Death row exoneree, Assistant Director of Witness to Innocence, and Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty supporter, Ron Keine was published yesterday in the Daily Caller. Ron described, in detail, his wrongful conviction and how close he came to being executed. Weaved into his personal story, Ron presents a compelling conservative case against the death penalty. He said,
There was a time when I had faith in the criminal justice system, but today, I know it is broken. It failed me, and it failed my three friends, one of which took his own life upon release because of the effects of our experience. The corruption and abuse I witnessed in the criminal justice system should serve as a warning that should not be taken lightly. Just like most of the other 140 death row exonerees, I was not saved by the criminal justice system or the appeals process. It utterly failed me. I was exonerated either by divine intervention, or sheer luck.
STATEMENT ON RECENT SPATE OF BOTCHED EXECUTIONS
April 30, 2014 – Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP), a national network of conservatives and libertarians questioning the alignment of capital punishment with their principles, issued the following statement by Marc Hyden, Advocacy Coordinator:
“Yesterday’s execution in Oklahoma is just the most recent example of what happens when unchecked government power is shrouded in secrecy. The debacle in Oklahoma began well before the actual execution, including secretly obtained drugs and untested, experimental protocols. Conservatives fear that a government acting in secrecy may well be covering up its own mistakes and abuse. This is not the transparent government that we demand.
“The death penalty is a failed policy. It risks innocent life and it’s far more expensive than life without parole. Earlier this week, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the actual number of innocent people sentenced to death is more than double the number we already know about. After last night’s botched execution, it is clear that we can’t even carry it out without making grievous errors.
YAL Welcomes Their Strategic Partner
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty
To the California State Convention
April 22, 2014 – Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP), a national network of conservatives and libertarians questioning the alignment of capital punishment with their principles, will be exhibiting at the upcoming Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) California State Convention. CCATDP is a strategic partner of YAL. It will take place on Saturday April 26th at the University of Southern California, Davidson Conference Center.
Among the featured speakers will be former Reagan administration official and conservative lawyer Bruce Fein; Lawrence Reed, President of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), and Jeffrey Tucker, CEO of Liberty.me and a Distinguished Fellow of FEE. Marc Hyden, national coordinator of CCATDP, will make a brief presentation during the Meet the Sponsors section at 12:15 PM.
“Liberty-minded people want to limit the power of government, including the death penalty, which is a broken government program that has the real potential of killing innocent Americans,” said Hyden.
Yesterday, an article I wrote for Take it to the Hill was published. I describe the change in the conservative world that I have witnessed in the past year, and the conservative world’s willingness to discuss the failures of the death penalty. Additionally, it has become evident that the conservative world is increasingly considering criminal justice reform, which can open the door to cooperating with new constituencies. I said,
The moral, pragmatic, and philosophical conservative objections to the many criminal justice problems can provide common ground with those who feel most strongly affected by today’s criminal justice system, constituencies of color and the impoverished. Conservatives can work together with these constituencies to achieve common sense solutions for an issue that affects us all.
Our momentum continues fresh off of our success at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last month, where we returned for a second time. Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty (CCATDP) has been traveling across the nation, speaking at conservative conventions, and recruiting new supporters.
Conservatives Concerned in the media
The media continues to be very excited about CCATDP and our story. Here are some of our favorite stories in the last month:
I was a guest on the Real Side with Joe Messina, Kentucky NPR, and KTSA 550 AM radio in San Antonio. CCATDP was also covered in the Washington Times, Brown University Political Review, the Charlotte Observer, and the print versions of Kentucky NPR and KTSA News.
Conservatives Concerned in the field
Ben Jones, campaign strategist for CCATDP, spoke at the inaugural Life/Peace/Justice Conference in Philadelphia, PA on March 29. Ben’s talk highlighted the death penalty as an important issue for conference attendees, who came together to discuss a variety of life issues.
Prior to exhibiting and speaking at the Young Americans for Liberty Texas state convention, I was a guest on the Bill O’Neill radio show on KTSA 550 AM in San Antonio. We discussed how conservatives are changing their views on the death penalty because of the numerous failures of today’s system of capital punishment. I said,
“We’ve started to shatter the myth that all conservatives support the death penalty–because we know it’s not true” Hyden told 550 KTSA News. He said the death penalty’s risk of killing an innocent person means it’s not pro-life. He also said it’s not fiscally responsible–given the cost of executing a prisoner usually is more than that of keeping the that person in jail for the rest of their life.
“And in my personal opinion, I don’t think giving the government the power to kill U.S. citizens is a form of limited government” Hyden said.
You can read the print story here.
Wesley Pruden of the Washington Times covered the fading popularity of the death penalty across the United States, even including Texas in today’s article. Pruden cites the many problems with the death penalty system and the faltering support from the youth and conservatives as reasons why capital punishment is losing support. He said,
Opinions on capital punishment are sharply divided and passionately held, but the stereotype that executions are favorites of conservatives is slowly dissolving. Young conservatives seem particularly willing to take another look at the death business.
Roy Brown, the former majority leader of the Montana House of Representatives, founded an organization called Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, and he travels the country spreading the word. He led a forum, in partnership with the Young Americans for Liberty, last month at Georgetown University. Marc Hayden, the group’s national coordinator, says he finds conservatives deciding the death penalty is “wasteful, unfair, error-prone and out of step with conservative values.”
Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty was featured in a story in the Brown University Political Review. The author states the many drawbacks of the death penalty including fiscal concerns, and he claims,
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, a new but flourishing organization, reflects the Right’s increasing skepticism over capital punishment. If the forces of cost cutting win out, the death penalty’s most ardent practitioners will ultimately leave it out in the cold.
The author believes that the final end of the death penalty will, most likely, not come from a Supreme Court decision but through other avenues. He said,
The Supreme Court is divided along the old debate of capital punishment, meaning that the only real change will come from exogenous factors. As executions become more politically, fiscally, and even medically harder to maintain, this legally contentious issue will be settled by decidedly non-legal trends.
YAL Welcomes Their Strategic Partner
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty
To the Texas State Convention
April 8, 2014 – Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP), a national network of conservatives and libertarians questioning the alignment of capital punishment with their principles, will be exhibiting at the upcoming Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) Texas State Convention. CCATDP is a strategic partner of YAL. It will take place on Saturday April 12th at Texas State University -San Marcos.
Among the featured speakers will be former Texas Congressman and Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul. When announcing his support for the work of CCATDP in August 2013 Dr. Paul said, “I believe that support for the death penalty is inconsistent with libertarianism and traditional conservatism. So I am pleased with Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty’s efforts to form a coalition of libertarians and conservatives to work to end capital punishment.”
Other speakers that day will include Lawrence Reed, President of Foundation for Economic Education, Chris Doss of The Leadership Institute, Lauren Evans and Brandon Cestrone of YAL, as well as Marc Hyden, national coordinator of CCATDP, who will make a brief presentation during the Meet the Sponsors section at 12:15 PM.
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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