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To: Governors and State Legislatures of AL, AR, FL, GA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MS, MI, MT, NE, NV, NC, OK, SC, SD, TX, UT, and WY
Abolish the Death Penalty
Capital punishment in America is a flawed, expensive policy, defined by bias and error. It targets the most vulnerable people in our society and corrupts the integrity of our criminal justice system. Each day, more and more Americans are recognizing that the death penalty does not make us safer.
The death penalty, like most criminal justice issues, is deeply rooted in white supremacy. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, people of color are more likely to be prosecuted for capital murder, sentenced to death, and executed, especially if the victim in the case is white.
It's time for executive action and legislative reform that address this cruel, racist, inhumane, and ineffective use of death as punishment. Capital punishment disproportionately preys on the most vulnerable members of our society and fails to live up to its promise of keeping our communities safe.
Why is this important?
Our death penalty system treats you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent. As a result, a stunning number of innocent people have been sentenced to death. In practice, capital punishment is mostly imposed on poor people who cannot afford to hire an effective lawyer.
For every eight people executed, one person on death row has been exonerated. We call on elected officials and lawmakers in the states where capital punishment remains legal to immediately put a moratorium on this cruel and defective system.
Ending capital punishment is also a disability justice issue: Mental health experts estimate at least 20% of people on death row today have a serious mental illness.
And while proponents claim it is a deterrent and keeps us safer, that doesn't seem to be the case, according to the National Research Council of the National Academies. After more than three decades of research examining whether the threat of a death sentence deters people from committing aggravated murders, there is no reliable evidence that the death penalty deters murder.
As a matter of racial justice, disability justice, and economic justice, we must act urgently to abolish the death penalty.
Source:
https://eji.org/issues/death-penalty/
Image Source:
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GETTY