Scott Maxwell from the Orlando Sentinel interviewed Brian Empric, Vice-President of the Florida Federation of Young Republicans and myself. Brian will be attending CPAC with the Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty team and has long been opposed to capital punishment. Scott Maxwell wrote,
“There is a serious risk of executing an innocent person,” said the 39-year-old construction project manager. “You don’t get a chance to reverse that. There are other means of protecting us that are less expensive and which don’t force people in the state and on the jury to play God.”
Empric’s points run counterintuitive to many conservatives. Heck, they run counterintuitive to many people of both parties who want to see murdering scumbags put to death.
He also said,
All this helps explain why groups like Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty are growing in numbers.
“Conservatives are beginning to see that capital punishment is antithetical to many of our most deeply held principles,” said Marc Hyden, an advocacy coordinator with the national organization. “Capital punishment is, after all, a government program that risks innocent life, costs more than life-without-parole, fails to deter murder and is not representative of a limited government.”