I love the last week of the year. Time seems to slow down a bit, and there’s space for reflection and an opportunity to visualize how we’d like the next year to go. Instead of making specific resolutions, I like to break things down into three categories – what I should keep doing, what I should stop doing, and what I should start doing. It works for both my personal and professional life.
So, what does that mean for FADP?
The “stop” part is easy to identify. We had a brutal year. 6 executions. The narrowest margin in the nation for imposing a death sentence. The death penalty for non-homicide crimes. We need that kind of brutality to stop in 2024.
How do we do that?
We “keep” growing our subscribers. We keep writing to our political leaders, and we keep talking to our neighbors, our co-workers, our communities, and everyone we meet about Florida’s broken death penalty. If there are executions set, we will keep signing petitions, writing and calling the Governor, and showing up at vigils. We will keep saying Not In Our Name.
I am most excited about what we are going to “start” in 2024.
Thanks to your unwavering support, which was reflected in FADP’s outstanding membership growth, we applied for and won a competitive grant from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Because of this grant, we were able to hire our first full-time Director of Organizing, Armando Garcia, who will be starting on January 11th. His extensive experience as an organizer is going to be a game-changer for FADP in 2024, and I can’t wait to introduce him to you all early next year.
In the meantime, will you help us end the year strong? We want to make sure Armando has all the tools he needs so that he can connect with Floridians in every corner of our state. Remember that all your donations, up to $15,000, will be matched by a generous donor. Donate now!
I’ll leave you with a photo from one of my favorite holiday traditions. We celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, and every year since he has been home, FADP Board Member and death row exoneree, Clemente Aguirre, joins our celebration. This was his 5th Seven Fishes, and it never gets old having him in my kitchen.
Happy New Year, and thank you for staying in this fight with us.
Onward,
Maria DeLiberato
FADP Executive Director
P.S. Dale Recinella, “Brother Dale,” has served as spiritual advisor for many of the men executed in Florida, including Michael Zack who was executed on October 3. Read Brother Dale’s new article in Vatican News: Glimpses of Christmas through a looking glass.
