A new Gallup poll on the death penalty is out, and most outlets are focused on the fact that support remains stable among Americans. One interesting tidbit that’s not being discussed, however, is the fact that along Republicans, a once-consistent supportive block of voters, support is down 9%.
This change in attitude comes on the heels of several high-profile botched death penalty cases. And it may be a sign that Republicans are starting to realize the absurdity of entrusting an entity they don’t trust with their money, with their lives.
In May of this year in Oklahoma, Clayton Lockett spent a full 10 minutes speaking and struggling after receiving lethal injection drugs state officials knew were untested and had reason to believe were faulty. He didn’t die until 43 minutes after the drugs began flowing, when he suffered a heart attack.
Just a Conservative Estimate
The screw-ups aren’t limited to how the state kills people, but extend to who officials choose to kill as well. Since 1976, more than 140 people have been freed from death row after being wrongfully convicted. New research published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that nearly four percent of U.S. capital punishment sentences are wrongful convictions. This means that roughly 120 of about 3,000 inmates on death row are innocent. Researchers call that a “conservative estimate.”
That’s part of why Marc Hyden, national coordinator for Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, changed his mind about the issue.
“I personally favored the death penalty until I took a closer look and realized it simply could not coexist with my conservative values,” Hyden said in a recent statement.
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty is a network of political and social conservatives who question the alignment of capital punishment with conservative principles and values.
“I have traveled across the country talking to thousands of conservatives over the last year,” Hyden said. “Many of them have changed their views and many more are voicing strong concerns, and the conservative media is now routinely covering the conservative case against the death penalty.”
Entwined with the ethical issues around life and death, for conservatives the question must also be whether government can be trusted with such an important decision. For conservatives, distrust of government decision making as generally corrupt, incompetent, or both leads to the inevitable conclusion that life and death must be decided outside the realm of the state.
