Yesterday we were featured in RedState again. The author asks his readers to visit our website to learn why so many conservatives are questioning the death penalty. He explains,
The website talks about cost and the very lengthy process it takes to carry out an execution. Sometimes when the death penalty is pursued it’s not imposed. Then there’s the morality question of is it morally sound to take a person’s life? Should we trust the same government that can’t run a flipping website (let alone a major sector of the economy) to execute a human being even if that person is guilty? Now proponents say it’s a deterrent in crime, but that doesn’t stand against statistics. According to deathpenaltyinfo.org, the murder rate in death penalty states versus non-death penalty has been consistently higher since the early 90s.
B. Christopher Agee from the Western Center of Journalism interviewed me for an article discussing conservatives and the death penalty. Agee explained that conservatives are not homogenous in their support of the death penalty, and there is no shortage of reasons to be concerned with capital punishment. Agee covered the emergence of Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty. Agee said,
The political right should be defined by an emphasis on the individual and, aside from core tenets such as limited government and personal liberty, should welcome the free exchange of societal ideas. Many assume, for example, right-wingers instinctively support the death penalty despite the fact a growing number of conservatives oppose the practice for a litany of principled reasons.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Conservative Group to Highlight Flaws in America’s Death Penalty
Presenting at Conservatism Outside the Box
News Conference 9am Saturday February 15th at Buford Community Center
January 27, 2014 – Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, a national network of conservatives questioning the alignment of capital punishment with conservative principles, is proud to be taking part in ‘Conservatism Outside The Box’ presented by the Georgia Republican Party 7th District Committee.
One of the featured speakers will be Marc Hyden, a Georgia resident, who is a National Advocacy Coordinator for the national group Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty.
“Conservatives need to know they are not alone when it comes to rethinking broken policies like the death penalty,” Hyden said.
Some of the other featured speakers will include nationally syndicated radio host Mike Church, Michael Farris of Citizens for Self-Governance, Michael Maharrey of the 10th Amendment Center, author and professor Donald Livingston, Georgia State Senator Josh McKoon (R-Columbus), and Will Kremer of the Georgia College Republicans.
Trey Joy, Mayor of Smith Center, KS and Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty supporter, recently wrote an editorial in the Salina Journal detailing how broken the death penalty is in Kansas. Joy summarizes the history of the death penalty in Kansas, the growing opposition to capital punishment, and the necessary legislative action needed to address its failures. Joy stated,
In fact, in our imperfect justice system, the only foolproof measure for preventing the execution of the innocent is ending the death penalty. Life is simply too valuable to run the risk of a wrongful execution, especially when there is the alternative of life in prison without parole to keep society secure.
It makes both moral and fiscal sense, then, for Kansas to repeal the death penalty.
BJW Nashe from the All Things Crime Blog penned an article today describing recent developments in the highly contentious death penalty debate. As Nashe highlights recent controversial events related to the current system of capital punishment, he suggests there is common ground between liberals and conservatives on this issue. Nashe uses Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty as his case in point. He states,
We are now seeing a significant number of conservatives, including key figures in Republican and Libertarian circles, rethinking their position in regard to the death penalty. Firing squads, gas chambers, and lethal injections are no longer all that appealing to these folks. A new coalition called Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty (CCATDP) debuted at CPAC in Maryland last year, and has since gained considerable publicity. This group argues that executions are too costly, too ineffective as a deterrent to crime, and an egregious exercise of state power that poses a threat to individual rights.
Ben Jones of Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty (CCATDP) recently spoke at the Wichita Pachyderm Club about why conservatives are concerned about today’s system of capital punishment. He spoke about CCATDP, the death penalty’s flaws, and the state of the capital punishment in Kansas. Wichita Liberty covered his speech, and you can listen to it here.
A recent article published by the Religion News Service discussed how support for capital punishment among Christians is declining. Citing a recent poll, author Jonathan Merritt said,
When asked if they agreed that “the government should have the option to execute the worst criminals,” 42 percent of self-identified Christian boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, said “yes.” Only 32 percent of self-identified Christian millennials, born between 1980 and 2000, said the same thing.
The study went even further,
And what of that age-old question, “What would Jesus do?”
According to the Barna study, only 5 percent of Americans believe that Jesus would support government’s ability to execute the worst criminals. Two percent of Catholics, 8 percent of Protestants, and 10 percent of practicing Christians said their faith’s founder would offer his support.
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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