Issues
Civil Rights Death Penalty
I oppose the death penalty because it is
inconsistent with basic American principles of justice, liberty,
and equality. In January 2007, I introduced the Federal Death
Penalty Abolition Act to abolish the federal death penalty.
I have introduced similar bills in past Congresses in my continued
effort to end state-sponsored executions.
Since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme
Court, there have been more than 1,000 executions across the
country. At the same time, more than 120 people on death row
have been exonerated and released from death row. Had those
exonerations not taken place, those executions would have
represented an error rate of greater than ten percent. That
is a horrifying statistic, one that should have us all questioning
the use of capital punishment in this country.
I am also concerned about the fact that the death penalty
in the United States is unevenly and unfairly imposed. Years
of study have shown that the death penalty does little to
deter crime, and that defendants’ likelihood of being sentenced
to death depends heavily on factors such as whether they are
rich or poor. There is also evidence of racial disparities,
inadequate counsel and prosecutorial misconduct in death penalty
systems across the country.
These problems have led to increased opposition to the death
penalty. The number of executions, the number of death sentences
imposed, and the size of the death row population have all
been decreasing, as a growing number of voices have joined
to express doubt about the use of capital punishment in America.
In fact, for the first time, a May 2006 Gallup poll reported
that more Americans prefer a sentence of life without parole
over the death penalty when given a choice. The United States
Supreme Court also has issued a range of favorable decisions
in the past several years, most notably striking down the
death penalty for juveniles, the mentally retarded, and individuals
so mentally ill that they cannot fully comprehend why the
state is seeking to execute them.
Despite these positive steps, abolishing the death penalty
will not be an easy task. It will take patience, persistence,
and courage. But we must leave this archaic practice behind.
We must reject violence and restore fairness and integrity
to our criminal justice system.
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