want to see it repealed in Georgia.
Sign our online petition
Sign our petition in support of repeal. Your digital signature will be added to others from Georgia and delivered to the appropriate lawmakers.
Connect with us
Join our mailing list or follow us on social media to stay up to date with the latest news and action alerts. We respect your privacy and you can remove yourself at any time.

Find your representative

Get Involved

Parish Action Toolkit

Sign Our Petition

Sign our petition and conduct a parish virtual petition drive

A petition drive is an effective method to mobilize large groups of parishioners to take virtual action. The goal is to educate parishioners and then provide an immediate and tangible action step with real-world application. The electronic signatures gathered are shared with the Archdiocese and then presented to legislators along with those gathered from other parishes. Visit the Parish Action Toolkit to download resources to share the petition.

Online Petition

Contact your Georgia legislators directly

It can feel daunting to contact a legislator, but it is one of the most effective ways to promote justice. Always remember that your legislators work for you and are there to represent your interests.

Not all methods of contacting legislators are equal. In order of preference, please consider reaching out:

In person by making an appointment or visiting at the State Capitol or their local office
By phone
By handwritten letter
By email

Find your representative

You can augment your contact or call/letter with some information about why you feel that the death penalty should be repealed in Georgia:

A majority of Georgians favor repeal
In a scientific poll conducted from December 19, 2019 to December 23, 2019, 56% of Georgians favored replacing the death penalty with a sentence of life without parole. Only 33% opposed repeal with 11% undecided. The margin of error was +- 4 percentage points.
Wrongful convictions
As pro-life people, we cannot accept the risk of wrongful conviction, leading to the execution of an innocent person. Seven people have already been exonerated from death row here in Georgia.
The death penalty is not cost effective
Because of the constitutionally-mandated appeals, additional trials and associated housing expenses, the death penalty costs Georgia taxpayers substantially more than sentencing prisoners to life in prison with no possibility of parole. This money should be used for solving other crimes, investing in education to prevent crime, and providing more services to victims and their families.