Taking a Personal Stance Against the Death Penalty

Individual opponents to the death penalty, as they are often not directly impacted by the continuing presence of capital punishment in the US, are often left without the means to personally take a stance on the issue. As citizens of a country and of states that still impose the punishment, they are being counted as implicit supporters, even while acting against capital punishment.

An organization started by a group of Notre Dame students in 2005 offers an opportunity to make a bold statement on an individual level: If I were murdered, I would not want my killer to be subject to the death penalty.

The Signers Movement promotes the Declaration of Life, a document put forth by the Cherish Life Circle, a group founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1993.

The full text of the Signers.org declaration reads as follows:

I hereby declare that should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person or persons found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstances, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered.

Visit the Signers website to join the list and visibly uphold your personal convictions against the death penalty.