Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty
Reaction to Assessment of Capital Punishment in Texas
Report Raises More Questions about Fairness and Accuracy
September 18, 2013 – A new assessment of the Texas capital punishment system released today by the American Bar Association found significant flaws in the way that Texas metes out the death penalty.
The in-depth two year study was conducted by an independent team of former judges, a former prosecutor, a former governor, and others. The study revealed an error-prone system marked by an array of failures that end up costing taxpayers far more money, while putting innocent people at risk of execution.
“The key findings of the report are an affront to core conservative beliefs such as individual liberty, limited government, and fiscal restraint,” said Marc Hyden, a national coordinator for Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. “Problems with laboratories and the inconsistent reliability of forensic evidence must be addressed before a state exercises the power to take a life.”
Two conservative members of the assessment team held leadership positions in the administration of Texas criminal justice policies. The Honorable Deborah Hankinson served as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court and Charles Terrell served as past Chairman of the Texas Department of Corrections, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the Texas Criminal Justice Task Force.
Texas ranks third in the nation with a dozen people being sentenced to death and later freed after evidence was discovered that they were wrongly convicted. The state has paid out more than $60-million since 1992 in compensation to people who were wrongly convicted.
“With this latest study there can no longer be any doubt that the death penalty system in Texas – as it is elsewhere – is not only costly and wasteful, but it’s also unfair, and inaccurate,” Hyden said. “As conservatives, we cannot ignore the reality of the situation, this is another failed government program that should be scrapped.
About Us
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty is a nationwide group of conservatives questioning whether capital punishment is consistent with conservative principles and values due to the system’s inefficiency, inequity, and inaccuracy. Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty is a project of Equal Justice USA, a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization working to build a criminal justice system that works. For everyone. To learn more go to www.conservativesconcerned.org.
