Last year, Utah approved a measure to reintroduce firing squads as an officially sanctioned method of executions, but this year, the Beehive State seemed poised to repeal the death penalty altogether. Sen. Urquhart, a conservative Republican, spearheaded the effort. His proposal sailed through the Senate and the House Judiciary Committee, but on the last day of legislative session, the bill simply ran out of time and never received a final floor vote. After nearly following Nebraska’ example, Utah legislators were asked about their apparent death penalty volte-face, and many explained that capital punishment in practice doesn’t align with conservative values.
Utah wasn’t the only conservative state flirting with repealing the death penalty. In Kentucky, Rep. Floyd, another conservative Republican, sponsored repeal legislation. The bill was given a vote in the Commonwealth’s House Judiciary Committee for the first time since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. However, by a 9 to 8 margin, the bill narrowly missed being sent to the House floor.
Florida also made national news after their death penalty sentencing scheme was found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. To address the problem, the state legislature passed a bill to require capital juries to agree on a death sentence by at least a 10-2 vote, rather than 7-5.
The actions in Utah and Kentucky, among other states, are additional proof that Nebraska’s death penalty repeal was not an anomaly. Conservative states across America are realizing that the death penalty is inconsistent with conservatism.
Conservatives Concerned in the media
With our return to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and the turn of events in Utah and Kentucky, CCATDP was quite visible in the media this month.
• The Washington Times, Washington Post, Daily Caller, Huffington Post, and Libertarian Republic all included our statements on Utah’s close call with repealing the death penalty.
• Nearly 15 different papers covered Kentucky’s attempt to send a repeal measure to the House of Representatives, featuring CCATDP. You can read what Governing, the Lexington Herald Leader, Messenger Inquirer, WEKU, and the Richmond Register wrote about the effort.
• Reason and the Libertarian Republic covered our return to CPAC, and while I was there, I was a guest on the Scott Adams, Lars Larson, Capital Hill Show with Tim Constantine, Scott James, and Behind Enemy Lines radio shows to present the conservative case against the death penalty.
• CCATDP’s Heather Beaudoin was interviewed on Blog Talk Radio, and I was a guest on TV’s Tipping Point with Liz Wheeler and the Allman Report to discuss why conservatives are increasingly opposing capital punishment.
• I also wrote an op-ed for the Daily Caller detailing the conservative world’s changed views on the death penalty.
• CCATDP was prominently featured in Red Alert Politics, Christian Broadcasting Network, Washington Post, and the Kentucky Public News Service.
Conservatives Concerned in the field
For the fourth year in a row, CCATDP returned to CPAC, and our experience was nothing short of amazing. Our team consisted of conservatives from Washington State, Nebraska, Tennessee, Michigan, and Georgia, and our booth was once again mobbed by supporters eager to learn more and become involved.
After CPAC, I traveled to Kentucky to testify before Kentucky’s House Judiciary Committee in support of repeal. The committee room was so packed with supporters that an overflow room was opened to accommodate the influx of people hoping to end the death penalty. While the proposal missed being approved by a razor thin margin, it was a productive step in the right direction. You can watch my testimony here.
CCATDP’s parent organization, EJUSA, co-sponsored a death penalty forum at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 7. Heather Beaudoin served as the moderator, and panelists included Shane Claiborne (Evangelical author and activist), Randy Steidl (death row exoneree), Gail Rice (sister of a murder victim), and Chris Dorsey (theology professor at Western Theological Seminary).
Upcoming
On April 16, CCATDP will be exhibiting at two Young Americans for Liberty state conventions. CCATDP’s Ben Jones will be working the booth at the Florida convention while I will be in Utah. If you’re in the neighborhood, then please drop by!