(Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
By Susan Sarandon, Actress and Humanitarian
Playing Sister Helen Prejean in the film “Dead Man Walking” was my awakening to the deep injustice of the death penalty.
The more I learned about the death penalty, the more I knew I had to raise my voice against it.
Just a couple weeks ago, Glenn Ford, an African American man convicted by an all-white jury, was released from a Louisiana prison after serving 30 years on death row for a murder he did not commit.
The state stole 30 years from Glenn’s life and almost killed him because of its mistake.
18 states have abolished this barbaric practice, and Amnesty International’s State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinators are working with the movement in their respective states to put an end to the death penalty across the country. New Hampshire may be next. Please join me now to help make that happen.
Sign Amnesty’s petition calling for an end to the death penalty in New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire State Senate will soon vote on a bill that, when signed into law, would abolish the death penalty in the state.
Massive public pressure has helped end the death penalty in 18 states in recent years. You can help make New Hampshire next.
Massive public pressure has helped end the death penalty in 18 states in recent years. You can help make New Hampshire next.
The death penalty is not an effective deterrent to violent crime. Moreover, death penalty trials are deeply and tragically flawed, tainted by issues of poverty, racism and human error.
In fact, 144 people have been exonerated from death row based on evidence of their innocence. Others were executed before being able to prove their innocence.
And even in cases of clear guilt, how does taking a convicted murderer’s life make us anything other than killers ourselves?
I support Amnesty’s efforts to end this cruel, brutal and inhumane practice once and for all.
Raise your voice with me and together we will end the death penalty in New Hampshire.
You write, "Massive public pressure has helped end the death penalty in 18 states in recent years. You can help make New Hampshire next." That is non-sense and not true! In fact some of these 18 states never had a death penalty. And usually AI does not campaign in death penalty cases. On top of that – although AI calls itself "basic-democratic" – when it comes to campaigning in death penalty cases, London decides dictatorial and the local groups have to shut up! I would appreciate but do not expect any answer … as usual.
Please end the dealth penalty in new hampshire,the taking of another life even in the name of justice is inhumane.
There is always the chance that a death sentence will result in the state taking the life of an innocent person and we must be refuse to let this dreadful situation continue – in respectful memory of all those who been subjected to this dreadful fate. It is wrong to kill others in order to teach that killing is wrong.
When I consider my opposition to the Death Penalty, I think it is how sullied it makes me feel to be part of a society that condones it. I am reminded of Henry Thoreau's reaction to slavery. In "Walden" he wrote:
" . . . wherever a man goes, men will pursue and paw him with their dirty institutions, and, if they can, constrain him to belong to their desperate old-fellow society."
The Death Penalty is a dirty institution kept alive by desperate men clinging to an old society.
The death penalty is unfair to people of color…….and all people convicted of crimes. It discriminates against the poor, and has made quite a few mistakes……that killed innocent people & incarcerated many for decades. Stop the death penalty!!!
The death penalty is counterintuitive to our Judicial system. Are system was designed to give people an opportunity to atone for their actions and “correct” socially unacceptably actions. While recidivism is over 70%, condemning someone to death does not provide much opportunity to correct actions. For repeat offenders, a life sentence would suffice. The tax payers have to pay for all the trials, appeals, and execution cost. A study done in 2006 by the Department of Justice estimated the cost of an execution, in many cases exceeds the cost of life without the possibility of parole. In addition the death penalty is no more of a deterrent for crimes than traffic cameras for cars. Absolving the death penalty will free up many resources, less attorneys, less litigation, and of ton of case and procedural law will dissipate.
I feel at this moment in time the death penalty is very wrong. State by state the whole system needs to be evaluated,