For generations, bells have marked the most important moments in our life. They have warned of danger, called communities together, celebrated weddings, mourned the dead, and in 1945 rang out to announce the end of World War II.  As articulated by poet John Donne in his meditation "For Whom the Bell Tolls", bells remind us that what happens to one affects us all.

The idea of ringing bells on the day of an execution began in 1999. Bishop Walter Sullivan of Richmond, Virginia encouraged churches in his diocese to toll their bells on the evening of every execution. His inspiration came from Cardinal Jaime Sin of the Philippines, who had urged churches there to ring their bells in response to an execution. Sister Dorothy “Dot” Briggs later helped build a national effort through Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants, and other faith-based groups carried the campaign forward in the years that followed.

In 2022, Death Penalty Action revived and strengthened this historic witness.

Each time bells are tolled across this country, and around the world, it declares a simple truth: we are all diminished by acts of state-sponsored killing carried out in our names.

Churches, monasteries, abbeys, mosques, temples, and synagogues that join this effort amplify that message. When faith communities ring their bells in solidarity, they expand the witness far beyond a single protest site.  We invite you to participant in the For Whom the Bells Toll campaign and help sustain this powerful public witness.

The bell tolls for all of us. With your support, it will keep ringing until the death penalty is no more.