FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW CONSERVATIVE GROUP TAKES CONCERNS ABOUT
THE DEATH PENALTY ON THE ROAD
The group will make its second national appearance at the
Republican Liberty Caucus National Convention
as questions about the death penalty grow in conservative circles
May 3, 2013 – Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, a national network of conservatives questioning the alignment of capital punishment with conservative principles, will be at the 10th Biennial Convention of the Republican Liberty Caucus (May 10-12, Austin, TX).
Conservative republicans from around the nation will be on hand at the group’s exhibition booth to connect with people who are taking another look at America’s system of capital punishment.
“Liberty-minded republicans want to limit the power of government and the death penalty is a government program that has the real potential of killing innocent Americans,” said Pat Monks, Republican Chair, Precinct 718 of Harris County, Texas and a founding member of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty.
More than 140 individuals in the U.S. have been released from death row after evidence of innocence was discovered.
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty had its national launch at CPAC 2013 in March. They were received with open arms by attendees who had long been looking for a way to shatter the myth that all conservatives favor the death penalty. In the weeks since then, the “chatter” about the death penalty’s failures, including the risk for mistakes and its high costs, has grown tremendously in conservative media.
“People who deplore waste and inefficiency, and want less government are stunned when they learn about the cost of the death penalty,” said Marc Hyden, national coordinator for Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. “Several studies have shown that death penalty cases are up to 20 times more expensive than comparable cases with the sentence of life without the possibility of release.”
The increased attention to the issue by conservatives comes as states across the country are also giving the death penalty another look. Nebraska is the next state scheduled to vote on repeal of the death penalty. One of that state’s leading newspapers, the Lincoln Journal Star, recently editorialized that, “Some conservatives have turned against the death penalty, and there’s evidence that the tide is growing stronger.”
For more information, contact [email protected].
About Us
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. Specifically, we are questioning a system marked by inefficiency, inequity, and inaccuracy. Conservatives concerned about the death penalty is a project of Equal Justice USA. EJUSA is a national, grassroots organization working to build a criminal justice system that works. For everyone.
