In the past month, we’ve been confronted with our death penalty system’s dangers and flaws again. Rodricus Crawford was released from Louisiana’s death row in April and Ralph Daniel Wright Jr. from Florida’s death row just days ago because they had both been wrongly convicted and sentenced to die. Regrettably, this isn’t a rare occurrence. In fact, these exonerations bring the total number of wrongful capital convictions in the US since 1973 to 159, while others have been executed who might have been innocent.
The Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission concluded its year-long examination of the state’s capital punishment program, and their findings reflected what has been discovered in many other states. Oklahoma’s death penalty is dangerously flawed, has led to wrongful convictions, and it costs far more than life without parole.
Conservatives Concerned in the field
On April 19, I presented the conservative case against the death penalty to the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The room was packed, and I was approached by many attendees after the event who said that while they believe the Bible permits capital punishment’s use, our government runs it too poorly to retain. If you missed the event, you can watch it here.
The following evening, I traveled to Tulsa where I spoke to Oklahoma’s largest College Republican chapter – the University of Tulsa College Republicans. The room was near capacity, and many turned against the death penalty by the end of the presentation.
On April 22, I exhibited at the Young Americans for Liberty Atlanta Summit where I had the privilege of meeting hundreds of pro-liberty activists who oppose the death penalty and were interested in becoming involved.
Conservatives Concerned in the media
- While in Oklahoma, I was a guest on the Pat Campbell and the Trent England radio shows to discuss why Oklahoma conservatives should oppose the death penalty, and I also weighed in on a story for Reason Magazine about the Oklahoma death penalty commission’s findings.
- Friend of CCATDP, Brian Empric, and our current intern, Kelli Huck, both penned op-eds describing the many problems with Florida’s death penalty system.
- As the spate of executions proceeded in Arkansas, we were included in articles in the Washington Post, US News, and Reason Magazine.
- Our work to get Ivan Teleguz’s death sentence commuted was featured prominently in the New York Times, ABC News, and Christian News Network.
- CCATDP’s Heather Beaudoin was interviewed for a piece for the NC Register about the death penalty’s stark decline.
- Our past Charles Koch Intern, Katherine Dwyer, authored an article for the Idaho Statesman in which she presented the reasons why conservatives should oppose executing the severely mentally ill.
- I was interviewed for a segment on CBS 46 Atlanta, and the host and I systematically debunked many death penalty myths.
- We were also featured by a host of other media outlets, including the Libertarian Session, Craftsmanship, the Conversation, West Virginia Gazette, Columbia Tribune, and the Italian publication il Tascabile.
Call to action
Educate your friends and family members by sharing the CBS 46 segment in which TV anchor Ben Swann examines whether conservatives should support the death penalty. Click here to share it on Facebook!
