Challenge
Develop communications to help repeal Maryland’s death penalty.
Strategy
We developed compelling messages and generated a steady drumbeat of media coverage through press conferences and press releases. We placed op-eds and generated editorials in a range of publications, including the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, The Gazette and Easton Star-Democrat. And we coordinated with grass-roots campaigns in key legislative districts and helped plan high-profile events featuring such death penalty opponents as Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking,” DNA expert Barry Scheck, author and attorney Scott Turow and NAACP President Ben Jealous.
Throughout the multi-year campaign, we worked hand-in-hand with advocacy groups, including Maryland Citizens Against State Executions, the NAACP and Amnesty International, to ensure that communications were closely aligned with legislative goals.
Result
In 2013, the Maryland General Assembly repealed capital punishment in the state, the first southern state to abolish the death penalty.
