UPDATED: Delaware Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty – Rally & Lobby Day, Tuesday, May 13 in Dover

UPDATED – 05/12/25 – Due to potentially unfavorable weather, the press conference scheduled for Tuesday, May 13, starting at 11:45 a.m., has been moved from the East Steps outside of Legislative Hall to the Senate Chambers inside of Legislative Hall.

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The Delaware Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will hold a press conference, rally and lobby day on the east steps of Legislative Hall in Dover on Tuesday, May 13th beginning at 11am. Death penalty abolitionists from across the state will gather in support of House Bill 35, which is a constitutional amendment to eliminate the death penalty as a punishment in Delaware. In 2024, Delaware repealed the death penalty from the Delaware Code. HB 35 would go one step further including the ban in the Delaware Constitution, creating a strong safeguard against any future attempts at reinstatement. This is the first leg of a constitutional amendment – constitutional amendments in Delaware require a two-thirds majority vote in two consecutive legislative sessions.  The press conference begins at 11:45am.

Additional information from the Delaware Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty:

Tuesday’s event, organized by the Delaware Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, will include a press conference beginning at 11:45 a.m., followed by a rally and meetings with lawmakers.

Featured speakers will include HB 35 prime sponsor Representative Sean Lynn; Kevin O’Connell, Chief Defender of the Office of Defense Services; Fleur McKendell, President of the Delaware NAACP State Conference of Branches; Reverend Rita Page; and other prominent human rights advocates, community leaders, and legislators.

“Delaware has a long and dysfunctional history of allowing reactionary politics of the moment to dictate our use of the death penalty as a punishment,” O’Connell said. “HB 35 ensures that we will dismantle the machinery of death in Delaware, once and for all.”

Delaware’s death penalty has either been abolished or deemed unconstitutional on several occasions over the last 70 years, only to be repeatedly reinstated. Between 1992 and 2012, Delaware executed 16 people under a statute that was later deemed unconstitutional.

In 2024, Delaware repealed the death penalty from the Delaware Code. HB 35 would go one step further by enshrining the ban in the Delaware Constitution, creating a strong safeguard against any future attempts at reinstatement. Constitutional amendments in Delaware require a two-thirds majority vote in two consecutive legislative sessions.

The urgency of passing HB 35 has only grown following President Trump’s Executive Order issued on January 20, 2025, which ended the federal moratorium on executions and directed state attorneys general to pursue capital punishment more aggressively, including calls to overturn judicial protections that limit its use.

“Delaware’s constitution guarantees certain substantive and procedural rights, several with even greater protection of our liberties than those guaranteed by the federal constitution,” O’Connell explained. “This amendment would affirm our state’s commitment to justice rooted in healing, not killing.”

According to data published by the Delaware Statistical Analysis Center, both homicide and violent crime rates have continued to decline since the death penalty was last ruled unconstitutional in 2016 — further undermining arguments that capital punishment is a necessary deterrent.

A 2015 poll showed that sixty-four percent (64%) of Delawareans support abolishing the death penalty, compared with thirty percent (30%) who support its use.

Following the rally, participants will meet with lawmakers urging them to support and prioritize the legislation.

The Delaware Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is a grassroots coalition of residents, organizations, and faith leaders dedicated to abolishing Delaware’s death penalty.   

Participants can register for this event by visiting https://bit.ly/HB35-LobbyDay