Yesterday I spoke to the Georgia Tea Party and the Georgia Center Right Coalition on the dangers associated with the death penalty. Walter Jones, a reporter with the Morris News Service, was in attendance at the Georgia Center Right Coalition meeting at the Georgia capitol, and he wrote about the event. He stated,
A veteran Republican political operative and former staffer for the National Rifle Association, Hyden is the advocacy coordinator for the New York-based Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. He argues it’s expensive, error-prone and ineffective as a deterrent.
Jones commented on the statements made by those in attendance,
Several of the lobbyists, despite their years around government, expressed surprise that a death-penalty trial costs about three times more than other murder trials. Then the costs of appeals and housing an inmate on death row are also much more expensive and prolonged.
“The most obvious argument is, because you’re a conservative, do you trust the government?” said lobbyist Pat Gartland.
Others in the little group also said they were looking at the issue in a new light.
State legislatures across the United States are gearing up for session, and more and more of them are considering death penalty repeal bills. Republicans have sponsored such legislation in Kansas, Nebraska, Kentucky, Wyoming, Montana, and Missouri. Other states are also looking into measures to end capital punishment.
While some states are contemplating replacing the death penalty with life without the possibility of parole, other states are attempting to tinker with the broken capital punishment system. One such state was Idaho. The Gem State was prepared to evaluate a measure that would have made the source of their death penalty drugs a secret. This, of course, would be a clear violation of transparency in government that conservatives demand. The Idaho legislature agreed and halted the bill from proceeding to a vote.
In more somber news, the State of Georgia recently executed a man who was regarded to be intellectually disabled. Warren Lee Hill was convicted and executed, and while his guilt was not in doubt, multiple medical professionals have claimed that he was mentally disabled.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Conservative Group to Highlight Flaws in America’s Death Penalty
Presenting to the Georgia Center Right Coalition
Taking place at the State Capitol on February 19th
February 11, 2015 – Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP), a national network of conservatives questioning the alignment of capital punishment with conservative principles, will be featured at the upcoming Georgia Center Right Coalition meeting on February 19th.
Marc Hyden, a national coordinator for CCATDP and a Georgia resident will be the guest speaker.
“We’re excited to have Marc Hyden from Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty speak at the next Georgia Center Right Coalition meeting,” said Louie Hunter, Director of the Georgia Center Right Coalition. “I believe that it is important for conservatives to evaluate all government programs critically, and I look forward to hearing the conservative case against the death penalty.”
Before joining Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, Mr. Hyden was a campaign field representative for the National Rifle Association (NRA).
The Libertarian Christians published an article authored by CCATDP’s Ben Jones. He explored biblical scriptures on the death penalty and today’s issues surround capital punishment. Ben said,
Instead of the futile search for a government capable of remedying the death penalty’s injustices, a more prudent path would be to take away from government this power entirely. Numerous states have abandoned capital punishment, opting for the alternative of incarceration, and this step has not hindered them in ensuring public safety. In fact, states without the death penalty have lower murder rates on average than states with it.
Fortunately, more Christian leaders are questioning the death penalty and calling for its repeal. It is important that we as Christians work to end this abuse of government power rather than have to apologize later for tolerating it.
I authored an article published in the Deseret News in response to Utah’s attempt to reinstate the firing squad as a method of execution. I said,
The state of Utah is considering legislation that would reinstate the firing squad as a method of execution. The decision to expend considerable time and taxpayer funds to deliberate on such a measure is in response to one of the many issues surrounding capital punishment — the difficulty in acquiring approved death penalty drugs.
However, this legislation will only add to the legal morass creating more litigation. The bill only attempts to address a single symptom of an irrevocably broken death penalty system that is afflicted with chronic and systemic dysfunction, which is increasingly being viewed as an affront to conservative values.
I continued,
The death penalty has become the proverbial ship with a thousand leaks. While the Utah Legislature considers the best method of executing people to attempt to address a single issue, conservatives are abandoning a broken death penalty system with increasing frequency.
CCATDP’s Heather Beaudoin was interviewed by Odyssey Network. Heather expressed the reasons why the death penalty is a failure and why she, as a Christian can not support capital punishment. The video interview has since been adapting for a print article, which has been reposted on numerous outlets including the Huffington Post, Sojourners, Day 1, and the Odyssey Network. Heather was quoted in the article, saying,
[I]f we really believe in redemption as evangelicals, we cannot support the death penalty because we say that there is room, no matter what you’ve done, no matter who you are, the god [sic] can reach you and he [sic] can transform you. And so if we believe that, the death penalty cuts that opportunity short.
You can watch a snippet of Heather Beaudoin’s video interview here:
Carol Zimmerman from the Boston Pilot recently reported on the court’s decision to look into the Oklahoma death penalty protocols, which have led to botched executions.
She said,
When the Supreme Court weighs in on the constitutionality of the lethal- injection executions in Oklahoma this year, its ruling will not likely be a tipping point in eliminating capital punishment in the U.S., but some experts say it could be the beginning of the end of this practice.
Zimmerman also interviewed me for this article,
Marc Hyden, advocacy coordinator for Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, a group which formed in 2013, acknowledged that conservatives have not always been at the front of the anti-death penalty bandwagon but he said that they are starting to shift their opinion, recognizing that it is a pro-life issue and limited-government issue.
Idaho is one of the most recent states attempting to shroud its death penalty protocols in secrecy. A bill being considering in the Idaho legislature would conceal the source of their death penalty drugs. This was the topic of an article written by Dustin Hurst from the Idaho Reporter.
Hurst opened by saying,
An unusual consortium of political groups has aligned to oppose the Idaho Department of Correction’s plan to add more secrecy to state executions.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, the Idaho Freedom Foundation and Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, three groups not always aligned on policy, have come out against the department proposal, which would shield from public disclosure the names of execution chemical suppliers.
Hurst also interviewed me for this article and said,
Marc Hyden, the national policy coordinator for Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty, said politicos on his side of the ideological fence should feel deep skepticism of the measure.
“Conservatives should always be skeptical when the state attempts to shroud its activities in secrecy,” Hyden wrote in an email.
Last night I was a guest on the Q with a View radio show. We discussed the many issues and current events surrounding the death penalty system, which are motivating conservatives to increasingly question capital punishment. If you missed the show, you can listen to it here. CCATDP’s Heather Beaudoin was also a guest on the show in September 2014. You can listen to her segment here.
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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