Goal: Abolish the death penalty – on a federal level – as a means of punishment in the United States. Do not risk the possibility of putting any innocent individuals to death.

The death penalty is an example of U.S. public policy that is in direct conflict with our commitment to human rights. Study after study indicates that this form of punishment is ineffective and does not serve to deter violent crime. In addition, it does not provide services or restitution for surviving families of crime victims.

The State of California alone could save an estimated $184 million per year by reducing the sentences of those on death row to life without parole. The additional costs are not the result of post-conviction appeals as many believe, but rather by the additional investigative and prosecutorial costs incurred during the trial phase. These valuable taxpayer dollars could be used for a variety of educational, prevention, rehabilitation and police services that could truly improve the safety of communities. Abolishing the death penalty should not be decided on the state level, but should be considered a basic human right and eliminated on a federal level.

Of greater concern is the moral concept of putting a wrongly convicted individual to death. As human beings, we are fallible and can never be 100% certain of a convicted criminal’s guilt. Over 130 wrongly convicted inmates have been released from death row – individuals that might have died unjustly at the hands of our justice system. Many sentenced to death have been convicted due to bias, the race of the victim or defendant, the mental health of the defendant or even geographic location of the crime .

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” is a quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. What would be the result of “a death for a death”?

Please sign the petition below and let’s get the death penalty abolished once and for all.

PETITION LETTER

Dear Attorney General Holder,

The debate over the abolition of the death penalty in the U.S. continues to rage on, while billions of additional dollars are spent each year on prosecution of capital cases, as opposed to life without parole cases. Were it possible to confirm that our society is safer as a result of this punitive measure or that it deterred additional crime, we might be able to justify use of this form of punishment. However, there is no substantive evidence to suggest that U.S. residents are any safer as a result of this measure.

The U.S. commitment to preserving human rights is compromised with each execution and is not uniformly administered from state to state. Therefore, the federal justice system must step in to assure that all men are not only created equal, but treated equally in our courts. It would also be impossible to assure that all those put to death are guilty beyond any doubt, since this action is irreversible. Given the over 130 individuals that have been wrongly placed on death row and released to lesser sentences, the fallibility of even the most thorough investigations and compelling evidence can not be considered 100% reliable.

Please abolish this brutal form of punishment and let all be judged consistently and fairly.

Sincerely,

[Your name goes here]

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