Wesley Pruden of the Washington Times covered the fading popularity of the death penalty across the United States, even including Texas in today’s article. Pruden cites the many problems with the death penalty system and the faltering support from the youth and conservatives as reasons why capital punishment is losing support. He said,
Opinions on capital punishment are sharply divided and passionately held, but the stereotype that executions are favorites of conservatives is slowly dissolving. Young conservatives seem particularly willing to take another look at the death business.
Roy Brown, the former majority leader of the Montana House of Representatives, founded an organization called Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, and he travels the country spreading the word. He led a forum, in partnership with the Young Americans for Liberty, last month at Georgetown University. Marc Hayden, the group’s national coordinator, says he finds conservatives deciding the death penalty is “wasteful, unfair, error-prone and out of step with conservative values.”