The leader of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty is now a Newsmax Insider. Twice a month, Hannah Cox will be writing about the failures of the criminal justice system and especially the death penalty. Newsmax is a leading conservative news outlet that receives nearly 70,000 unique daily visitors. The company is ranked as the 3rd most trafficked political website. You can follow her blog Life and Liberty here and read her first article, “Do You Support the Death Penalty,” here.

Our National Manager, Hannah Cox, joined Connor Boyack, President of the Libertas Institute in Utah, and his cohost Bryan Hyde on their podcast Society and the State this week. On the episode, the three discussed the death penalty system in the US and the reasons each of them changed their stance from supporters to abolitionists. From the show’s website: “Concern over the death penalty isn’t just limited to bleeding hearts and liberals. It’s not a matter of coddling criminals. DNA evidence and other technological advances are proving that genuinely innocent people are sitting on Death Row or have been executed. Questions about the inefficiency, inequity and inaccuracy within the justice system mean that opposition to the death penalty is finding acceptance in conservative circles as well.” Check out the show and help us share it on social media! You can listen to the full episode here.

This week, New Hampshire came only two votes of shy of being able to override the Governor’s veto on death penalty repeal legislation. Despite this temporary setback, the state has shown real progress on the issue that is sure to continue next year, and that matches the momentum in the rest of the country for repeal. A new article from the Crime Report notes these gains and the work of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. From the article: “Thirty-one states still have death penalty laws still on the books, and 12 of those states have an official moratorium on executions. Earlier this year, CCADP told The Crime Report the group was hopeful about repeal efforts in New Hampshire, Washington State, and Utah. While none have yet succeeded, observers still note a trend favoring abolition.” It went on to note: “Even in red states not yet examining repeal, we have seen good momentum from leadership on this issue,” CCADP’s Hannah Cox told The Crime Report, noting Ohio Governor John Kasich’s recent grants of clemency to death row inmates William Montgomery and Raymond Tibbetts, and a death penalty study produced by Pennsylvania that calls for change. “All of th

A new article in the Washington Examiner examines the reasons a growing number of conservatives are opposed to the death penalty and links back to Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty multiple times. From the article: “Perhaps more fundamentally, however, another guiding star of conservatism is limited government and opposition to giving political leaders more power than they need. With the death penalty, which is clearly not needed to keep dangerous individuals off the streets in the modern world, granting the state authority over life and death is hardly justifiable.” The article went on to note: “In short, although the override of the governor’s veto in New Hampshire was unsuccessful, it should not be surprising that more conservatives now oppose the death penalty. Many of them came together to abolish Nebraska’s death penalty in 2015, although the voters later overturned them in a referendum. The field is moving on this issue, and hopefully others will join the fight to abolish the practice.” You can read the full article here.

Nearly one third of all states that still have a death penalty system have not used it in at least a decade. There are 31 states, plus the federal government and military that still allow the death penalty. Of the inactive states, New Hampshire has gone the longest without an execution with their last dating back to 1939. The other inactive states include California, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. For those on death row in California, the largest death row in the country population-wise, the leading causes of death are natural causes, followed by suicide. Executions come in a distant third. On the federal level, there has not been an execution since 2003, and the military has not carried out an execution in 57 years. We’ll just take this as further evidence that the appetite for the death penalty is declining in the country, even in states that have yet to formally do away with the system. Instead of continuing to waste millions of taxpayer dollars every year, states should repeal their death penalty laws and direct the resources to programs that actually deter violence.

In 2016 and 2017, Republicans introduced one-third of all death penalty repeal bills in state legislatures across the country. With a 60% decrease in death penalty sentences since 1999 and an execution rate down 45% since that same time, it’s been apparent that the death penalty is dying in the United States for quite some time. What hasn’t been so apparent, however, is the Right’s responsibility for this trend. Considering the nation’s death penalty system is plagued with issues of ineffective legal counsel, geographical bias, innocence, racial discrimination, and astronomical costs, it’s no wonder conservatives are deciding that this practice does not align with their values. Not only that, but there is ample proof that the death penalty does not act as a deterrent. In fact, regions of the country who do not utilize their death penalty as often, such as the Northeast, have very low homicide rates, while areas that use the death penalty the most, like the South, continue to see the highest rates of violent crime. When you consider the vast amounts of money being spent on the death penalty, at least $2 million per case above the costs of sentencing som

We’re proud to see 6 time Grammy Award winner and 22 time Dove Award winner Amy Grant take a stand against the death penalty. More and more Christians are realizing the death penalty does not align with their values. *Photo courtesy of Shane Claiborne

Pope Francis has declared the death penalty wrong in all cases, marking one of the biggest shifts ever in the 2,000 year old history of the Roman Catholic Church. Francis said executions were unacceptable in all cases because they are “an attack” on human dignity, and the Vatican added that it will work “with determination” to abolish capital punishment worldwide. Many Catholics across our country have already determined that the death penalty fails to value the sanctity of human life, deter violence, or disrupt cycles of trauma. For them, this change in the Church’s teaching is a reassuring and encouraging move. For others who may be on the fence about their stance, we hope this action causes them to research the death penalty in more depth.

Last week, staff from Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP) sponsored the Young Americans for Liberty Conference in Reston, VA. While there, they met hundreds of high school students, college students, and young adults who are passionate about limited government, and many of whom agreed, it’s past time to end the death penalty.

A Florida prosecutor, Ashley K. Albright, who is currently seeking the death penalty for a man named Michael Woodbury has asked for input from the local community on his sentence. Woodbury, who is accused of killing a fellow inmate at the Okeechobee Correctional Institute, has pled guilty and claims he was acting in self-defense. At Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, we know the death penalty wastes millions of dollars a year. Based on the 44 executions carried out by Florida since 1976, the cost per execution is about $24 million. That’s money that could be better allocated for programs that actually deter violence. But not only does this system waste money for an outcome that will seldom be reached, it also runs the risk of a wrongful conviction. Thus far, over 162 people have been exonerated from death row when evidence of their innocence finally came to light. Help us tell Mr. Albright that the death penalty is an ineffective system, and that Floridians would rather see their money spent on programs that actually produce safer communities. You can email him here: AAlbright@sao19.org.