"Vengeance Solves No Problems"

Bud Welch lost his 23-year old daughter in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. In the months after her death, he changed from supporting the death penalty to taking a public stand against it, inspired in part by his daughter's stance against the death penalty prior to her own murder.

Mr. Welch will be speaking at Notre Dame this week, on Nov. 7 at 8 pm in the CSC Classroom, on Nov. 8 at 12 noon in the Law School and on Nov. 8 at 7:30 pm in the Hesburgh Center. Click below for more.

Mr. Welch has testified before the U.S. Congress, many State Senate and House Judiciary Committees, made numerous radio and TV appearances, and met frequently with the father of Timothy McVeigh. He has addressed the British Parliament and the European Parliament as part of the Amnesty International Journey of Hope in Paris, London and Brussels.

His work as a speaker and advocate has been widely recognized. In 1997 Mr. Welch was awarded the "Champion of Justice Award" by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He was given the "Abolitionist of the Year Award" in 1998 by the Okalahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, the "Felton Humanitarian Award" from Death Penalty Focus of California, the "Spirit of Compassion Award" of the Prison Action Committee in Buffalo, New York and the ACLU Oklahoma Foundation "Anti-Death Penalty/Prison Project Award." In 1999 Mr. Welch received the "Abolitionist of the Year Award" from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. And in 2002, he was named "Abolitionist of the Year" by Coloradans Against the Death Penalty.