Part of lifespark's mission is to promote anti-death penalty activism. Because of this commitment, lifespark has given financial support to the following anti-death penalty organizations:
The Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama is a private, nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair and just treatment in the legal system.
We litigate on behalf of condemned prisoners, juvenile offenders, people wrongly convicted or charged with violent crimes, poor people denied effective representation, and others whose trials are marked by racial bias or prosecutorial misconduct. EJI works with communities that have been marginalized by poverty and discouraged by unequal treatment.
Note: the donation made by lifespark was used to fund the work on behalf of indigent death row prisoners in Alabama and more specifically in cases involving wrongful convictions and inadequate counsel. These are chronic issues in the Alabama criminal justice system..
This office provides representation in habeas corpus proceedings for indigent inmates convicted of capital offense. Is also funded by this office all aspects of the ligitation including expert funding and investigation.
Donations have been made to support an information packet concerning the actual costs of the death penalty. This packet has been sent to each Florida state legislator at their district office (2003). lifespark has also participated in the purchase of a bus which is to be used to travel across the country to promote the anti-death penalty message (2004).
In 2002, Maryland was under a moratorium which was lifted by the newly elected governor. Following that decision, lifespark participated in financing a lobby to organize a group of high-profile citizens working towards repealing the death penalty in that state (2003).
In the fall of 2003, a moratorium on the death penalty was implemented in the state of New York, the state Supreme Court declaring it unconstitutional. Equal Justice, in collaboration with local anti-death penalty activists immediately set-up a project to make New York an abolitionist state. lifespark made a donation to help sponsor the project.
In partnership with New Jersey citizens for a Death Penalty Moratorium (NJDPM), Equal Justice has set up a project to repeal the death penalty before executions resume for the first time in over 40 years. lifespark helped finance the writing of a report which is a main source of information for lobbyists to work with. Equal Justice was also involved in the making of a video "Time-Out: Perspectives on New Jersey's Death Penalty", used in public educational meetings (2003).
TDS is a small group of lawyers constituting a vital safety net for death-row inmates in Texas and is the only organization filling this role in the state. Many lifespark members correspond with inmates in Texas while some have even benefited from TDS's help. It seemed appropriate to give general support to this most important institution (2004).
TCADP is a grassroots Texas organization comprised of individuals and groups who work to end the death penalty in all cases, everywhere. We are an inclusive organization composed of human rights activists; death row prisoners and their families; crime victims and their families; persons working within the criminal justice system; persons opposed to capital punishment on religious and moral grounds; and other concerned citizens opposed to capital punishment.
MVFR produced a report in 2003 called "I don't want another kid to die": Families of victims murdered by juveniles oppose juvenile execution of young offenders in the U.S. In view of the project of the United States Supreme Court at that time to review its position on death sentences given to juveniles, lifespark helped financed the cost of mailing this report to lawmakers in states where the juvenile death penalty was under review (2003).