Alex Mierjeski from ATTN interviewed me following the victory in Nebraska to discuss why conservatives are becoming the new face of opposition to the death penalty. He wrote,
“I think that the conservative case against the death penalty couldn’t be simpler,” he told ATTN: over the phone. “It risks innocent life, so it’s not pro-life; it costs more than life without parole, so it’s not fiscally responsible; and I don’t believe that giving an error-prone state the power to kill its citizens is a form of limited government.”
“To see a state-–a very conservative state like Nebraska––rid itself of the death penalty doesn’t surprise me,” he continued. “This is what conservatives are elected to do…repeal broken, wasteful government programs. I think that for a long time conservatives bought into this mindset of a so-called ‘tough on crime’ mindset that’s led to, really, a disaster in our criminal justice system. Essentially it’s in our principles to oppose the death penalty because it’s antithetical to our ideals.”