As New York law­mak­ers con­duct­ed the first in a series of hear­ings on the state’s death penal­ty, Robert M. Morgenthau, Manhattan’s long-serv­ing District Attorney, rec­om­mend­ed that New York aban­don the prac­tice: ​“It’s the deed that teach­es, not the name we give it,” Morgenthau said, quot­ing George Bernard Shaw. He went on to note, ​“The penal­ty exacts a ter­ri­ble price in dol­lars, lives, and human decen­cy. Rather than tamp­ing down the flames of vio­lence, it fuels them.…I urge all of our law­mak­ers, in the strongest pos­si­ble terms, not to rein­state the death penal­ty in New York.” Morgenthau pre­sent­ed infor­ma­tion to sup­port his posi­tion, includ­ing F.B.I. sta­tis­tics show­ing that states with the death penal­ty have homi­cide rates that are 44% high­er than those with­out it. Morgenthau joined legal schol­ars, vic­tims fam­i­ly mem­bers, and oth­er experts in urg­ing New York law­mak­ers to end cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. The hear­ing took place in New York City before an Assembly com­mit­tee and hun­dreds of spec­ta­tors. (New York Times, December 16, 2004).

Some law­mak­ers who had helped to pass the state’s death penal­ty law near­ly a decade ago, such as Assemblywoman Sandra Galef, now oppose cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. ​“I think cir­cum­stances do change. I think that views do change. We do have life with­out parole now (as a sen­tenc­ing option). The use of DNA has advanced. So I don’t believe I would be sup­port­ive this time,” Galef said. A seri­ous debate on the issue is sure to occur dur­ing the com­ing leg­isla­tive term. A shift in pub­lic opin­ion could shape the course of the dis­cus­sion. A recent Quinnipiac University poll of New Yorkers found that 53% of respon­dents pre­ferred to impose the sen­tence of life with­out parole and only 38% sup­port­ed the death penal­ty when giv­en the option. (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, December 15, 2004).

See New Voices. See also DPIC’s Web page on the New York Court of Appeals Ruling.

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