Yesterday, Dick Polman of Newsworks posted an article covering the conservative case against the death penalty. He compared and contrasted the liberal and conservative reasons individuals oppose capital punishment. Polman said,
Hey, maybe abolition is a rare issue that can unite liberals and conservatives…the left talks race and morality, the right wears the green eyeshade…strange bedfellows, consorting at last!
Polman also covered the works of Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty, and he gave me a simple piece of wisdom,
So my advice to Marc Hyden, co-leader of Conservatives Concerned, is simple: Go for it, dude.
This is not the first time Polman has covered the death penalty or even highlighted the work of CCATDP. He has long been an opponent of capital punishment, and he wrote about us late last year in a piece titled the Death Spiral of the Death Penalty.
In a story by Kevin Williams of Politisite, Colonel Oliver North publicly reaffirms his opposition to the death penalty. In Williams’ article, Colonel North describes his own experience with the criminal justice system and what led him to oppose today’s system of capital punishment. He said,
I’m a “law and order” guy. Don’t get me wrong. Individuals need to be held accountable. I don’t believe in mass punishments and group responsibilities and the kinds of fuzzy-wuzzy stuff of the Left, but I have always felt… and always said that there are very serious questions about the justice of the death penalty. Just a few months ago, a man (Glenn Ford) who was on death row for thirty years was found to be innocent.
Newsweek published an article penned by Pema Levy this morning, which covered the conservative momentum against the death penalty. She highlighted the actions and acceptance of Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty, and Levy covered CCATDP’s presentation at the Georgia GOP’s 7th District event, ‘Conservatism Outside the Box.’ She said,
Armed with a PowerPoint slideshow, he began with the pictures of men on death row who were executed before potentially exculpatory evidence was uncovered. Next, he hammered on the high costs of the death penalty, largely due to the costlier trials and prolonged appeal process in most cases, which sometimes force counties to commit the cardinal conservative sin of raising taxes. The state of California, for example, has, since 1978, spent $4 billion on death penalty cases and carried out 13 executions.
“This should be offensive to conservatives,” Hyden told the crowd. “We’re supposed to act as stewards of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”
He bolstered his speech with quotes from prominent conservatives such as former U.S.
Today, I was published in the Freeman, the online and print magazine for the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). I lay out the case against the death penalty while highlighting recent examples of capital punishment’s dysfunction and numerous studies, which exemplify the death penalty’s many failures.
Reverend Gabriel Salguero published an article in the Huffington Post outlining why he, as an evangelical, is concerned about capital punishment. Salguero discusses how a broad bipartisan coalition is rallying around criminal justice reform and addressing the death penalty’s many problems. He said,
The close to 8 million Hispanic evangelicals who are deeply committed to a system of justice that ensures equal treatment for all are asking for a genuine transformation in this system. As the national dialogue around capital punishment continues to take shape our contribution is one framed out of our commitment to equality, justice and above all a Scriptural imperative to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before our God.” This commitment is what compels us to call for a genuine transformation of the imperfect capital punishment system that we have before us.
Mark Edwards, of the North Carolina Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty, penned a letter to the editor for the News Observer. He advocated for replacing the death penalty with life-without-parole and discussed the impact capital punishment has on corrections officers. Edwards said,
These public servants do not enter the field to carry out these executions. In states where the death penalty is the ultimate punishment, some of those hardworking people end up assigned to the surreal task of assisting in the taking of a life.
I understand that the prison staff is responsible for overseeing every aspect of life for each inmate. No matter how professionally the staff carries out its duties, a community is formed and relationships established with the prisoners, including those who sit and wait on death row. Then they have to participate in the inmate’s execution. That cannot be easy for these men and women.
Cathy Reisenwitz of Townhall wrote an article yesterday examining the problems that the botched execution of Clayton Lockett poses for death penalty supporters, especially conservatives. Reisenwitz lays out many reasons why conservatives should oppose the death penalty and why the latest execution marred by mistakes should make many rethink their position. She said,
By all accounts, Clayton Lockett wasn’t wrongly convicted, and if anyone deserved to die for their crimes, it was him. But that doesn’t change the fundamental fact that, generally speaking, clearly bureaucrats don’t suddenly become any more omnipotent, or even any less lazy, stupid, and corrupt, when they are holding a syringe than when they are holding a checkbook.
Robin Abcarian of the LA Times interviewed me following the botched execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma. Abcarian highlights the many reasons why conservatives are increasingly opposing the death penalty, and she states that the botched execution is likely to bolster more opposition. Abcarian stated,
For the rest of us, the ones in whose name the government kills for justice, Oklahoma’s shameful execution serves as a wakeup call about a morally corrupt process.
This is one of those rare issues where conservatives and liberals increasingly are making common cause.
On Tuesday, April 29, Heather Beaudoin, National Advocacy Coordinator with Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty wrote an article for Sojouners, a national Christian organization committed to faith in action for social justice. Heather discussed how she began working to end the death penalty and described why, as a Christian, she cannot support today’s system of capital punishment. She said,
Christians who have joined me in opposing the death penalty believe that God calls us to value all life, not just innocent life. But they have been shocked to learn that the system can put innocent lives on the line. The seemingly endless reports about wrongfully convicted people being freed from death row have given Christians a compelling reason to pause. People of faith are also concerned that the death penalty puts family members of murder victims through years of uncertainty and never-ending media attention.
Questioning a system marked by inefficiency, inequity, and inaccuracy.
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty is a network of political and social conservatives who question the alignment of capital punishment with conservative principles and values.
We are a project of Equal Justice USA, a national organization working to end the death penalty in the United States.
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