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Oregon May Vote on Ending Death Penalty

Document Date: April 3, 2000
Affiliate: ACLU of Oregon

SALEM, OR -- If Gov. John Kitzhaber, former U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield, and others have their way this fall, Oregon will never again put people to death, the Associated Press reported.

According to the AP, Kitzhaber and Hatfield, two of Oregon's most popular political figures, have lent their names to an effort to ask voters to outlaw capital punishment in November. Hundreds of volunteer petition carriers have been out collecting signatures across the state in the past few weeks for what could be the only such ballot measure in the country.

Sean Smith of the Life for a Life campaign, which is pushing the measure, said the campaign got a big boost in February when Sister Helen Prejean of "Dead Man Walking" fame came to Oregon to help raise money and awareness about the effort to overturn the state's capital punishment law. At a Salem appearance, Kitzhaber introduced the outspoken nun, who chided him for refusing to block two executions in 1996 and 1997.

Prejean said Kitzhaber and other officials "end up with blood on their hands" by allowing capital punishment. "Her point was that I could have intervened, and I don't disagree with her on that," Kitzhaber said. "I have had to carry that law out on two occasions, and it was the hardest decision I have ever made as a public official."

But now, Kitzhaber says, "I have a right to try to change that law" by giving his support to those who want to outlaw capital punishment. "I simply don't believe that people who commit these heinous crimes are going to be deterred by the death penalty." Twenty-four convicted murderers currently are on death row in Oregon.

Oregon voters have gone back and forth on the issue over the years, but in the last vote, in 1984, they overwhelmingly supported reinstating capital punishment.

Hatfield, who has opposed the death penalty throughout his political career, believes it is time for Oregon to revisit the issue, especially in light of questions that have been raised about capital punishment in other states. Illinois Gov. George Ryan, for example, has imposed a moratorium on executions following the release of 13 death row inmates after questions were raised about whether they were wrongfully convicted.

Hatfield thinks the initiative measure aimed at Oregon's fall ballot will find favor with many voters. "No one really feels at ease with the death penalty. It's an unhappy occasion for everybody," Hatfield said. "I think people would vote for this measure if it truly means life in prison" for those convicted of murder. The measure includes a "true life" sentence provision.

But Steve Doell, head of Oregon Crime Victims United, said, "It doesn't make any difference what's going on in Illinois." There isn't anybody on Oregon's death row who's claiming they are innocent."

The ACLU is a firmly committed and active opponent of the death penalty.

Note: The ACLU's Execution Watch feature at archive.aclu.org/executionwatch.html monitors the number of U.S. executions since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.