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Death Penalty

Capital punishment in the United States is officially sanctioned by 38 of the 50 states, as well as by the federal government and the military. The overwhelming majority of executions are performed by the states; the federal government maintains the legal power to use capital punishment but does so relatively infrequently. Each state practicing capital punishment has different laws regarding its methods and crimes which qualify; no state may execute someone for a crime committed before the age of 18. The state of Texas has performed more executions than any other states since the resumption of the death penalty in 1976; prior to that date, Virginia had led the nation. Capital punishment is a controversial issue in the U.S. with many prominent organizations and individuals participating in the debate. Arguments for and against it are based on moral, practical, religious, and emotional grounds. Advocates of the death penalty argue that it deters crime, improves the community by making sure that convicted criminals do not find their way out onto the streets to offend again, and is cheaper than keeping convicted criminals in high security prison for the rest of their natural lives. Some opponents of the death penalty claim that "capital punishment cheapens human life and puts government on the same low moral level as criminals who have taken life." Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 there have been 1079 executions in the United States (as of June 6, 2007). There were 53 executions in 2006. 67% of capital convictions are eventually overturned, mainly on procedural grounds of incompetent legal counsel, police or prosecutors who suppressed evidence and judges who gave jurors the wrong instructions. Seven percent of those whose sentences were overturned between 1973 and 1995 have been acquitted. Ten percent were retried and re-sentenced to death.

Joseph Biden on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports death penalty
Description:	Biden authored the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 which expanded the federal death penalty to cover 60 offenses, including terrorist homicides, murder of federal law enforcement officials, large-scale drug trafficking, drive-by shootings resulting in death and car jackings resulting in death. In 1996, Biden voted against limiting appeals of those facing the death penalty.
Citations:

1.	The Candidates on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) his stance on the death penalty

Michael Bloomberg on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Opposes the death penalty
Description:	Bloomberg thinks the state should not be in a position where it could mistakingly kill someone.
Citations:

1.	Mike Bloomberg on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) his stance on the death penalty

Sam Brownback on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Opposes death penalty except in rare cases.
Description:	Brownback opposes the death penalty except in rare, extreme cases. He has said that the Constitution does not mandate or prohibit the use of the death penalty but that "if we're trying to establish a culture of life, it's difficult to have the state sponsoring executions."
Citations:

1.	The Candidates on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) his stance on the dp
2.	Q&A with Sen. Sam Brownback (10/9/07) I only support [capital punishment] in cases where we cannot protect the public from the individual. Osama bin Laden: When we catch him, we cannot protect the public from him. But outside of that, it is difficult to teach a culture of life and that you still use a death penalty. - Brownback

Hillary Clinton on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports the death penalty
Description:	Clinton has been a longtime advocate of the death penalty. Clinton cosponsored the Innocence Protection Act of 2003 which became law in 2004 as part of the Justice for All Act. The bill provides funding for post-conviction DNA testing and establishes a DNA testing process for individuals sentenced to the death penalty under federal law. As first lady, she lobbied for President Clinton's crime bill, which expanded the list of crimes subject to the federal death penalty.
Citations:

1.	The Candidates on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) her opinion on death penalty

Stephen Colbert on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports
Description:	On September 25, 2007, Stephen Colbert said "I think that the death penalty should be spread down to traffic violations, and the offenders should be broken up for their spare parts so I can live forever."
Citations:

Episode 3120 (09/25/2007) (10/19/07)
On the September 25, 2007 epsiode of the Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert said "You think the death penalty should be eliminated; I think that the death penalty should be spread down to traffic violations, and the offenders should be broken up for their spare parts so I can live forever. Maybe there's a middle ground. Isn't there some time that the death penalty is good? I mean, the Bible says, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.'"

John Cox on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Opposes
Description:	John Cox says that he is pro-life and that extends to a natural opposition of the death penalty. He feels that life in prison is worse than the death penalty in some regards.
Citations:

1.	John Cox on Capital Punishment (9/18/07) What are Republican Presidential Candidate John Cox's views on Capital Punishments. He answers on Daniel Myers live.

Christopher Dodd on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Capital punishment is used too widely, but there are certain circumstances where the death penalty is appropriate.
Description:	Dodd has said that capital punishment is used too widely, but there are certain circumstances where he "would not exclude the use of the death penalty." He says that he would not call for a moratorium on capital punishment. He has called for judicial reform and a closer look at the country's criminal justice system so that "we can do a better job of making decisions" about the death penalty.
Citations:

1.	The Candidates on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) Lots of candidates on the death penalty

John Edwards on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports death penalty
Description:	Edwards supports the death penalty, saying some crimes "deserve the ultimate penalty." He was a supporter of capital punishment reform while in the Senate and told the Associated Press in 2004 he believes that "we need reforms in the death penalty to ensure that defendants receive fair trials, with zealous and competent lawyers, and with full access to DNA testing."
Citations:

1.	The Candidates on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) His stance on the death penalty through the church's eyes.

Newt Gingrich on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports death penalty
Description:	Newt Gingrich has proposed increased death penalty provisions for drug dealers as a way to curb the flow of drugs into the U.S.
Citations:

1.	Gingrich Proposes Increased Death Penalties for Drug Dealers (7/24/07) Newt proposing death penalty for drug dealers

Rudolph Giuliani on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports death penalty
Description:	Giuliani favors the death penalty and has advocated for capital punishment for those who commit treason against the United States. He testified in convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui's death penalty trial and urged prosecutors to pursue the death penalty against American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh. Giuliani has said the death penalty is "justified and [an] effective deterrent for other people doing the same thing."
Citations:

1.	The Candidates on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) His view on the death penalty

Al Gore on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports the death penalty
Description:	Gore feels we should use the death penalty as a deterrence and use DNA techniques.
Citations:

1.	The Third Gore-Bush Presidential Debate (7/19/07) A transcript from the debate where Al Gore show support for the death penalty.
2.	Debate at Harlem's Apollo Theater (7/19/07) A debate where Gore expresses his pro death penalty stance.

Mike Huckabee on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports death penalty
Description:	Huckabee supports the death penalty. In his book, From Hope to Higher Ground, he described the death penalty as "a tough issue." He wrote that he believes "some crimes deserve it, but that does not mean I like it." He also described carrying out the death penalty as the worst part of his job as governor of Arkansas. In a December 2005 interview on PBS that he said that he has had to "carry out the death penalty more than any governor in the history of my state" and that "it is not something I'm proud of."
Citations:

1.	The Candidates on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) whats up with his stance on the death penalty

Dennis Kucinich on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Opposes death penalty
Description:	"The death penalty is not an effective deterrent," stated Kucinich. "Homicide rates in states with the death penalty are no lower than rates in abolitionist states. Of the twelve states without the death penalty, ten have murder rates below the national average." "I strongly believe that violent offenders must be severely punished and prevented from committing future crimes," continued Kucinich. "However, capital punishment is not the answer. The death penalty is not a deterrent, allows innocent people to be executed, and marginalizes the United States' in the fight for human rights in the international community."
Citations:

1.	Kucinich Introduces Bill to Abolish Federal Death Penalty (7/23/07) An article about the bill kucinich introduced to congress
2.	H.R. 2574 (7/23/07) The bill championed by Kucinich

John McCain on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports death penalty
Description:	McCain supports the death penalty for federal crimes. As senator from Arizona, he voted to prohibit the use of racial statistics in death penalty appeals and ban the death penalty for minors. He also supported legislation to allow the death penalty for acts of terrorism and has said he would consider further expansion of capital punishment laws for other crimes.
Citations:

1.	The Candidates on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) his stance on the death penalty among other candidates

Barack Obama on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Feels it does not deter crime but supports it in rare cases
Description:	Obama wrote that he thinks the death penalty "does little to deter crime." But he supports capital punishment in cases "so heinous, so beyond the pale, that the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage by meting out the ultimate punishment."
Citations:

1.	Meet Barack Obama (7/23/07) Talks about Barack's stance on death penalty
2.	Obama Forged Political Mettle In Illinois Capitol (10/4/07) Obama wrote in his recent memoir that he thinks the death penalty "does little to deter crime." But he supports capital punishment in cases "so heinous, so beyond the pale, that the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage by meting out the ultimate punishment."

Ron Paul on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Opposes death penalty
Description:	Ron Paul has publicly stated that he opposes the death penalty.
Citations:

1.	Ron Paul formally announces White House candidacy (9/12/07) "Paul breaks with the Republican Party by opposing the use of the death penalty as punishment for violent crimes."
2.	Ron Paul's many faces (9/12/07) "A presidential candidate who opposes the Iraq war, the Patriot Act, the death penalty, and the war on drugs, and one who understands the relationship between the U.S.-Middle East policy and al-Qaida - what more could the left ask for?"
3.	Ron Paul Interview 1988 (7/28/07) In an interview in 1988, Ron Paul states he would support the death penalty.
4.	Ron Paul Bio (7/23/07) All about Ron

Bill Richardson on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports death penalty and making death penalty appeals harder
Description:	Richardson supports the death penalty for heinous crimes. He does not feel the death penalty should be replaced with life imprisonment. Richardson also wants to make federal death penalty appeals harder and is against maintaining habeas corpus in death penalty appeals.
Citations:

1.	Bill Richardson Vote Match Responses (7/23/07) This are the results of a quiz taken by Richardson.

Mitt Romney on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports death penalty
Description:	Romney supports the death penalty for deadly acts of terrorism, killing sprees, murders involving torture and the killing of law enforcement authorities. As governor, he filed a bill to reinstate the death penalty in Massachusetts that required verifiable scientific evidence, such as DNA, in order to impose the death penalty. The bill also proposed measures to ensure proper representation for the indigent and allowed jurors who oppose the death penalty to participate in the guilt phase of a trial.
Citations:

1.	The Candidates on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) Many candidates stance on the death penalty

Fred Thompson on Death Penalty More on this candidate

Stance:	Supports the death penalty
Description:	Thompson has said that while "the use of DNA evidence to clear long-held prisoners from murder charges proves that we need to be more careful about handing out death sentences," scientific studies have shown "that the death penalty deters murders." Thompson voted for a 1996 bill to limit death penalty appeals. In a 1994 political questionnaire, Thompson indicated support for "impos[ing] the death penalty for certain federal crimes, including civil rights murders, rape and child molestation murders, death resulting from drive-by shootings or carjacking, and murder of court officers or federal witnesses."
Citations:

1.	The Candidates on the Death Penalty (7/23/07) His stance on the death penalty

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Death Penalty

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