Capital punishment is an intolerable denial of civil liberties and is inconsistent with the fundamental values of our democratic system. We know innocent people are sent to death row, we know the toll on victims’ families from the death penalty is immense, and we know having it in law does not serve as a deterrent to violent crime.
That’s why the ACLU of Wyoming is working to end the death penalty in our state and is part of the Wyoming Campaign to End the Death Penalty in 2020.
The problems with the death penalty are well known and damning. The practice is irreparably biased; it delays justice for victims’ families and draws out their suffering; and it is ineffective in deterring crime. States without the death penalty have lower homicide rates than those that do. Law enforcement dollars would be better invested where they could actually protect the public — which the death penalty does not.
In the 2019 legislative session, a bill to repeal the death penalty drew far more support from state lawmakers than ever before. The bill had 13 co-sponsors in the House and five in the Senate, and had the support of leadership in both chambers. Ultimately, the bill passed in the House but failed with an 18-12 vote in the Senate. See how your legislators voted here.
We can do better in 2020. But we can’t do it alone. Take action today. Send your legislators a note asking them to support the repeal of the death penalty in 2020.
