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Death Penalty
The following article originally appeared in Salt of the Earth. It is posted here for private use only. It may not be reprinted in whole or in part without the permission of Salt of the Earth magazine.
"An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind."
MURDER VICTIMS' FAMILES FOR RECONCILIATION (MVFR) is a national organization of people who have lost family mem-bers to murder or to execution by the state. Members oppose vengeance and work for the abolition of the death penalty.
According to Marie Deans, the group's founder, "Every one of us has felt the need to strike back, and we each have personal reasons for deciding not to follow that path. Making that decision has helped us heal and given each of us a measure of peace. We have learned that the first benefactor of forgiveness is the person who forgives."
Since 1993, MVFR has teamed up with abolition groups in different states for annual two-week public-education tours. After four "Journeys of Hope" to Indiana, Georgia, California, and Virginia, MVFR is using this year to evaluate its programs, expand its membership, and develop and strengthen regional programs.
MVFR has an extensive speaker's bureau of members willing to speak about their experience as family members of murder victims and as advocates for reconciliation and prevention and against the death penalty. The group is particularly interested in expanding its successful collaboration with religious groups.
For more information on MVFR, contact: Pat Bane, Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, P.O. Box 208, Atlantic, VA 23303. Phone: 804-824-0948.
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