Thanks To Our Summer Intern

Sarah will soon be leaving her position of intern at the Campaign to End the Death Penalty’s national office, but she isn’t leaving the Campaign behind. Sarah wants to start a chapter of the Campaign in Michigan.

We look forward to helping Sarah keep the death penalty out of Michigan--as well as helping her involve Michigan folks in the abolitionist movement nationally. On behalf of all of us in the Campaign to End the Death Penalty: "Thanks Sarah!"

My name is Sarah Pipas, and I am a summer intern at the national office of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty.

I am going to be a junior in college this fall in my home state of Michigan. I came to Chicago this summer looking for experience in my intended career field, social work/foster care services. However, as I began my selection process, the Campaign caught my eye. I have no personal connection with, nor much prior knowledge about capital punishment (Michigan does not have a state death penalty). Yet as I sat down for my first interview with Noreen McNulty, I quickly realized what a worthwhile cause this is to be involved with.

The people at the CEDP have been extremely willing to let me participate in any and all kinds of Campaign activities. In addition to attending Hyde Park chapter meetings, I went to an Illinois House Judiciary Committee meeting at the Thompson Center, a rally at the Cook County Courthouse and a memorable protest at the Daley Center in downtown Chicago. I also had the unforgettable experience of visiting death row inmates at two Illinois prisons.

Over the past two months, I have learned more than I could have imagined about capital punishment and wrongful convictions. This has been an extremely challenging time for those involved with the Campaign, but I feel like I am not alone in being hopeful that we can build our movement and continue to be a powerful voice in the fight to abolish the death penalty. As I return to Michigan, I am taking with me the responsibility to educate people back home about the terrible injustice that has been done in Illinois to the Death Row 10 and others across the country.

The New Abolitionist - August 2002, Issue 25
Campaign To End The Death Penalty, Chicago, IL - www.nodeathpenalty.org