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5 Arguments Against the Death Penalty

5 Arguments Against the Death Penalty

As a teenager in the 1990s I was very excited about voting for the first time. I exercised my civic duty, and voted for a fringe party with a platform promising to have a national referendum on reviving the death penalty. The party lost, and no longer exists. Canada hasn’t used capitol punishment since 1962, and it was formally abolished in 1976. When I became a volunteer with the Death Row…

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Updates

Since the launch of our blog, there has been some progress. Some states have introduced new moratoriums, or abolished the death penalty. We hope the good news continues, and the outlier death penalty is recognized as outmoded, barbaric, and out of pace by all.

California

In March 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on executions. While the penalty is suspended it is not abolished.

M…

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The Virginia Death Penalty

The Virginia Death Penalty

Virginia, both in state and modern history, is a highly prolific executioner. In 1608 the Jamestown colony performed America’s first execution. From 1608 to 1976 Virginia executed 1277 people. From 1982 to its last execution in July 2017, Virginia executed 113 people.

Virginia has killed more prisoners than any other state, and in 1951 made history by executing 5 prisoners in one day.

The last…

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The Utah Death Penalty

The Utah Death Penalty

Not all death row prisoners are executed against their will. Some prisoners opt to drop all of their appeals and become “volunteers.”

One of the most infamous of these volunteers is Gary Gilmore of Utah. A notorious volunteer, he was executed by firing squad in 1977. His was the first execution after the United States Supreme Court reinstated the penalty after a brief repeal.

Gilmore was …

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The Texas Death Penalty

The Texas Death Penalty

Ask anybody to guess which US State executes the most people, and they will probably name Texas. That is true in modern history, but hasn’t always been the case.

Before 1976, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina all had more executions than Texas. New York state lead that time period with 1277 executions to Texas’s 755.

From 1982 to its last execution in July 2018, Texas…

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Tennessee

Nashville, the famed city of country music, is also the home of the state’s execution chamber.

The 2007 execution of Philip Workman resulted in the unexpected gift of free pizza for the homeless. For his last meal Workman asked that vegetarian pizza be donated to any homeless people near the prison, but the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution refused the request. In response local homeless…

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South Dakota

With a population under one million, South Dakota does not have a history of executing large numbers of prisoners.

The state abolished the penalty for the first time in 1915.

To highlight the Old West style of justice executions can represent the first person executed by the state of South Dakota was the man who killed Wild Bill Hickok in 1877.

From 1877 to 1913 the state executed 14 prisoners…

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South Carolina

After focusing on death penalty states with a governor moratorium on executions: Colorado, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington, we are returning to our run down of death penalty states. Next on our list is South Carolina.

South Carolina executed 43 people between 1985 and 2011. The method of execution is lethal injection, and the electric chair which was last used in 2008.

From 1608 to 1976 the…

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Washington State

Washington is a death penalty state, with a current governor moratorium.

In 2014 Governor Jay Inslee, a former supporter of the death penalty, declared a moratorium on executions stating that any death penalty cases advanced to his offices would receive a reprieve. The governor hoped his decision would open up a necessary dialogue on the issue.

Governor Inslee said of the penalty, “There are too…

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is a death penalty state with a current moratorium on executions.

From 1608 to 1976 the state executed 1040 prisoners. In the same time period only Virginia and New York State had more executions.

From 1976 to 1999 Pennsylvania executed 3 prisoners. All 3  were volunteers.

Today the death row population is 169 prisoners.

In 2015 Governor Tom Wolf announced a moratorium on the death…

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Oregon

While there is a current governor moratorium on executions, Oregon continues to be a death penalty state.

From 1608 to 1976 there were 122 executions in Oregon. The last two executions in the state were in 1996 and 1997.

Until 1903 executions were public.

Oregon has abolished the death penalty twice in state history by popular vote, first in 1914, and again in 1964.

There are currently 34…

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Colorado

Colorado, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. What do these four states have in common? All four are death penalty states, but in each state there is a governor moratorium on executions. Colorado As early as 1897 Colorado first abolished the death penalty. In 2009 a bill to abolish the death penalty failed by one vote. According to the Death Penalty Information Centre, the 2009 bill including…

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Oklahoma

In the modern era Oklahoma has executed almost as many prisoners as it has in its entire state history. From 1608 to 1976 there were 132 executions. From it’s first execution after reenactment in 1990 to 2015 Oklahoma executed  112 prisoners. After Texas and Virginia, Oklahoma ranks third for the most US executions. There were 52 executions under Governor Frank Keating, 40 executions under…

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Ohio

From 1608 to 1976 Ohio executed 438 prisoners. From 1999 to its last execution last year the Rust Belt state executed 55 prisoners. Nine innocent people have been released from the state’s death row. Ohio put a brief pause on executions after the painfully prolonged execution of  Dennis McGuire in 2014. 145 prisoners are currently condemned to death. From this July into 2023 Ohio has over two…

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North Carolina

Civil rights lawyer James Ferguson believes that, “When you really look at the evidence, it’s clear that race is influencing how we use the death penalty in North Carolina. This is a chance for the state’s highest court to declare, definitively, that racial bias in the death penalty is an urgent civil rights issue that cannot be swept under the rug.” Mr. Ferguson was arguing for re-sentencing in…

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a very unusual death penalty state. It has one prisoner on death row, and no death chamber. In 2008 Michael Addison was sentenced to death for the murder of police officer Michael Briggs. It was the first death sentence handed down in New Hampshire since 1959. From 1739 to 1939 the state executed 24 people. In 2000, Governor Jeanne Shaheen vetoed a bill to abolish the death…

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Advocacy

We recently moved to Word Press from tumblr. Please see our past advocacy posts on Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Montana. Every week we will feature a different death penalty state, and highlight any urgent actions. We are currently working our way from New Hampshire to Wyoming. tumblr