Teleconference 1:30 PM (ET) Today: Experts Respond to Trump’s Expected Proposal on Death Penalty for Drug Offenses
For Immediate Release: Contact: Tommy McDonald 510-679-2311
March 19, 2018 Grant Smith (202) 669-6573
Teleconference 1:30 PM (ET) Today: Experts Respond to Trump’s Expected Proposal on Death Penalty for Drug Offenses
Today, President Trump is expected to announce a plan for his administration’s response to opioid addiction and overdose. Instead of focusing on proven overdose prevention measures, the administration is reportedly planning to call for the death penalty for people who sell drugs. The plan also calls for ramping up the already extremely harsh federal sentences for drug law violations.
Join us today, Monday, March 19 at 1:30pm (ET) / 10:30am (PT) for insight from:
- Nicole Austin-Hillery, Executive Director of US Programs, Human Rights Watch
- Major Neill Franklin (Ret.), Executive Director, Law Enforcement Action Partnership
- Vanita Gupta, President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Former Head of the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s Civil Rights Division
- Marc Mauer, Executive Director, The Sentencing Project
- Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno, Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance (Moderator)
HOW: The dial-in number is: 1-800-311-9402 (Password: Drug War)
Link to the release: http://www.drugpolicy.org/press-release/2018/03/teleconference-130-pm-et-today-experts-respond-trumps-expected-proposal-death
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Statement from DPA: Instead of Wasting Resources on the Death Penalty, Administration Should Focus on Steps That Work
March 16, 2018
The Hill
Trump’s call for death penalty is the wrong response to drug war
By Widney Brown, Drug Policy Alliance
March 2, 2018
Democracy Now!
Death to Drug Dealers: Trump Threatens to Ramp Up Drug War, Praising Efforts in Philippines & China
Guest: Widney Brown, Drug Policy Alliance
March 12, 2018
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/12/death_to_drug_dealers_trump_threatens
President Trump has reiterated his calls for the U.S. to impose the death penalty on drug dealers, praising countries like the Philippines, China and Singapore that apply capital punishment to drug traffickers. During a speech on Saturday, Trump recounted conversations with Chinese and Singaporean leaders who, he said, solved their countries’ drug problems by executing drug traffickers. Trump has also repeatedly expressed admiration for Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and said he’s done an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.” Last month, the International Criminal Court opened a preliminary investigation into accusations that Duterte had committed crimes against humanity by overseeing the killing of up to 8,000 people in his so-called war on drugs. We speak to Widney Brown, the managing director of policy at the Drug Policy Alliance.
