It’s time to end capital punishment in Montana
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
2 of 3 free articles.
Editor,
The Montana Green Party rejects and condemns capital punishment as a matter of conscience and principle. The death penalty fails to fulfill the American standards of justice in every logical, practical, and moral sense.
It is evidently clear that capital punishment does not deter crime, as can be seen by comparing crime rates in different jurisdictions and the statistics before and after death penalty laws have changed.
It is unacceptable as a method of retribution since it is not applied fairly or consistently. As a country, we cannot stand as a moral authority when we sanction the execution of minors and mentally handicapped persons.
Capital punishment has systematically and disproportionately affected the poor and people of color in a way that is completely antithetical to our American principles of equality and justice for all. It is a fact that many innocent people have been executed. Our state, in particular, has had serious errors in the handling and evaluation of evidence in criminal cases, which could easily lead to false convictions here.
We have the ability to ensure public safety with a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole. Finally, when all the costs of prosecuting and carrying out an execution are added up, it is significantly more expensive to prosecute and carry out a death sentence than the cost of keeping someone in prison for the rest of their life.
With our legal system so overburdened already and tax revenues insufficient for maintaining our public services, we cannot afford to waste our resources on the spectacle of revenge. We ended slavery in our country because we eventually came to the right answer on the moral question. One day our country will awaken to the right side of this moral question too. Please contact your legislators to let them know it is time to end the death penalty in Montana.
Cheryl Wolfe
Polson
