Victims’ family members who oppose the death penalty come to that opposition from a variety of experiences and beliefs, but all challenge the common assumption that anyone who has lost a family member to murder is in favor of capital punishment. All challenge the notion that executions are the way to achieve justice or closure for the family that murder leaves behind.

This section of our website aims to put real faces on victim opposition to the death penalty by presenting photos and statements from survivors throughout the United States and around the world, along with photos of the murder victim and links to further information.

We invite you to browse by location or by name, and to print out these pages to distribute them to lawmakers, students, members of the clergy, as you find it helpful to do so.

We will be adding to this gallery regularly in the coming weeks and months, so check back often – and let us know if you’d like to have your own photo and statement included.