MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY
FBI REVIEW SHOWS MISTAKES
Unprecedented FBI Action Generates Praise and Calls for States to Follow Suit
July 19, 2013 – Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, a national network of conservatives and libertarians questioning the alignment of capital punishment with their principles, applauds the FBI’s historic review of old criminal cases which has now cast doubt on up to 27 death penalty convictions. The review discovered that FBI forensic experts could have inadvertently connected defendants to crimes with flawed scientific testimony.
“This is a national affirmation from the top investigative body in the country that even in the most high profile cases like the death penalty, we can’t be 100-percent certain,” said Marc Hyden, a national advocacy coordinator for Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. “An admission by the FBI that their experts may have testified beyond the limits of science shows how fallible and uncertain the process is.”
The FBI review of death penalty cases led to an 11th hour stay of execution back in May in Mississippi.
“The FBI also trained many of the state investigators in the same type of hair analysis that is now in question, so we call on states with the death penalty to conduct similar reviews,” Hyden said.
To date, more than 140 individuals have been freed from death rows in America after evidence of their innocence surfaced.
About Us
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. Specifically, we are questioning a system marked by inefficiency, inequity, and inaccuracy. Conservatives concerned about the death penalty is a project of Equal Justice USA. EJUSA is a national, grassroots organization working to build a criminal justice system that works. For everyone.