Entries tagged with “Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty”

Policy Issues

Race

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Nov 09, 2023

Tennessean Op-Ed Discusses DPIC Report on Race and Tennessee’s Death Penalty

On November 2, 2023, Demetrius Minor, the National Manager of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty and Davis Turner, a retired attor­ney whose broth­er was mur­dered in Nashville in 2009 and a board mem­ber of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, co-authored an op-ed in The Tennessean dis­cussing a recent report by the Death Penalty Information Center. ​“Doomed to Repeat: The Legacy of Race in Tennessee’s Contemporary Death Penalty” details the his­to­ry of racial violence…

Policy Issues

Race

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New Voices

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Jun 20, 2023

Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty Celebrates Juneteenth and Highlights the Continued Fight for Equality and Justice

Juneteenth is a cel­e­bra­tion and remem­brance of the end of slav­ery in the United States fol­low­ing the Union’s vic­to­ry in the Civil War. In June 2021, President Joseph Biden signed leg­is­la­tion estab­lish­ing Juneteenth as a fed­er­al hol­i­day, for­mal­ly com­mem­o­rat­ing the end of slav­ery. According to President Biden, ​“Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slav­ery and sub­ju­ga­tion, and the promise of a greater morn­ing to come.” Among the many groups com­mem­o­rat­ing Juneteenth was Conservatives…

Policy Issues

Intellectual Disability

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United States Supreme Court

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Jan 11, 2022

Disability Rights Groups, Legal Experts, and Conservative Advocates Urge Supreme Court to Strike Down Georgia’s Uniquely Harsh Proof Requirements in Death-Penalty Intellectual Disability Cases

A coali­tion of dis­abil­i­ty rights groups, legal experts, and con­ser­v­a­tive advo­cates are urg­ing the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the unique­ly harsh bur­den of proof Georgia has imposed upon defen­dants seek­ing to estab­lish their inel­i­gi­bil­i­ty for the death penal­ty because of intellectual…

Facts & Research

Recent Legislative Activity

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Mar 19, 2021

NEWS BRIEF — Wyoming State Senate Defeats Bill to Repeal the Death Penalty

The Wyoming state sen­ate has defeat­ed a bill to repeal the state’s death penal­ty. Senate File 150, spon­sored by Senator Brian Boner (R – Douglas, pic­tured dur­ing the floor debate), was report­ed out of the Senate Revenue Committee by a 4 – 1 vote on March 4, the sec­ond time a bill to end Wyoming’s death penal­ty had passed a state sen­ate com­mit­tee. However, the bill failed in the state sen­ate by a vote of 19 – 11. Nine Republicans and the chamber’s two Democrats…

Policy Issues

Costs

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Sentencing Alternatives

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Recent Legislative Activity

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Jul 21, 2020

Wyoming Governor ​“Very Seriously” Considering Death Penalty Moratorium

Calling cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment a ​“lux­u­ry” that the state can no longer afford, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon (pic­tured) told leg­is­la­tors that he is ​“very seri­ous­ly” con­sid­er­ing impos­ing a mora­to­ri­um on the state’s rarely-used death…

Facts & Research

New Voices

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Mar 04, 2020

New Discussions With DPIC Podcast: Hannah Cox on Conservative Opposition to the Death Penalty

In the March 2020 episode of Discussions with DPIC, Hannah Cox (pic­tured), National Manager of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP) speaks with Death Penalty Information Center Executive Director Robert Dunham about the con­tin­u­ing move­ment by social and polit­i­cal con­ser­v­a­tives away from cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, how the death penal­ty is out of step with core con­ser­v­a­tive val­ues, and the key role that con­ser­v­a­tive leg­is­la­tors are play­ing in abo­li­tion efforts across the…

Policy Issues

Innocence

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Religion

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United States Supreme Court

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Feb 06, 2020

Prosecutors, Catholic Bishops, and Conservative Group Submit Briefs Asking U.S. Supreme Court to Review Case of James Dailey

Three groups, rep­re­sent­ing pros­e­cu­tors, the Catholic Church, and polit­i­cal con­ser­v­a­tives, have filed briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court sup­port­ing the efforts of Florida death-row pris­on­er James Dailey (pic­tured) to obtain judi­cial review of his inno­cence claim. Dailey filed a peti­tion for cer­tio­rari on January 10, 2020 ask­ing the Supreme Court to hear his case, after the Florida courts refused to con­sid­er evi­dence that anoth­er man had con­fessed to the…

Facts & Research

Recent Legislative Activity

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New Voices

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Oct 29, 2019

More Than 250 Conservative Leaders Join Call to End Death Penalty

More than 250 con­ser­v­a­tive lead­ers from across the coun­try have signed on to a state­ment express­ing their oppo­si­tion to cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment as admin­is­tered across the United States and issued a ​“call [to] our fel­low con­ser­v­a­tives to reex­am­ine the death penal­ty and demon­strate the lead­er­ship need­ed to end this failed pol­i­cy.” Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty (CCATDP) released the state­ment in con­junc­tion with an October 28, 2019 nation­al­ly web­cast press…

Policy Issues

Innocence

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Upcoming Executions

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Military

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Oct 11, 2019

100th Execution or 30th Exoneration? Florida Sets Execution Date for 73-Year-Old Military Veteran Who May Be Innocent

Florida has sched­uled the exe­cu­tion of 73-year-old James Dailey (pic­tured) for November 7, 2019, despite sub­stan­tial evi­dence that he had no involve­ment in the killing, includ­ing a state­ment by the admit­ted killer, Daley’s co-defen­dant, that he had act­ed alone. Dailey stands to be either the 100 death-row pris­on­er put to death by Florida since exe­cu­tions resumed in the 1970s or the state’s 30th death-row…

Policy Issues

Costs

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May 10, 2019

Study Finds Louisiana Spends An Extra $15 Million Per Year on Death Penalty

A new study of Louisiana​’s death penal­ty reports that the state’s cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment sys­tem costs tax­pay­ers at least $15.6 mil­lion a year more than a sys­tem with life with­out parole as the max­i­mum sen­tence. The study by retired New Orleans dis­trict Chief Judge Calvin Johnson (pic­tured, left) and Loyola Law Professor William Quigley (pic­tured, right), released on May 2, 2019, found that Louisiana has spent more than $200 mil­lion on its…

Policy Issues

Arbitrariness

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Costs

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Innocence

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Race

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DPIC Reports

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Public Opinion

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New Voices

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Oct 27, 2017

New Report Documents ​“Dramatic Rise” in Republican Support for Death-Penalty Repeal

“The death penal­ty is dying in the United States, and Republicans are con­tribut­ing to its demise,” con­cludes a new report, The Right Way, released on October 25 by the advo­ca­cy group Conservatives Concerned About the Death…

Policy Issues

Costs

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Public Opinion

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Feb 10, 2017

POLL: Nearly Two-Thirds in Utah Prefer Life-Sentencing Alternatives to the Death Penalty

According to a new poll, near­ly two-thirds of Utah res­i­dents say they pre­fer some form of life sen­tence, rather than the death penal­ty, as the pun­ish­ment for mur­der, and a major­i­ty sup­port replac­ing the death penal­ty with a sen­tence of life with­out pos­si­bil­i­ty of…

Facts & Research

Religion

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New Voices

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Jun 25, 2014

NEW VOICES: Conservatives Speak About the Death Penalty

A grow­ing num­ber of con­ser­v­a­tives have stat­ed their oppo­si­tion to the death penal­ty. Among them is National Review colum­nist and American Enterprise Institute fel­low Ramesh Ponnuru, who cit­ed his Catholic faith as a rea­son for the change in his stance. He said he had to over­come his ini­tial emo­tion­al response to heinous crimes because, ​“Our emo­tion­al or intu­itive reac­tions are not a sure guide to right and wrong in mat­ters of moral import.” He added that the death…

Policy Issues

Sentencing Alternatives

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New Voices

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Lethal Injection

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May 13, 2014

NEW VOICES: ​“Death Penalty Has Had Its Day in North Carolina”

Mark Edwards, chair of the Nash County (North Carolina) Republican Party, recent­ly spoke about replac­ing the death penal­ty with a sen­tence of life with­out parole: ​“As a con­ser­v­a­tive seek­ing to find the best way to pro­tect the res­i­dents of this great state from crime, I believe the death penal­ty has had its day in North Carolina. It is time to begin the debate on replac­ing the death penal­ty with life in prison with­out parole.” He also said, ​“We are advocating…

Facts & Research

New Voices

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Dec 02, 2013

EDITORIALS: Expanding Conservative Concerns About the Death Penalty

A recent edi­to­r­i­al in the Dallas Morning News high­light­ed the voic­es of promi­nent con­ser­v­a­tives who now oppose cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, includ­ing for­mer Texas Congressman Ron Paul and con­ser­v­a­tive polit­i­cal leader Richard Viguerie. The paper not­ed the new part­ner­ship between the stu­dent-cen­tered orga­ni­za­tion Young Americans for Liberty and Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. The editorial…

Facts & Research

Recent Legislative Activity

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New Voices

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Feb 04, 2013

Conservatives and Republicans Support Death Penalty Repeal Bill in Montana

A bipar­ti­san group of leg­is­la­tors in Montana will intro­duce a bill to replace the state’s death penal­ty with a sen­tence of life with­out parole. The spon­sors include two Republicans and two Democrats. A coali­tion of con­ser­v­a­tive law­mak­ers, reli­gious groups, and human rights groups sup­port the repeal of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. Republican Sen. Matthew Rosendale (pic­tured), a mem­ber of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, said his stance…

Policy Issues

Costs

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New Voices

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Oct 03, 2012

NEW VOICES: ​“It’s Time to End Montana’s Death Penalty”

In a recent edi­to­r­i­al, the Great Falls Tribune reversed its long-stand­ing posi­tion and called for the end of the death penal­ty in Montana. The paper cit­ed the cost of main­tain­ing the death penal­ty as a pri­ma­ry rea­son for why the pun­ish­ment should be repealed. The edi­tors joined in the efforts of a rel­a­tive­ly new con­ser­v­a­tive group to end cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment: “[E]ven with­out defin­i­tive state data [on costs], we align with the Montana Conservatives…

Policy Issues

Costs

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Recent Legislative Activity

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New Voices

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Sep 19, 2012

NEW VOICES: Conservatives Seek to Repeal the Death Penalty in Montana

In Montana, a con­ser­v­a­tive polit­i­cal group is call­ing for an end to the death penal­ty after a recent court rul­ing held the state’s exe­cu­tion pro­to­col uncon­sti­tu­tion­al. Former Republican state Senator Roy Brown said, ​“Conservatives dis­like waste and inef­fi­cien­cy. That is why we should cast a crit­i­cal eye when the state is involved with the busi­ness of exe­cut­ing peo­ple…. When it takes over 20 years and hun­dreds of thou­sands of tax pay­er dol­lars for extra legal…