Victims' families and families of the executed, all of whom have been directly affected by murder, mental illness, and the death penalty, gathered in San Antonio, Texas in October 2008 to launch the Prevention, Not Execution project, a collaborative effort of MVFHR and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

The event included a powerful private gathering and a press conference with statements from NAMI's Legal and Policy Director Ron Honberg and project participants Amanda and Nick Wilcox, whose daughter was murdered by a man with severe mental illness, Lois Robison, whose son with severe mental illness was executed, Kim Crespi, whose twin daughters were murdered by their father, and MVFHR board member Bill Babbitt, whose brother with severe mental illness -- including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving two tours of duty in Vietnam - was executed.  Following the public statements was a remembrance ceremony in which participants placed roses in a vase in memory of the losses represented at this gathering, and said a few words.