The Kansas Federation of College Republicans unan­i­mous­ly adopt­ed a res­o­lu­tion call­ing for repeal of the death penal­ty in their state. ​“More young con­ser­v­a­tives like myself rec­og­nize that our bro­ken and fal­li­ble sys­tem of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment in no way match­es up with our con­ser­v­a­tive val­ues,” said Dalton Glasscock, a Wichita State University stu­dent and chair­man of the fed­er­a­tion. Citing pro-life views and fis­cal respon­si­bil­i­ty, the group urged Kansas leg­is­la­tors to repeal the state’s death penal­ty. Eric Pahls, pres­i­dent of Kansas University College Republicans, said, ​“I think if, as Republicans, we call our­selves pro-life, that is from birth through nat­ur­al death, not from birth until we decide your life is less impor­tant or less valu­able.” Glasscock and Pahls think there is a gen­er­a­tional shift in views about the death penal­ty among young Republicans. A recent Pew Research Center poll indi­cat­ed that death penal­ty sup­port is weak­est among younger Americans, among whom it has dropped by 8 per­cent­age points since 2011. The fed­er­a­tion joins the Republican Liberty Caucus of Kansas, who last year announced sup­port for repeal of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. The Kansas Republican Party has dropped death penal­ty sup­port from its plat­form, and now takes a neu­tral stance on the issue. Kansas has not car­ried out any exe­cu­tions since it rein­stat­ed the death penal­ty in 1994.

(P. Hancock, ​“Kansas Federation of College Republicans adopts res­o­lu­tion oppos­ing death penal­ty,” Lawrence Journal-World, August 20, 2015; K. Bellware, ​“Kansas College Republicans Latest Conservative Group To Oppose The Death Penalty,” The Huffington Post (Aug. 25, 2015).) See New Voices and Kansas.

Citation Guide