Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty

Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP) is a national network of conservative Republicans and Libertarians calling for a re-examination of the American system of capital punishment.

Organization

CCATDP engages in advocacy, education, and outreach to conservative, Republican, and Libertarian leaders and organizations. CCATDP provides a national forum for them to express their concerns about the death penalty.^[1]

CCATDP is a project of Equal Justice USA, a non-profit organization working on criminal justice issues.^[2]

Activities

CCATDP officially debuted at CPAC in 2013.^[3] Since that time, its national coordinators have been meeting with conservative, Republican, and Libertarian leaders across the country and they have exhibited at the national conventions of the Republican Liberty Caucus,^[4] the Young Republican National Federation, the Young Americans for Liberty,^[5] the Liberty Political Action Conference,^[6] CPAC St. Louis,^[7] CPAC,^[8] and the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference.^[9] They have also attended several evangelical conferences.

Since their launch in early 2013, several states began forming their own state-level Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty groups, including North Carolina,^[10] Nebraska,^[11] Washington,^[12] Kentucky,^[13] and Tennessee.^[14]

History

CCATDP was first created in Montana in 2009 when individual Republican legislators realized that they weren’t alone in having concerns about the death penalty. As word spread outside of Montana, there was interest in forming a national group.^[15]

In August 2013, Ron Paul endorsed the group’s efforts,^[16] and in October 2013, CCATDP formed a strategic partnership with Young Americans for Liberty .^[17]

Additionally, in October 2014, CCATDP partnered with the Liberty Coalition.^[18]

References