Dear Governor Beshear,

First, we’d like to congratulate you on your win for a second term as Governor. The nation is enthralled with your success, and speculation has naturally turned toward your next steps after the governorship. Should you accept, you may very well have a promising role in the national political sphere. We’d like to thank you for portraying our Commonwealth in a positive and uplifting light that is not always bestowed upon us.

Additionally, we’re writing to invite you into our campaign to abolish the death penalty in Kentucky. On this exact day fifteen years ago, the Commonwealth carried out its most recent execution, that of Marco Chapman. You’ve mentioned you were there when your father, Steve Beshear, “made that hard decision.” We know Marco volunteered to be executed, and it’s possible he would still be alive today had he not. We invite you to reflect on how your views of the situation might be different had he not volunteered to be executed.

At the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (KCADP), we acknowledge that Kentuckians sometimes commit acts of violent transgressions and wrongdoings. However, we differ on the prescription for those acts. For fifteen years, our Commonwealth has worked through many unspeakable tragedies without turning to the archaic, inhumane, expensive, flawed punishment of execution. We must continue to run toward the solutions on our horizon instead of retreating to a darker time in our history. Our juries, courts, and a majority of the public are saying NO to capital punishment. We need to heed those calls.

When you leave office in four short years, the governorship will undoubtedly “change hands.” We’d like you to envision the Commonwealth you will leave to that person. While they may not enter with an appeal to our better angels, you can set the table for them so that the arc of their work is pointed in a more just direction. We at KCADP have developed 4 points that you can do to set the trajectory of our Commonwealth for generations to come.

OUR FOUR REQUESTS

Point 1 - Commute the sentences of all 26 members of Kentucky’s current death row.

Point 2 - Work with the Department of Corrections to provide current death row inmates with a more humane living situation.

Point 3 - Commit to signing a death penalty abolition bill from the legislature.

Point 4 - Apply JLWOP correctly for Kevin Stanford.

We look forward to working with you to create a more just and equitable Kentucky where we use methodology rooted in transforming harm rather than perpetuating it. Kentuckians say NO to the death penalty. Will you stand with us?

Sincerely,

The Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty