The Lonely Abolitionist

From time to time, people have mistakenly credited Abolish the Death Penalty as being the first anti-death penalty blog out in the blogosphere. In point of fact, we were the second -- or the third, depending on how one defines a blog.

Before there was Abolish the Death Penalty, before there was the Amnesty International blog, or the Ohio death penalty blog or the Kansas death penalty blog or the Virginia death penalty blog or the Alabama death penalty blog or the Tennessee death penalty blog or one of four Texas death penalty blogs or even the Asian death penalty blog, there was Lonely Abolitionist -- the first death penalty blogger in the Blogosphere. (Technically speaking, this may or may not be true. We think Capital Defense Weekly predated her. However, debate rages as to whether Capital Defense Weekly is a blog, in the true bloggy sense of the word. Anyway, knowing Karl as I know him, he wouldn't mind who gets the credit, just so long as the work gets done!)

For awhile, Lonely Abolitionist wasn't updating, and we were afraid she had gone the way many bloggers go -- or relationships, for that matter. Maybe burnout had set in, maybe other priorities, maybe something or someone new had come along to occupy the space that blogging had once occupied.

But now we're delighted to see that Lonely Abolitionist is back. And lately she's been talking about how she got her name:

I am not a "lonely" person, and I am not "lonely" in my abolition opinions
or actions. I am no longer "lonely" in the blogosphere. Yet, I keep the name.
The name reminds me of the time when I was "lone." It reminds me to stand up and
"stand apart." It reminds me that one single person can play a part in resolving
a big problem. This blog does not have many readers. It doesn't need many (or
even any)! The Lonely Abolitionist makes a difference to me every time I post,
and it makes a difference every once in awhile to a reader who finds something
new that he or she would not have found had I not wandered by and mused on
it.

At some point, I may blog on more than the death penalty. Unfortunately,
there are many other laws and practices in our world that I favor abolishing. I
imagine, however, that if I took the time to blog about every newsworthy item
related to every notable abolition topic within my interest, that I would never
finish any of my for-pay work!

In the meantime, this little blog will try to keep chugging along. I will
try to keep doing my part. I hope that you will keep doing your part and make
sure that I am never again truly "lonely." Thanks for stopping by.

Carrie

To read the entire post go here. And if you want to zap off an email to Lonely Abolitionist and tell her that indeed she is not alone, you can reach her at carriej@lonelyabolitionist.com