New York Residents: Oppose a "Fix" of the New York Death Penalty (5/18/2003)
The New York legislature is now considering legislation to ""fix"" its death penalty statute, even though New York has not had a single execution since the death penalty was reinstated in 1995, but has spent $170 million trying to kill a handful of people. On June 24, 2004, the New York Court of Appeals struck down the New York death penalty statute as being unconstitutional. The New York Assembly is now considering legislation to ""fix"" the law, but many legislators believe New York would be better off without a death penalty. We need your help to encourage those members of the Assembly who want to do the right thing and get rid of the death penalty once and for all. Take Action! Urge your Assembly Member to vote against any measures to fix New York's death penalty and instead to support its removal.
 The death penalty is broken -- a quick fix makes no sense. Since reinstatement of the death penalty in 1995, New Yorkers have spent $170 million prosecuting a handful of cases, none of which will end in an execution. We could waste another 170 million dollars and find that the law still doesn't work. As other states have already found out, administration of the death penalty is fraught with error, prejudice, bigotry and political influence.
The death penalty is not a deterrent and may, in fact, lead to an increase in homicides. Every reputable academic study has proven that the death penalty does not provide any additional deterrent value beyond that of a lengthy prison sentence. FBI crime rates show that death penalty states have higher homicide rates than neighboring abolition states. This appears to be the case in New York as well. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1995, the homicide rate has risen significantly in Rochester, where prosecutors often seek the death penalty, and fallen dramatically in Manhattan, where a death sentence never has been sought.
Innocent people end up on death row. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, 114 people have been released from death rows across the country after they were found to be innocent. In New York, many people have been found to be innocent of serious crimes for which they were convicted. It is only a matter of time before an innocent person is sent to death row in New York. We, in New York State, do not want to risk the execution of an innocent person. TAKE ACTION! or Enter your 9 Digit Zip Code (zip + 4)
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