I’ve heard all the justifications — deterrence, support for victims, cost savings…those misguided arguments act as a smoke screen for the profound flaws that mark capital punishment.
Jim Petro
Former Ohio Attorney General
“Concerned Conservatives is asking serious questions about how justice is implemented and the ramifications of the death penalty in a fallible system. As a conservative legislator in America, I am grateful to have an organization like CC asking the hard questions so that we may bring true justice to victims and exonerate the innocent.”
Becky Cash
Indiana State Representative (R-Zionsville)
“I oppose the death penalty because I follow a consistent life ethic. As a Catholic who is also vegetarian and anti-abortion, I do not believe in playing God by ending another human life. Sentencing someone to death is incompatible with modern standards of justice.”
Savannah Craven
Pro-Life advocate and host of Her Patriot Voice
“While wrongful convictions occur all too often in our criminal justice system, they can sometimes be righted through appeals or new evidence. But when a wrongful capital punishment is carried out, it cannot be corrected. Modern DNA forensic science has demonstrated that hundreds of innocent people have been executed. Human life is sacred to us and we can no longer support the use of capital punishment.”
Tim & Randi Hutchinson
Former U.S. Senator & Senior Fellow for American Conservative Union; Counsel for Government Relations, Greenberg Traurig LLP
I first supported the death penalty until I found out how many innocent individuals were being killed and how costly it was on the taxpayers. In a free and just society, we should always strive to protect life, most especially all innocent life. And, ultimately, it costs the taxpayers more to put a man to death than keeping him locked up for life. So after studying the issue, I now strongly oppose the death penalty.
Jeff Frazee
Founder and Chairman, Young Americans for Liberty
Are some crimes so heinous as to be worthy of the ultimate earthly punishment? Yes. Are some who commit those crimes capable of remorse, redemption and restitution? Yes, but not if they’re dead. Is government guilty of sloppiness and error in its judgments? Oh my God, yes! Add to that the proven fact that capital punishment in our clunky court system costs more than life without parole and you arrive at an inescapable conclusion: the right alternatives to capital punishment offer more hope, more deterrence and more justice.
Lawrence W. Reed
President Emeritus, Foundation for Economic Education
Government has no business in the taking of life that is not strictly related to national defense. The same people who don’t believe that government can efficiently deliver health services or regulate the economy believe it can execute people without a mistake. Government should have no authority to make decisions where a mistake could mean the taking of an innocent life. I would rather see 100 guilty men go free, than to see one innocent person executed.
Austin Petersen
Founder and Editor of The Libertarian Republic
On the core issue — yes or no on capital punishment — I’m with the opponents. Better to err on the side of not taking life. The teaching of the Catholic Church, to which I belong, seems right to me: The state has the legitimate authority to execute criminals, but it should refrain if it has other means of protecting people from them. Our government almost always does.
Ramesh Ponnuru
Senior Editor for National Review and Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute
The death penalty runs a dangerously high risk of killing innocent people, siphons billions of dollars from the public, and gives the government power it cannot be trusted to carry out fairly.
Jeffrey Tucker
Founder, Author, and President at Brownstone Institute
The government’s culture of death–including capital punishment–must be opposed by everyone who loves freedom and life.
Lew Rockwell
Founder and Chairman, Ludwig Von Mises Institute
