Criminal Justice

The movement to end the death penalty

by Matt Kelley

Published October 05, 2008 @ 06:34PM PST

As opposition to capital punishment has increased around the world in recent years, an active and organized movement has developed to oppose the practice, citing worries about its effectiveness, fairness, and morality. Those seeking to end the death penalty argue that it represents the kind "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. They also argue that it doesn't deter crime, is more expensive than incarcerating a prisoner for life, is disproportionately applied to poor defendants, and presents the risk of executing an innocent person.

In the last decade, the movement has employed a range of strategies to end - and, as much as possible, - to limit - executions. Human rights activists around the world call on governments to outlaw the practice on moral grounds. In the United States, reformers have successfully argued before the Supreme Court in recent years that certain vulnerable groups should not be subjected to the death penalty.  For example, in 2002, the court ruled that executing the mentally retarded violated the "cruel and unusual punishment" clause in the eight amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  In 2005, the court ruled that the death penalty is " a disproportionate punishment for juveniles." In 2008, another Supreme Court decision overturned laws in six states allowing death sentences for defendants convicted of child rape. Also in 2008, the court rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the three-drug cocktail used in most lethal injections. The battle over lethal injections is sure to continue.

Opposition to the death penalty spans borders, ideologies, and religions. At the forefront of the movement internationally is Amnesty International, which works to abolish the death penalty around the world. In the United States, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty works with dozens of other groups, including local groups in almost all 36 death penalty states, to get rid of the practice. The Death Penalty Information Center monitors the issue around the world and conducts critical research on various aspects of the death penalty. The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Friends' Service Committee and the Catholic Church, among many other groups, also oppose the practice of capital punishment. Other criminal justice reform organizations - such as the Innocence Project - work to free innocent prisoners from death row and prison and support a moratorium on the death penalty due to the risk of executing an innocent person. Seventeen people have been proven innocent by DNA testing and exonerated after serving time on death row to date. (Full disclosure, I work as the Innocence Project's Online Communications Manager)

Comments

  1. Gary Nardo

    The Death Penalty SHOULD NEVER be abolished.  People who've committed Capital Murders willfully and maliciously should receive the ultimate punishment.  A World without people like Ted Bundy is ideal in my book.

    Posted by Gary Nardo on 11/10/2008 @ 10:26PM PST

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  2. trudi neergaard

    Many people have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. If you kill them it is impossible to wake them from the dead.
    I too believe that people who commit terrible crimes should not be allowed to live among us. They should be put away forever. It is barbaric for the government to kill someone with the motivation that it is wrong to kill somenone.
    Everyone outthere who believes in capital punishment are you going to do the dirty work or do you expect others to carry out this barbaric act?

    Posted by trudi neergaard on 11/11/2008 @ 03:17AM PST

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  3. kenny c.

    In 2008 I would think that the death penalty is somewhat outdated. Not to mention the innocents put to death, but how can we expect mercy, forgiveness, love from others for our mistakes or mental illnesses, and in the same breath want an eye for an eye tooth for a tooth justice? Kick out all the pot smokers and noviolent offenders we are paying for anyways with taxes and keep capital crime criminals locked up for life. Maybe they will change, find God in prison and help lesser offenders change....

    Posted by kenny c. on 11/27/2008 @ 09:14AM PST

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  4. kenny c.

    after all, we do believe in change right? If anyone takes my life I wish them life in prison or until they learn not to kill. One more thing its easy to pull the switch on a stranger but try it on a loved one.Think about it.

    Posted by kenny c. on 11/27/2008 @ 09:24AM PST

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  5. Daniel Fuller

    I am so sick of hearing about capital punishment being barbarick or cruel.If it is proven that you've killed someone you should die too in the same manner.Everyone who is talking about how this is cruel would change their min if their dearest loved one was taken away from them. I dont want my tax dollars spent giving murderers three hots and a cot. I think we should use it in other cases like child molestation or rape. If u take away capital punishment just watch and see the crime rate sky rocket.I tell you what if someone hurts my daughter or my wife the government is the least of there worries and the hell i send them to will seem like heaven compared to what ive dont to them.Yes innocent people may die but i belive in sacrificing a few to save a million.                   EYE FOR AN EYE

    Posted by Daniel Fuller on 12/12/2008 @ 12:13PM PST

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  6. J Arm

    Personally I think we should go back to the old west and put up the gallows behind the courthouse. If you murder someone in cold blood, you deserve to die. If you were wrongly convicted then theres DNA. Heres an idea...legalize hemp cultivation = rope = more jobs = "greener jobs" = help the environment. More rope, more jobs = more of Our hard earned tax money going to more beneficial causes like universal healthcare. As  Mr. Daniel Fuller posted  "EYE FOR AN EYE" 

    Posted by J Arm on 12/12/2008 @ 01:32PM PST

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  7. Allison Fonda

    an eye for an eye leaves the world blind. and how many of you really think the realease of death really is the ultimate punishment?

    Posted by Allison Fonda on 12/16/2008 @ 11:50AM PST

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  8. Libby Spalding

       Oh, Mz. Fonda! While looking through the hundreds of blogs posted on change.org, I've  come to the conclusion; the world is already blind." Animals Rights," blog says, riding horses exploits them for human pleasure. "Gay Rights," blog is fighting over the word, " marriage." "Humans Rights," blog wants everyone in America to fight the Genocide, all the while opposing war. So, for you; with all the answers. What should we do about the death penalty?  Lets turn all these killers, child molesters, and rapist, loose on America. In fact, in your town. You seem to have the, "one shoe fits all," answers. Maybe, you can tell them, "if, they would love one another, and be at peace with the earth;" They'll suddenly realize how right you are. Because they are all so open to suggestion, right? It's just laws they seem to have trouble with. So, lets give them a choice. Hmmm? "Not hurt innocent people?" Or "Death Penalty?" Oh, stupid me! They already made that dicision. Usually, I would have been the, "fence rider," and tried to find a resonable compromise for both sides. Although, in this case....WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOUR BRAIN?

    Posted by Libby Spalding on 12/20/2008 @ 09:08PM PST

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Matt Kelley Matt Kelley
Brooklyn, NY

Matt has worked and volunteered in various capacities in criminal justice reform for several years. When he's not blogging, he works as the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project. Views expressed here are Matt's, and don't represent the positions of the Innocence Project.

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