NEW VOICES: U.N. Ambassador Nominee Opposed to the Death Penalty

Former Republican Senator John Danforth of Missouri, President Bush’s nominee to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is a long-time opponent of capital punishment. During his tenure in the Senate, Danforth made his position on the death penalty clear in a 1994 Senate floor statement: “I think we should do away with the death penalty. As a matter of personal conscience, I have always opposed the death penalty…. We have had up or down votes on capital punishment. I always vote against it.” CNN notes that as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Danforth hopes that he can “glue things back together” at the world body, where U.S. relations have been strained since the Iraq war. (103rd Cong. Rec. S5701 (May 12, 1994); CNN.com, June 17, 2004). See New Voices.