ProDPinNC: NAACP: Dead Wrong on Death Penalty

Monday, June 17, 2013

NAACP: Dead Wrong on Death Penalty

April, 2013

To: Governor Hickenlooper, Cabinet & staff
AG Suthers and staff
All Members General Assembly
Colorado District Attorneys
media throughout Colorado

RE: Rebuttal to: "Abolishing death penalty would bend the moral arc toward justice", By (the NAACP's) Benjamin Todd Jealous and Rosemary Harris Lytle, Denver Post, Posted April 9, 2013

From: Dudley Sharp

NAACP: Dead Wrong on Death Penalty

Dudley Sharp

This is a fairly typical anti death penalty op/ed, with the claims being either inaccurate, not proven or both.

I contend all anti death penalty positions are either false or that the pro death penalty positions are stronger.

Here is a brief rebuttal of some points within the NAACP's/Mr. Jealous' and Ms. Lytle's op/ed.

1) I am aware of no Colorado study which shows that the death penalty is more costly than life without parole (LWOP). When, properly, including a) the immense geriatric case cost of elderly prisoners serving LWOP and 2) the significant cost benefit of the death penalty, which allows for a plea bargain to LWOP, it is quite possibly that the death penalty may be less expensive. If Colorado had more responsible death penalty protocols, as does Virginia, Colorado would, certainly, save money over life without parole (LWOP) (1a). If Virginia can do it, so can Colorado. Colorado's death penalty cost claims are all over the map (1b).

Virginia executes within 7.1 years, on average. 3-5 years of state appeals, 3-5 years of federal appeals. No reason it can't be done.

2) Justice is the foundation of support for the death penalty, as for all other sanctions.

3) The 142 "innocents" released from death row is a blatant fraud, easily discovered by the most basic of fact checking (2), as has been done by the New York Times, as well as many others.

4) The evidence finds that the death penalty is a greater protector of innocent lives (3). Having the death penalty will spare more innocents. No death penalty will result in more innocent deaths.

5) This constant nonsense about blacks being 12% of the population and 43% of death row must stop. How about something relevant? Blacks commit about 50% of the murders (4). Mr. Jealous, Ms. Lytle, if you are both so concerned about population counts, why aren't you questioning why women don't make up 50% of death row and 50% of the prison population? Because it is not about population counts, but committing crimes. White murderers are twice as likely to be executed as are black murderers (4).

No one doubts that racism still exists and that it should be condemned. But, let's look at the realities on death row (4).

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Colorado Death Row Cases

To understand why Colorado has the death penalty, listen to the case descriptions provided at the recent hearings to consider death penalty repeal.

Link

http://coloradoga.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=21&clip_id=3336

go to

1 hr 56 min -- 2 hr 03 min testimony by Maisha Fields-Pollard

and then go to hour 7 and listen to the rest of the testimony.

It's all gut wrenching and the reason for the death penalty.

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(1) a) Saving Costs with The Death Penalty