Post by Anja Nieser on Oct 1, 2006 6:32:11 GMT -5
5 reasons to reject the death penalty----Minnesota gave it up a century
ago, and capital punishment still is wrong.
With a death sentence for Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. in North Dakota and the
death penalty on the ballot in Wisconsin, some are calling for a
reconsideration of Minnesota's stance on this issue. But Rodriguez's case
doesn't change the good reasons to keep the death penalty out of
Minnesota.
- The death penalty is morally wrong.
Leaders from Pope John Paul II to His Holiness the Dalai Lama have spoken
out against the death penalty. Most of the world (more than 120 countries)
has abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. In 2005, 94 % of
all state-sponsored executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and
the United States.
- The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment.
Courts across the country are halting lethal injection executions because
there is evidence that the procedure, generally performed by prison staff
with no medical training, has caused pain amounting to torture. South
Dakota's governor recently stopped lethal injections in that state because
of legal concerns. Professional associations for physicians, emergency
medical technicians and anesthesiologists have warned members to steer
clear because participation in executions violates professional ethics.
Reinstating the death penalty will only drag Minnesota courts into the
controversy.
- The death penalty is too expensive.
Experience in other states shows that one death penalty case may cost from
$1.2 million up to $23 million. A life imprisonment case costs about
$500,000, including imprisonment. One study showed that California could
save $90 million a year if it ended the death penalty. Minnesota should
preserve that sort of money for other budget priorities.
- We risk executing innocent people.
Since 1973, more than 120 prisoners have been released from death row in
the United States after they were proven innocent. One was Albert Burrell,
a death row inmate in Louisiana who was exonerated with help from
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights' Death Penalty Project.
- The death penalty is biased and unfair.
A United Nations expert appointed to study the death penalty worldwide
reported in 1997 that "[r]ace, ethnic origin and economic status appear to
be key determinants of who will, and who will not, receive a death
sentence" in the United States. 95 % of death row inmates are poor,
relying on court-appointed attorneys who often do not have the resources
or experience to handle complex death-penalty cases. Studies reveal that
blacks who kill white victims are more likely to be sentenced to death
than whites who kill black victims. Black defendants are 20 times more
likely to be imprisoned than are white defendants in Minnesota. We should
not carry that disparity into a death penalty system.
Minnesota's last execution was a botched hanging in 1906. 100 years later,
the death penalty is still wrong for Minnesota. Minnesota Advocates for
Human Rights opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and urges
Minnesotans to work to keep the death penalty out of our state.
(source: Minneapolis Star Tribune - Jennifer Prestholdt is deputy director
of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. Laura Young is a Wellstone legal
fellow at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights)
ago, and capital punishment still is wrong.
With a death sentence for Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. in North Dakota and the
death penalty on the ballot in Wisconsin, some are calling for a
reconsideration of Minnesota's stance on this issue. But Rodriguez's case
doesn't change the good reasons to keep the death penalty out of
Minnesota.
- The death penalty is morally wrong.
Leaders from Pope John Paul II to His Holiness the Dalai Lama have spoken
out against the death penalty. Most of the world (more than 120 countries)
has abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. In 2005, 94 % of
all state-sponsored executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and
the United States.
- The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment.
Courts across the country are halting lethal injection executions because
there is evidence that the procedure, generally performed by prison staff
with no medical training, has caused pain amounting to torture. South
Dakota's governor recently stopped lethal injections in that state because
of legal concerns. Professional associations for physicians, emergency
medical technicians and anesthesiologists have warned members to steer
clear because participation in executions violates professional ethics.
Reinstating the death penalty will only drag Minnesota courts into the
controversy.
- The death penalty is too expensive.
Experience in other states shows that one death penalty case may cost from
$1.2 million up to $23 million. A life imprisonment case costs about
$500,000, including imprisonment. One study showed that California could
save $90 million a year if it ended the death penalty. Minnesota should
preserve that sort of money for other budget priorities.
- We risk executing innocent people.
Since 1973, more than 120 prisoners have been released from death row in
the United States after they were proven innocent. One was Albert Burrell,
a death row inmate in Louisiana who was exonerated with help from
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights' Death Penalty Project.
- The death penalty is biased and unfair.
A United Nations expert appointed to study the death penalty worldwide
reported in 1997 that "[r]ace, ethnic origin and economic status appear to
be key determinants of who will, and who will not, receive a death
sentence" in the United States. 95 % of death row inmates are poor,
relying on court-appointed attorneys who often do not have the resources
or experience to handle complex death-penalty cases. Studies reveal that
blacks who kill white victims are more likely to be sentenced to death
than whites who kill black victims. Black defendants are 20 times more
likely to be imprisoned than are white defendants in Minnesota. We should
not carry that disparity into a death penalty system.
Minnesota's last execution was a botched hanging in 1906. 100 years later,
the death penalty is still wrong for Minnesota. Minnesota Advocates for
Human Rights opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and urges
Minnesotans to work to keep the death penalty out of our state.
(source: Minneapolis Star Tribune - Jennifer Prestholdt is deputy director
of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. Laura Young is a Wellstone legal
fellow at Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights)