Virginia Conservatives Call for Repeal of the Death Penalty
June 1, 2019
We are Virginia conservatives and Libertarians who have concluded
that capital punishment is not consistent with conservative principles
and values.
On paper it may make sense: people who commit heinous acts forfeit
their right to live. However, the death penalty in practice is not that
simple.
*» Some of us believe that small government and the death penalty
are incompatible given the high costs of capital punishment
compared to life in prison without the possibility of release.
*» Some of us do not want to risk the execution of an innocent person
by our imperfect criminal justice system. We know that over 160
innocent people were sentenced to death and later exonerated.
*» Some of us are disturbed by the impact of the long process of
mandatory death sentence appeals on the family members of
murder victims. A sentence of life in prison without parole offers
legal finality to murder victim family members far more quickly
than capital punishment.
“+ Some of us believe we should not continue to invest so much time
and tax money into the death penalty when there is no credible
evidence that it keeps us safer than the alternative of life in prison
without parole.
*» Some of us believe that the death penalty violates our values on
the sanctity of human life.
+ And for other reasons...
Death sentences are at an all-time low and public support for the
death penalty has dropped in favor of life in prison without parole.
More and more conservatives are questioning the death penalty and
finding it to be inconsistent with conservative principles.
Replacing the death penalty with permanent imprisonment will not
harm the safety of our fellow Virginians.
Permanent imprisonment is a harsh and just punishment for those
who commit heinous murders. But, unlike the death penalty, it is also
a punishment that enables the government to correct a wrongful
conviction.
We call on the Virginia General Assembly to abolish the death penalty
and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Virginia Conservatives Call for Repeal of the Death Penalty
June 1, 2019
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