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. (103^rd Cong. Rec. S5701 (May 12, 1994); CNN​.com, June 17, 2004). See New Voices.