VISION

We envision a world in which the death penalty does not exist.

MISSION

We support total abolition in all US states, at the federal level, and globally. We protect abolition in places like our home state of Illinois so we never again accept capital punishment as law. And we use narrative change to shift the collective mindset from one willing to cancel or disappear people to one that acknowledges the humanity of every person and allows every person to evolve.

ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY PROJECT

We take an in-depth look at the anti-death penalty organizing and strategies of those on death row in Illinois and their allies. Their organizing played a key role in Illinois’ 2000 moratorium on executions, 2003 blanket commutation of all death sentences, and 2011 abolition of the death penalty. By sharing the strategies that moved Illinois to abolish the death penalty—and the lessons learned along the way—we support national- and state-level movements to end the death penalty across the US.

PROJECT HISTORY

In 2023, Renaldo Hudson, a death row survivor and community leader, began working with David Knight and the Movements Against Mass Incarceration Lab at Columbia University; David A Moran, Multimedia Director & Producer at SoapBox Productions and Organizing; and writer Elizabeth Futrell to document the oral history of the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois.

What started as an oral history and archival project turned into a feature length documentary, campaign, and teaching tool for advocates, decision makers, and the general public.

ABOUT SOAPBOX Productions and Organizing

ABOUT MOVEMENTS AGAINST MASS INCARCERATION

THE TEAM

Renaldo Hudson (he/him)

Founder & National Organizing Director

As an activist and organizer, Renaldo strives for transformative action rather than just transformative language. He is Director of Education for the Illinois Prison Project and creator and executive producer of “From the Inside Out.” He has focused his work on ending mass incarceration in Illinois and ending the death penalty everywhere. After being sentenced to death, he woke up to his role in fighting for fair chances and bringing people from all walks of life into accountability and responsibility for our collective safety and wellbeing.

David A Moran (he/el)

Producer & Project Director

David is a first generation producer, organizer and storyteller. As a Chicano in Chicago, David uses his life experiences and education as a writer, director, and facilitator in resisting and challenging harmful dominant narratives by creating life affirming multimedia media projects and programming. As Multimedia Director and Producer for SoapBox for almost a decade, David has directed and produced award-winning films, co-host and produces the Bourbon 'n BrownTown podcast, and continues to organize with a variety of campaigns and movements throughout Illinois. His mission: to build and foster relationships with community orgs, coalitions, and institutions in the fight against the displacement, subjugation, extermination, and erasure of all people.

Elizabeth Futrell (she/her)

Communications Director

Liz Futrell is a human-rights-focused writer, producer, and narrative strategiest. She led content strategy for a global family planning and reproductive health program at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, directed the Transmedia Story Lab at the Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health at the University of Chicago, and led technical writing at Pathfinder International. She recently founded Lithophyte Content & Communications, supporting changemakers to create and share compelling stories and messaging about their work and the issues that matter to them. Liz received a BA from DePaul University and an MSPH from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

David Knight (he/him)

Associate Producer ‍

David J. Knight is Assistant Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at Yale University, where he is part of the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School. A political sociologist of the carceral state, he investigates how communities experience mass incarceration and mobilize in response to it. His research has appeared in the American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Annual Review of Criminology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences among other views. David currently directs the Movements Against Mass Incarceration Lab based at the Incite Institute. The Movements Lab uses archival and survey methods to explore the politically contested nature of the prison state.