Meet The Team!

Joanne - Founder/Co-ordinator (fingers in all the Abolition UK pies person!!)

Joanne lives in London and founded Abolition UK in 2008. Joanne visits the States on a yearly basis to attend anti-death penalty events, most recently giving a talk about Abolition UK outside the Supreme Court in Washington. Joanne has several friends on death row who she writes to and visits. Joanne works full-time for a children’s charity to fund her campaign and is also a committed vegan and an animal rights activist.

Pauline – Social Networking Whizz!

Pauline along with Melissa, updates all of our social networking pages and responds to all the comments. Pauline lives in West Yorkshire and currently works for Skipton Building Society as a Customer Advisor. When Pauline graduated from the University of Liverpool where she studied archaeology, she self funded and organised a 3 Month Internship with Death Penalty Focus in San Francisco. For Death Penalty Focus Pauline wrote blogs, updated their website, and worked on many projects including one where she interviewed victim family members and Law enforcement about their views on the death penalty.

Maria – Events Organiser & Project Person!

Maria became involved in Abolition UK after reading a poem written by a Californian death row prisoner whose friend had been excecuted. Maria starting writing to him and they have since become close friends. Maria came across Abolition UK again while surfing the net and decided this was her time to finally help to achieve the abolition of the death penalty. Maria is currently developing a volunteer speakers pack!! We'll keep you posted on this!!

Tish - News & Features Writer who is also helping with funding and film screenings!

Tish is a bar manager in Brighton, Sussex and a fairly new but passionate anti-death penalty campaigner. Tish is our newest member of the team and is helping on a number of projects. Tish writes regular news articles for our site and is helping with funding. Tish is also researching film festivals so we can bring you more death penalty film screenings in 2012!!

Melissa - Social Networking Whizz!!

Melissa is a final year Law student studying at Reading University. Melissa along with Pauline helps to update the social networking pages for Abolition UK and helps out at events where she can. She is also a Student Representative for a similar anti death penalty charity, Amicus. Melissa hopes to find work in the international human rights sector after graduating this spring.

Tim - Events Worker

Tim lives in Reading, Berkshire and works at a garden centre. Tim got involved in the fight against the death penalty through Facebook where he is a very active campaigner. Tim also corresponds with a few death row inmates and has helped at numerous Abolition UK events.

Scouse - Designer

Scouse designs all our flyers and campaign materials. Scouse lives and works in Newcastle as a civil servant and is married with 3 children. Both he and his wife have been writing to death row inmates since 2006 and actively campaign to end the death penalty. In 2008 Scouse's friend was executed by Texas. He hopes that his friend's constant struggle will not have been in vain and that the death penalty will be abolished as it has no place in modern society.

Donna 

Donna lives in Herne Bay, Kent. Donna is currently doing a law degree with the Open University where she is very active in recruiting other students to our cause. Donna began writing to a Death Row inmate in Texas in 2008 and has experience of setting up and maintaining prisoner web pages. Donna hopes that one day, her contribution will help to make a difference. Donna is currently busy updating all the stats on our site.