Ending the death penalty is a goal that crosses party lines. More and more conservative figures are coming out against capital punishment throughout the United States. Last year, the former Republican U.S. Representative Ron Paul declared his views have shifted over time because the death penalty is unfairly used against minorities and the poor.
And he's not the only one. Since the last execution in Oklahoma, many other conservatives have called to stop executions.
A few of the the main conservative arguments against the death penalty are:
- Cost: The death penalty is too expensive and costs the tax payers.
- Effectiveness: The death penalty is not effective deterrant against crime.
- Justice system: Many conservatives express skepticism about the way the criminal justice system handles capital punishment.
Here are a few incredible pieces featuring conservative perspectives on death penalty abolition:
- An unlikely conservative cause: abolish the death penalty (by Pema Levy in Newsweek)
- Oklahoma inmate’s botched execution: I don’t want to tell my son and daughter this is the best we can do with killers (by Dr. Keith Ablow on Fox News)
- Ron Paul comes out against capital punishment (by Dain Fitzgerald in Politix)
- The death penalty condemns us all (by Kathleen Parker in Washington Post)
- Conservatives and death penalty (by the Journal Star editorial board, Lincoln, Nebraska)
- I oversaw 36 executions. Even death penalty supporters can push for change (by former Virginia DA Mark Earley in The Guardian)
Are you a conservative who opposes the death penalty? Share your story with us at NCADP.tumblr.com.
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