The Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP) will host its 2022 Annual Awards Dinner & Meeting on Saturday, August 20. The fundraising event will be held at the Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene, 4400 Northwest Expressway. Registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the program will start at 6:30 p.m. In-Person Tickets are SOLD OUT – Virtual Tickets are still Available!
The evening will feature keynote speaker Shane Claiborne, a prominent evangelical speaker, activist, and best-selling author.
Shane is a founder and board member of The Simple Way, a faith community in inner city Philadelphia that has helped connect “radical” faith communities around the world. He also heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of followers who are committed to living “as if Jesus meant the things he said.”
Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to be arrested while advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war.
Today his passion is to end the death penalty and help stop gun violence.
Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, Executing Grace, his classic The Irresistible Revolution, and his newest book, Beating Guns.
His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has appeared Fox News, CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame.
Shane graduated from Eastern University, where he received an Honorary Doctorate in 2010. He did graduate work at Princeton Seminary.
“Shane is one of the leading abolitionists and activists in the country,” said OK-CADP chair, Rev. Don Heath. “He will be helping to motivate us to oppose the upcoming wave of executions in Oklahoma and offering practical advice on how to resist them.”
During the August 20 event, OK-CADP will honor members of the coalition community with the group’s Abolitionist Awards.
The Phil Wahl Abolitionist of the Year award will be presented to Emmy Award winning hip hop artist, community activist, actor and entrepreneur Jabee Williams, from Oklahoma City. Jonathan Blake Williams Jr., better known by his stage name Jabee, was an integral part of the Justice for Julius campaign. He organized a 131-mile march from the Oklahoma State Capital to McAlester prison, which began in the dead of winter on New Year’s Eve of 2021 to support clemency for Jones on death row. Jabee created the song, “Until You’re Free” in Jones’ honor.
The Opio Toure Courageous Advocate award will be given to legendary criminal defense and civil rights attorney Garvin Isaacs. Former President of the Oklahoma Bar Association, Garvin defended Gene Leroy Hart who was falsely accused of murdering 3 girl scouts in Oklahoma, and was acquitted. Isaacs helped to acquit Michael Dennis Colby, who was alleged to be the ringleader of the New Mexico prison riot killing 33 inmates. For a fee of $1, Isaacs defended and freed Robert Miller, Jr., who was on Oklahoma’s death row for 11 years.
The Lifetime Abolitionist award will honor former state Senator Connie Johnson. A lifelong abolitionist, Connie focuses on the social and economic well-being of Oklahoma’s poor, minorities, women, children, and people with disabilities. An advocate for sentencing reform and a twice candidate for Oklahoma Governor, she received the OK-CADP Phil Wahl Abolitionist of the Year award in 2013. Connie graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Langston University earning a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling.
After a six-year moratorium, Oklahoma has executed four death row prisoners. The state has now set dates for 25 additional executions – more than half of the 44 death row inmates – which is one a month for 2 years. The first of these will be James Coddington, scheduled to be put to death on August 25.
“Coddington is a changed man,” Heath said. “He has been a model prisoner for 20 years and has repeatedly expressed regret for the killing of his friend, Albert Hale. His clemency hearing will be a test for whether the newly-reconstituted Pardon and Parole Board will be open to pleas for mercy.”
Sorry, but In-Person Tickets are SOLD OUT – Virtual Tickets are still AVAILABLE!
To support the Coalition’s mission, tickets for the OK-CADP 2022 Annual Awards Dinner via Zoom can be purchased online by clicking HERE. To order tickets by mail, send checks along with each guest’s name to: OK-CADP, P. O. Box 713, Oklahoma City, OK 73101-0713. To participate in the Zoom event, please include each attendees email address.
