15 Reasons to Abolish the Death Penalty
by Nathaniel Batchelder
* Updated April 3, 2004 by Susan Sharp

1. Every western democracy and industrialized nation except the U.S.  and Japan have abolished the death penalty. In 2002, there were at least 1,526 executions in 31 countries around the world.  China, Iran and the United States were responsible for 81 percent of these known executions.  As of April 3, 2004, 117 countries around the world had abolished the death penalty by law or in practice. Only 80 countries still retain the death penalty. (source: Death Penalty Information Center).

2. The murder rate in the South increased (2.1%) while the murder rate in the Northeast decreased by almost 5%. The South has accounted for 82% of all executions since 1976; the Northeast accounted for less than 1%. (FBI Preliminary Uniform Crime Report 2002, June 16, 2003).  Ten of the twelve states without the death penalty have homicide rates below the national average, whereas half of the states with the death penalty have homicide rates above.  (source: New York Times, September 22, 2000).  For 2002, the homicide rate for states with the death penalty was 5.71, while the rate for non-death penalty states was 4.24/100,000.  (source: Death Penalty Information Center).

3. Canada's murder rate dropped after abolishing the death penalty. In 1975, the last year capital punishment was legal in Canada, the homicide rate was 3.09 per 100,000 in population. Since abolition, it has never been that high. By 1985, the rate was down to 2.78 per 100,000.  A cross-national study examining homicide rate changes one year, five years and maximum possible years before and after abolition of death penalty for selected countries indicates more decreases than increases following abolition.  (source:  Archer et al., 1982, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, volume 74).

4. The death penalty costs more than life imprisonment. Adding up all the costs, several states are finding that it costs taxpayers from $2 to $5 million per execution, including the special trial and appeals. Life in prison (40 years at $25,000 per year) costs $1 million.

5. Innocent people get executed. Some say, “Speed up the process,” to save time and money. Nationally, 113 people have been exonerated since 1973.  Seven Oklahoma prisoners have been freed from death row since 1982. Robert Miller was freed from death row when DNA evidence indicated another man had committed “his” crimes. Ron Williamson came within days of execution before he was exonerated by DNA evidence in 1999. A study of the years from 1900 to 1991, (In Spite of Innocence by Radelet, Bedau and Putnam), found that 416 persons were mistakenly convicted of potentially capital crimes. Of those, approximately one-third were sentenced to death, and 23 were actually executed. Researchers say that there are probably many more cases not yet identified.

6. The death penalty is a political football, perpetuating violent crime. As a symbol of "being tough on crime," the death penalty helps politicians get elected. Since it does not reduce violent crime, it wastes money in states that use it. States that have abolished the death penalty can redirect the money saved into programs for reducing violent crime. 

7. Racism #1: Minority defendants are more likely than white defendants to be sentenced to death for the same crimes. Research into sentencing patterns shows that in Georgia, for example, blacks are nearly three times as likely to be sentenced to death as whites charged in similar cases.  A study of Philadelphia’s death penalty cases indicate that the odds of receiving a death sentence are  nearly four times higher if the defendant is black (Death Penalty Information Center)

8. Racism #2: The death penalty punishes primarily those who kill whites. Of the more than 900 persons executed since 1973, 80.6% of the cases involved white victims. When examining interracial murders, only 6% of those executed were whites convicted of killing a black victim. (source:  Death Penalty Information Center).

9. Primarily the poor get executed. Over 99% of the people on death row are indigent, according to one U.S. Appeals Court judge. Persons of all income levels commit murder, but the low social status and lack of money among the poor make them the primary recipients of the death penalty.  Inadequate representation is a key issue. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg commented in 2001 that she had never seen a case come before the Court seeking a stay on the eve of execution that had been adequately represented. (source:  Associated Press, April 10, 2001).

10. Every major international human rights treaty expressly prohibits execution for crimes committed before the age of 18. At least 160 children have been sentenced to death in the U.S. since 1973. Since 1990, only eight countries have executed people for crimes they committed as children: China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the United States. The U.S. has executed more children than any of the other countries. (source: Death Penalty Information Center). 

11. Mentally ill are executed. The law forbids the execution of those who are mentally ill. However, experience shows that the determination of sanity is generally made after very limited contact with the accused, often by psychiatrists employed by the prosecution. Inevitably, some who are ill are declared "sane," and fit for execution. Charles Singleton, Arkansas. was executed January 6, 2004. Both defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed that Singleton suffers from serious mental illness and requires medication to prevent psychotic behavior. At issue in Singleton's case was whether the state could forcibly medicate Singleton in order to make him "sane" enough to execute. Singleton initially won appeals in lower courts; however, the full Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that he could be forcibly medicated and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. (source: Death Penalty Information Center).

12.  The clemency process is the final opportunity for reprieve in the system of capital punishment.  Since December 2002, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has recommended clemency four times.  All four men were executed despite the board’s recommendations to commute their sentences.  In the case of Hung Thanh Le, the board voted 4-0 to commute his sentence to life, but the governor chose to ignore the recommendation.

13. Inconsistent sentencing. Approximately 16,000 murders are committed in the U.S. each year. Approximately one out of 100 people convicted of murder is sentenced to death. Those sentenced to death are not necessarily those whose crimes are the worst. Rather, they tend to be the poor, people of color, and those whose victims are white. (source: Death Penalty Information Center).

14. Support for capital punishment is declining. When offered a range of sentencing options, respondents in several polls have shown a preference for life imprisonment rather than execution. According to a 2003 Gallup Poll, support for the death penalty dropped to 53% when people were offered the alternative sentence of life without parole (LWOP), with 44% supporting LWOP.  (source: Gallup Press Release, May 19, 2003).

15. Victims' families often oppose the death penalty. Bud Welch (whose daughter Julie was killed in the Murrah Building bombing), Andrew Rice (whose brother died in the WTC), and Johnnie Carter (whose 7 year old granddaughter Kathy was murdered) all openly oppose capital punishment.