Texas conservative and GOP Precinct Chairman, Pat Monks, explains why Texas should repeal the death penalty in a recent Daily Caller column. When speaking of the 500th execution in Texas, Mr. Monks said, “As a lifelong Texan and conservative Republican, I think this latest execution represents a sad and solemn milestone.” He went on to say, “Liberty-loving conservatives are waking up to the risk of executing innocent people, as well as the outrageous expense of capital trials and their endless appeals. Many of us now realize the death penalty does nothing to make us safer and does not deter killers. Despite all its executions, Texas had the 23rd highest murder rate in the nation in 2011.”

Our momentum is still growing fresh off of our successful launch at CPAC in March. Conservatives everywhere are increasingly becoming aware that the death penalty does not align with conservative principles – with the latest evidence coming out of Nebraska. Last week lawmakers in the unicameral legislature debated a bill to repeal the death penalty. A filibuster ultimately blocked a final vote on the bill, but two test votes indicated that a majority would have voted to pass it. Last time Nebraska voted on the death penalty, only a quarter of the unicameral voted yes – so last week’s votes were a sharp turnaround. Legislators are energized and ready to take this effort up again when the legislature reconvenes next session. We were pleased to get a mention in the Lincoln Journal-Star, whose editorial board wrote, “Republicans in the Legislature should take note. They can vote for repeal of the death penalty without turning in their conservative credentials.” They aren’t kidding, as evidenced by the warm welcome we got at the Kansas Young Americans for Liberty State Convention and the Republican Liberty Caucus National Convention earlier this month. Each of these conferences provided

Former Montana State House Majority Leader Roy Brown details in the Daily Caller why conservatives everywhere should be concerned about the death penalty. Mr. Brown, a founding member of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, said, There is no deeper violation of a citizen’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness than their own government killing them when they’re actually innocent. Brown went on to say The death penalty’s waste and inefficiency is rivaled by few other government programs. That we continue to fund the death penalty should be offensive to anyone who believes in fiscal responsibility. Roy Brown is one of a growing number of conservatives that have found that the death penalty doesn’t align with conservative values and principles.

Our national debut at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in March was a huge success. Thank you to all who were part of it. Our CPAC booth was the busiest in our row. Hundreds of supporters visited us and expressed their support. Many asked, “Where have you been for so long? I thought I was the only conservative that supports repealing the death penalty.” Jay Sekulow, one of our national supporters, said the same thing in the U.S. News and World Report story that covered our launch. One visitor dropped the bags and materials he was carrying as soon as he saw us, expressing his emotion and gratitude for our presence. The warm welcome we got at CPAC confirmed what we already knew: uniform conservative support for the death penalty is a myth. That’s why we formed Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty: to shatter that myth and talk about the death penalty from a conservative perspective. A number of proponents of the death penalty who visited our booth walked away our newest allies. We talked to them about the real risk of executing innocent people, its high cost and inefficiency as a government program, and the program’s other across-the-board failures. Most

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a composite of many religions’ and denominations’ official positions on the death penalty. It shouldn’t be a surprise that most support repealing the death penalty.

Drew Johnson of the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports on Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty and the death penalty’s many flaws. He said, In 2011, public support for the death penalty fell to its lowest level in nearly four decades. That’s because the death penalty drains resources, fails to serve victims’ families and loved ones, is applied more often to poor and minority offenders, does nothing to keep communities safe and can result in the execution of innocent people, according to Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. The group is right on every level. Drew Johnson concludes that the death penalty is not successful in any function, and we, as conservatives, should consider repealing it.

I have a blog post in the Bell Towers today about why conservatives are realizing the death penalty is a failed policy. The post states, Conservatives across the board have come to the conclusion that the death penalty is a broken system for many different reasons. It goes on to say: Regardless of good intentions, the judicial system cannot be right 100% of the time, and conservatives are wary of any government program – most especially one designed to kill U.S. citizens. Many have said a government so powerful it can put its citizens to death, is, indeed, too powerful. For fiscal conservatives, the cost of the death penalty is indefensible. Several studies have shown that death penalty cases are up to 20 times more expensive than comparable cases with the sentence of life without the possibility of release. It is far less expensive to incarcerate an inmate for life than to go through the death penalty process.  This is widely accepted. Capital punishment is a bloated and inefficient program that siphons funds away from public safety programs and the taxpayers.

US News and World Report published an article detailing Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty’s success at CPAC and the strong conservative support for repealing the death penalty. Journalist, Elizabeth Flock states, For years, those who supported the death penalty largely skewed conservative. She went on to say, But that stereotype no longer holds true. The article pointed to conservative grassroots activists and leaders who are now open to repealing the death penalty, such as Jay Sekulow and Governor Sam Brownback.