Topics in the News: Death Penalty
JD Vance on Crime
: Jul 17, 2024
Back the Blue: protect police; don't reform police
In a third of the bills he's introduced and about a dozen more he's co-sponsored, Vance seeks tough criminal penalties for individuals and financial sanctions for communities that disagree with his positions on the border, policing, reproductive health
care, or protesters' free speech.Vance has co-sponsored Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn's Back the Blue Act of 2023, which would increase minimum and maximum sentences, up to life imprisonment or death, for assaulting or killing law enforcement
officers. Vance has also introduced resolutions expressing support for law enforcement and condemning the District of Columbia's Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022.
In his remarks, Vance blasted the D.C. policing
reform for making officers less safe by restricting the use of riot gear and the ability to chase violent offenders, and for "these ridiculous exhaustion requirements before they can use lethal force to protect themselves and people around them."
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Source: The Marshall Project on 2024 Veepstakes
Ron DeSantis on Crime
: Apr 20, 2023
No need for jury unanimity to impose capital punishment
SB450: Requiring a determination of a specified number of jurors, rather than jury unanimity, for a sentencing recommendation of death to the court.ACLU-Florida summary in opposition, 2/9: Ends the requirement for unanimous juries in
death penalty cases, and allows the imposition of death based on as few as 8 jurors. Allows judges to override a jury's recommendation of a life sentence and instead impose death. Florida will be one of only 2 states that impose death on people without
requiring a unanimous jury--a foolish idea for a state that already leads the nation in exonerations of those on death row.
Governor's press release in favor, 4/20: "Once a defendant in a capital case is found guilty by a unanimous jury,
one juror should not be able to veto a capital sentence," said Governor Ron DeSantis.
Legislative Outcome: Passed Senate 29-10-1 on Mar/30/23; passed House 80-30-9 on Apr/13/23; signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on Apr/20/23.
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Source: Pres. 2024 press release on Florida voting record SB 450
Donald Trump on Drugs
: Jul 26, 2022
FactCheck: Executing drug dealers doesn't save lives
[Trump said countries] "that don't have a drug problem are ones that institute a death penalty sentence for drug dealers." Is that true?There are 7 countries with "high application" of capital punishment for drug offenses, according to hri.global.
Do those 7 countries have the fewest drug problems? We'll compare deaths from drugs per million people, from WorldLifeExpectancy.com--there's no pattern:
- LOW
- 3 Singapore
- 4 Indonesia
- MEDIUM
- 11 Malaysia
- 13 Vietnam
- 13 China
-
20 Saudi Arabia
- HIGH
- 26 Iran
- 213 United States
- So highly applying capital punishment has not moved countries into low drug death rates--except for Singapore and Indonesia. But when Iran & China highly apply capital punishment for drugs,
they don't get low drug death rates. Many countries DO achieve low drug death rates WITHOUT capital punishment for drugs--like Italy, Kenya, Japan, and more. It's inaccurate that EVERY country with low drug deaths gets there via capital punishment.
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Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck: The Hill: 2024 Presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Crime
: Jul 2, 2019
Think of the VICTIMS and keep the death penalty
Proposition 62, Repeal of the Death Penalty, was on the Nov. 8, 2016, ballot in California as an initiated state statute. It was defeated.- A "yes" vote supported repealing the death penalty and making life without the possibility of parole the
maximum punishment for murder.
- A "no" vote opposed this measure repealing the death penalty.
- On March 13, 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order placing a moratorium on the death penalty. He said, "The intentional killing of another
person is wrong and as Governor, I will not oversee the execution of any individual. Our death penalty system has been, by all measures, a failure. It has provided no value as a deterrent."
- President Donald Trump (R) responded to Gov. Newsom's
executive order, saying, "Defying voters, the Governor of California will halt all death penalty executions of 737 stone cold killers. Friends and families of the always forgotten VICTIMS are not thrilled, and neither am I!"
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Source: Ballotpedia.org on California ballot measure voting records
Bernie Sanders on Crime
: Feb 4, 2016
Government should not be part of the death penalty
Q [to Clinton]: You said that capital punishment has a place in a very few federal cases?CLINTON: I do reserve it for particularly heinous crimes, like terrorism. I thought it was appropriate after a very thorough trial that Timothy McVeigh received
the death penalty for blowing up the Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
SANDERS: It's hard to imagine how people can bomb and kill 168 people in Oklahoma City, but this is what I believe: #1, too many innocent people, including minorities, African
Americans, have been executed when they were not guilty. We have to be very careful about making sure about that. But #2, of course there are barbaric acts out there. But, in a world of so much violence and killing, I just don't believe that government
itself should be part of the killing. So, when somebody commits any of these terrible crimes that we have seen, you lock them up, and you toss away the key. They're never going to get out. But, I just don't want to see government be part of killing.
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Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire
Donald Trump on Crime
: Sep 22, 2015
1989 full-page newspaper ads: "Bring Back the Death Penalty"
In April 1989, Trump saw an opportunity to speak his mind when a young white woman was raped and beaten while out for a jog in Central Park. As media reports shocked the city and the victim struggled for survival, police mounted an intense investigation
that ended with the apprehension of five black youths between the ages of 14 and 16. The five implicated themselves under interrogation, but would later recant, saying they had been pressured into making false statements.
Donald Trump bought full-page advertisements in the city's four big daily papers to proclaim BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!Although he avoided naming the accused in the jogger case,
Trump's reference to "roving bands of wild criminals" left no doubt about why he had paid for the ads. Newspaper accounts had described "wolf pack" gangs marauding in the park.
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Source: Never Enough, by Michael D'Antonio, p.192
Jill Stein on Crime
: Nov 1, 2012
Judicial system makes mistakes & kills innocent people
Q: Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?A: No. America's experience shows that capital punishment does not effectively stop crimes from being committed. And our judicial system makes mistakes, killing people who are innocent.
It's time to move beyond capital punishment, to abolish it, and to instead use life imprisonment as the most severe form of sentencing for those who cannot be trusted to live in common society.
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Source: Presidential Election 2012 PVS Political Courage Test
Jill Stein on Crime
: Dec 21, 2011
Death penalty is ineffective, and also barbaric
Q: What about capital punishment?A: It's barbaric. It's outlawed internationally in all but a few extremely repressive countries like Iran, China, and not many others. It's shameful that it continues to be performed. It's well established that mistakes
are made--yet half of our states practice pre-meditated state-sponsored murder. It's also known that it's not effective. So why is it done? Revenge & retribution? That's not what our justice system is supposed to be about. It's not an effective deterrent.
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Source: 2011 OnTheIssues interview with Jill Stein
Page last updated: Nov 02, 2024
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