CPAC Death Penalty Debate Shows Conservative Opposition Growing | Newsmax.com
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Official: CPAC Death Penalty Debate Shows
Conservative Opposition Growing
Official: CPAC Death Penalty Debate Shows Conservative Opposition Growing | Newsmax.com
By Sandy Fitzgerald | Friday, 25 February 2022 12:38 PM
Many conservatives believe capital punishment should be stopped, and for the first time, the issue will be
debated during a breakaway session at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event taking
place in Florida this weekend.
Comment-Print AA.
"This shows there is an increased interest among conservative circles," Demetrius Minor, national manager
of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, told Newsmax in an interview before the breakout
session, which will begin at 4:15 p.m. Friday.
The debate will feature arguments from two conservative Republican leaders, Kansas attorney general
candidate Tony Mattivi and Utah County, Utah, attorney David Leavitt.
Minor, who will not be speaking during the debate, said that while conservatives have often in the past
backed the death penalty, he's learned in his conversations with fellow Republicans that concerns are
growing that putting an inmate to death is not the right solution for stopping crime for many reasons.
"Some are concerned that government is too big, and people are concerned about the possibility of an
innocent person being put to death," said Minor.
Others are concerned about the costs of imposing the death penalty and ask if the money that is used to
imprison people who have been sentenced to death could be better used in other ways, such as in law
enforcement or to help victims' families, he added.
Minor said for himself, as a conservative and pastor, he is also a pro-life advocate, and that means he
considers it a "moral contradiction" not to respect the right to life from birth to grave.
Other conservatives have concerns about the death penalty for fiscal reasons and because of the potential
expansion of Big Government involvement.
"The death penalty is costly and ineffective," he said. "The fees that are created during trial, litigation,
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/deathcpenalty-cpac-republicans-demetrius-minor/2022/02/25/id/1058528/[2/28/2022 10:44:51 AM]
Official: CPAC Death Penalty Debate Shows Conservative Opposition Growing | Newsmax.com
attorney fees, the jury, things of that nature, it's becoming highly ineffective in a fiscal sense."
And as far as Big Government is concerned, "I don't trust the government to give me the most up-to-date
COVID numbers and balance the budget," let alone to make decisions on life versus death issues, said
Minor.
The debate will take place for about an hour at the Orlando event, in Room C in the Rosen Shingle Creek
Resort, and Minor said the talk will show that either those attending will be concerned or opposed to the
points that will be made.
At the same time, it means that those willing to attend a breakout session are "intellectually willing to
expand their thought process and reevaluate a system that is not working," said Minor.
Meanwhile, Republicans are leading efforts in eight states to end the death penalty, with GOP-sponsored
bills included in the current legislative sessions in Utah, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Georgia, Kansas,
Pennsylvania, and Washington.
Minor said Ohio, considering its political climate, could prove to be an influential factor to other states
when it comes to ending the death penalty.
"We are optimistic that when repeal happens in Ohio, it will have a domino effect in other red states as
well," said Minor, noting that a Republican is a primary sponsor of companion bills that have been
presented.
He also pointed out that Republicans were key players in repeal efforts in Virginia, Colorado, and New
Hampshire where over the past three years, each state ended the death penalty with the help of
conservative Republicans. "It is starting to be a trend, seeing Republicans take the lead against the death
penalty," Minor told Newsmax.
"Conservatives are awakening to the fact that the death penalty does not align with things they care about,
such as limited government, fiscal responsibility, and a commitment to life," Minor had said in a press
release earlier this week. "I look forward to engaging my fellow conservatives during CPAC, because every
year we find more people who let us know that they too feel the death penalty does not align with their
conservative values."
Minor's group is a nationwide network of conservatives who question whether capital punishment is
consistent with conservative principles, and is a project of Equal Justice USA, a national and nonpartisan
organization working to transform the justice system.
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:51 AM]
