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5 Arguments Against the Death Penalty

As a teenager in the 1990s I was very excited about voting for the first time. I exercised my civic duty, and voted for a fringe party with a platform promising to have a national referendum on reviving the death penalty. The party lost, and no longer exists. Canada hasn’t used capitol punishment since 1962, and it was formally abolished in 1976. When I became a volunteer with the Death Row…

The Virginia Death Penalty

Virginia, both in state and modern history, is a highly prolific executioner. In 1608 the Jamestown colony performed America’s first execution. From 1608 to 1976 Virginia executed 1277 people. From 1982 to its last execution in July 2017, Virginia executed 113 people.

Virginia has killed more prisoners than any other state, and in 1951 made history by executing 5 prisoners in one day.

The last…

The Utah Death Penalty

Not all death row prisoners are executed against their will. Some prisoners opt to drop all of their appeals and become “volunteers.”

One of the most infamous of these volunteers is Gary Gilmore of Utah. A notorious volunteer, he was executed by firing squad in 1977. His was the first execution after the United States Supreme Court reinstated the penalty after a brief repeal.

Gilmore was …

After focusing on death penalty states with a governor moratorium on executions: Colorado, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington, we are returning to our run down of death penalty states. Next on our list is South Carolina.

South Carolina executed 43 people between 1985 and 2011. The method of execution is lethal injection, and the electric chair which was last used in 2008.

From 1608 to 1976 the…

Washington is a death penalty state, with a current governor moratorium.

In 2014 Governor Jay Inslee, a former supporter of the death penalty, declared a moratorium on executions stating that any death penalty cases advanced to his offices would receive a reprieve. The governor hoped his decision would open up a necessary dialogue on the issue.

Governor Inslee said of the penalty, “There are too…

The state of Nevada has a macabre history of crafting creative methods of execution. With hanging no longer socially acceptable the state wanted to adopt the firing squad. In 1913 when enough volunteers couldn’t be rounded up for a squad, a crude automatic shooting machine was fashioned.  In 1924, the state pumped cyanide gas into a sleeping prisoner’s cell. After the gas chamber fell out of…

Death Penalty Advocacy: Nebraska

There has been tremendous call for the abolition of the death penalty in Nebraska. In 1979 the Nebraska Legislature voted to abolish the death penalty, and had the bill vetoed by then Governor Charley Thone. In 1999 the legislature wanted a moratorium on all executions until the conclusion of a death penalty fairness study. That was vetoed by Governor Mike Johanns. The struggle for Nebraska to…

Missouri has one of the most active death chambers in the United States.

From 1810 to 1965 the state executed 285 people. Since 1976 there have been 88 executions. The last execution was in 2017, for a prisoner who was 18 at the time of his crime. Missouri has executed several people for crimes they committed as teenagers. (The youngest was Frederick Lashley. He was put to death for a crime he committed as a 17-year-old.)

Kansas City and St. Louis are two of the most dangerous cities in the country (by violent crime rate). In 2015, with a population of just under 6 million, there were 502 murders in the state. For comparison: the country of Canada, with a population of 36 million, had 604 murders in 2015.

The current death row population is 24 prisoners.

For more information about the death penalty in Missouri visit Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty at http://www.madpmo.org/

This summer Governor Greitens stayed the execution of Marcellus Williams and appointed a special board to examine evidence in the case. Calls were heard from around the world to stop Williams’ execution after his DNA did not match the crime scene murder weapon. The governor said, “A sentence of death is the ultimate permanent punishment. To carry out the death penalty, the people of Missouri must have confidence in the judgement of guilt.”

So far Missouri has sentenced 4 people to death who were later freed and found to be innocent.

Let Governor Eric Greitens know how you feel about Missouri’s use of capital punishment.

Email

 https://governor.mo.gov/get-involved/contact-the-governors-office

Write

Office of Governor Eric Greitens P.O. Box 720 Jefferson City, MO 65102

Phone   

(573) 751-3222

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/EricGreitens/

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