Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights

June 12, 2006

Dear Bill:

I am writing to confirm Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights’ support for the Virginia Journey of Hope this fall, and to reiterate our commitment to working with you to bring our shared message of victim-centered opposition to the death penalty to audiences throughout Virginia.

We believe that this is exactly the right time for the Journey of Hope to return to Virginia. Many signs indicate that Virginians have shifted in their thinking about the death penalty since the Journey came to the state in 1996 and are even more likely to be receptive to our message today. As we both know, the voices of murder victims’ family members and families of people who have been executed are critical to influencing the public’s understanding of the death penalty.

Several members of our board of directors, and several of our members from around the country, participated in the Texas Journey of Hope last October, and we anticipate the same level of participation and commitment in Virginia this year.

Thank you for all your work in support of victims and against the death penalty.

Sincerely,

Renny Cushing

Executive Director

Board of Directors

President

Bud Welch

Oklahoma

Chair

Brian Roberts

Washington, D.C.

Vice-Chair

Tamara Chikunova

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Treasurer

Vicki Schieber

Maryland

Bill Babbitt

California

Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins

Illinois

Rev. Walter Everett

Pennsylvania

Bill Jenkins

Illinois

Toshi Kazama

New York

Robert Meeropol

Massachusetts

Bill Pelke

Alaska

Sr. Helen Prejean

Louisiana

Bonnita Spikes

Maryland

Executive Director

Robert Renny Cushing

Program Staff

Kate Lowenstein, Esq.

Susannah Sheffer

2161 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02140 __________________________________________________________

phone 617-491-9600

www.murdervictimsfamilies.org DC Office: 2611 Washington Avenue, Chevy Chase MD 20815