---
title: 'EDITORIAL: Examine the systemic problems in the death penalty before reinstating it in NY'
description: 'New York’s death penalty remains in abeyance, having been found unconstitutional by the state’s high court. A recent N.Y. Newsday editorial called on…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/editorial-examine-the-systemic-problems-in-the-death-penalty-before-reinstating-it-in-ny'
section: news
date: '2004-10-14T23:18:12-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:23:41-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

New York's death penalty remains in abeyance, having been found unconstitutional by the state's high court. A recent N.Y. Newsday editorial called on lawmakers to carefully examine the fundamental problems with the death penalty before considering any reinstatement legislation. The editorial noted:

On the steps of New York City Hall on Thursday, a coalition of death penalty opponents - prominently including City Council Speaker Gifford Miller and former gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo - called for a "legislative moratorium" before the state tries to repair the capital punishment law struck down by the Court of Appeals.

As a result of that decision in June, New York now has no valid death penalty. That's fine. **The penalty is arbitrary, racist and ineffectual in deterring crime. It's also prone to fatal error.** In 2000, Illinois instituted a moratorium on the death penalty that it had re-enacted in 1977, because courts had gone on to free 13 people wrongly sentenced to die.

... \[I\]t's all the more important that legislators listen to **New Yorkers for a Sensible Criminal Justice Policy** and spend ample time studying and thinking before re-enacting. (Newsday, October 9, 2004) (emphasis added).

See [Editorials](/editorials?did=189&scid=43).