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Michael Zoosman

Nov 6, 2026, 11:56 PM

A toast to Governor Newsom from “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty”

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The thousands of members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” from across the United States, Israel, and the world salute Governor Gavin Newsom for moving to commute the death sentences of 548 Californians, potentially saving all of their...

Michael Zoosman

Nov 5, 2026, 7:13 PM

Denouncing the Plague of Executions in Iran

The thousands of members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” from across Israel, the USA, and the world unequivocally denounce Iran for its monstrous, nearly daily employment of state-sponsored murder in the form of executions. Since its founding...

Michael Zoosman

Oct 30, 2026, 5:31 PM

I used to support the death penalty – then, I became a Jewish prison chaplain

At its core, the death penalty feeds one of the basest desires known to humankind: the thirst for vengeance. The 5,000+ members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” — a group I co-founded in 2020 — have joined...

Michael Zoosman

Oct 28, 2026, 11:39 AM

Christa Pike has corresponded with me for over a year: She is not a “monster”

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As a former Jewish prison chaplain and co-founder of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty,” I have communicated via phone and computer messaging for years with many individuals on American death rows before their ultimate execution. One of our...

Stephen A. Cooper

Oct 27, 2026, 11:51 AM

The Blood on Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s Hands

Recently, in his article “Alabama Man’s Death Sentence Is Commuted as Governor Cites Thin Evidence,” about how Alabama Governor Kay Ivey commuted Toforest Johnson’s death sentence to life without the possibility of parole, New York Times reporter Eduardo Medina...

Michael Zoosman

Oct 26, 2026, 10:29 AM

Corresponding with the Dead: Lessons on Capital Punishment from Beyond the Grave

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The 5,000+ members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty,” of which I am co-founder, occasionally receive posthumous letters from the condemned individuals with whom we correspond. The latest example came just this past week, when it seemed William...

Michael Zoosman

Oct 17, 2026, 8:57 AM

A society that condemns a human being to death condemns itself infinitely more.

(Note: An original version of this article appeared here in Evolve on October 6, 2025.) We, the thousands of members of the group “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty,” from across Israel, the United States, and the world, firmly believe that Judaism in the...

Tony D. Senatore

Oct 16, 2026, 9:40 AM

Justice or Spectacle: What Livestreamed Executions Say about Our Civilization

Unlike some of my friends with whom I normally agree, I find the idea of livestreaming a public execution deeply troubling. There is a fundamental difference between administering justice and turning a human being’s death into a spectacle for...

Michael Zoosman

Oct 16, 2026, 12:07 AM

L’chaim’s Response to Trump’s Decision not to Live-Stream Firing Squad Execution

U.S. President and convicted felon Donald J. Trump recently decided not to live-stream the military firing squad state-sponsored murder of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people, and injured dozens more, at a medical processing center...

Michael Zoosman

Oct 14, 2026, 3:15 PM

Ben Gvir’s Latest Illegal Stunt Mocks World Day Against the Death Penalty

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This past Sunday morning, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir once again published additional footage from inside a prison. Ben-Gvir elected to do so after Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara explicitly issued an instruction to Israel Prison Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi not...

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