The finality of the death penalty leaves no room for error. History has shown that innocent people have been executed, and the risk of condemning even one innocent person is too great a price to pay.
Tracy Pennycuick, Republican State Senator, Pennsylvania
A society can permanently remove dangerous offenders from the public through life imprisonment while refusing to grant the government the irreversible power to deliberately end a human life. That distinction matters because governments are not infallible. Courts make mistakes. Prosecutors make mistakes. Evidence is mishandled. Witnesses are mistaken. Innocent people have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. An execution cannot be reversed. A wrongful conviction can be corrected. A wrongful execution cannot. A government strong enough to protect society without taking life demonstrates greater confidence in justice than one that relies on execution.
Jennifer Stefano, Former Director, Americans for Prosperity Pennsylvania
