NAACP Steps Up Fight to End Death Penalty in Maryland

The national president and chief executive of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Ben Jealous. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)

The NAACP is stepping up its fight to end the death penalty in the state of Maryland by vowing to mount its largest-ever effort in a state that has played a historic role in the civil rights movement, according to the Baltimore Sun.  NAACP President Ben Jealous said that the organization has made ending the death penalty in Maryland a top priority in its more broader campaign to end capital punishment altogether in America.

“We’ll make sure people hear from their constituents in a way they’ve never heard from them before,” Jealous said.  This announcement by Jealous comes just as Democratic governor Martin O’Malley, a death penalty opponent, is deciding whether or not to put the full weight of his office behind the effort of ending Maryland’s policy of capital punishment.

Jealous says that the NAACP plans to spend more than they ever have in any state as they rally to pressure lawmakers for repeal.  Jealous would not specify how much the NAACP planned on spending on the campaign, but did add that in addition to existing resources, the group will host fundraisers and receive assistance from “unlikely and powerful allies.”

article by Marquise Francis via thegrio.com