As states continue to move away from the death penalty as a whole, the federal government has been directed by Attorney General William Barr to resume capital punishment. This change is the first of its kind in over 17 years.
Capital punishment is racist, arbitrary, inhumane, and prone to error. According to the ACLU, more than 165 people have been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death since 1973. Racial biases infect the system at every level. Most people on death row have experienced poverty in their life leaving them without representation. A number of other inmates are mentally ill or have an intellectual disability. And some are innocent.
While public opinion increasingly opposes the death penalty, it’s time we demand the Department of Justice rescinds federal executions.
Tell AG Barr that as a country we are moving away from the death penalty as capital punishment continues to lose public support. Make your voice heard and demand the federal government follows suit. It’s time the DOJ revokes its plan to reinstate federal executions.
