House Crime Prevention Committee hears Death Penalty Moratorium Bill
- Contact Committee Members to Urge Support of HB 445
On Tuesday March 13 the House Crime Prevention & Public Safety Committee heard HB 445 sponsored by Rep. Bill Deeken (R-Jefferson City) which would establish a three year moratorium on executions while a study commission examines the death penalty system in our state.
Catholic teaching, as noted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (par. 2266 and 2267), supports non-lethal means of punishment because they are more in conformity with the dignity of the human person. As Catholics in the United States we are bound to reflect on the necessity and justice of capital punishment. In 2005 the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops initiated a Catholic Campaign to End the Death Penalty as a means to encourage Catholics to dialogue and educate themselves on capital punishment.
Reasons to Support HB 445—A Missouri Death Penalty Study & Execution Moratorium
- Mistakes have been made: Innocent lives hang in the balance. At least 123 people nationwide have been convicted, sentenced to death then exonerated, including three men in Missouri: Clarence Dexter, Eric Clemmons and Joe Amrine. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a series of editorials in 2000, contended two men, Larry Griffin and Roy Roberts, who were executed in Missouri had very strong claims of innocence. In 2005 St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce re-opened the investigation of Larry Griffin and the murder of Quintin Moss amid legitimate concerns about the case. Her report is expected in the near future.
- The death penalty is administered arbitrarily in Missouri. While more than 10,000 people were tragically murdered in Missouri (1978-1996), state county courts have imposed death in “just” 150 instances. Many individuals convicted of the most gruesome crimes in Missouri, have escaped a death sentence. More than a dozen of those executed in Missouri since 1989 had no prior convictions of violent crimes. A full third of all state death penalty cases have been reversed by higher courts for “serious error.”
- The death penalty in Missouri is reserved for impoverished individuals. Over 80-percent of those living under a death sentence in Missouri were too poor to afford their own attorney so courts appointed them one, unlike “dream teams” hired by the wealthy. Several of the attorneys for these inmates were disbarred for unethical behavior unrelated to the capital case, some abused alcohol and drugs while representing their clients, some had conflicts of interest and/no prior trial experience.
- The cost of Missouri’s death penalty is uncertain. Reports by officials and journalists across the USA have found the death penalty to be nearly 40-percent and up to five times more expensive than a life without parole sentence. No formal comparison has been made by Missouri officials on the cost of the death penalty in our state. A study would provide us with this information.
- A moratorium has broad public support. All people want a fair justice system. Surveys indicate majority support in principle for capital punishment, yet 60% of Missourians support a 3-year moratorium and study of the state’s death penalty (Center for Social Sciences and Public Policy Research, Missouri State University, 2004). In Missouri over 200 church groups, businesses and civic organizations have signed resolutions calling for a moratorium on executions and a study of our death penalty system.
ACTION:
- Contact the members of the Crime Prevention & Public Safety Committee (listed below) and urge them to vote “Do Pass” on HB 445 that establishes a moratorium on executions and a commission to study the death penalty system.
- Let the MCC know of any responses you receive from legislators.
MESSAGE
Legitimate concerns have been raised with our state’s application of the death penalty. At least three people in Missouri have been wrongly convicted, sentenced to death and then exonerated. The death penalty is administered arbitrarily in Missouri and often falls heavily on the poor and minorities. Our state needs both a moratorium AND a death penalty study. Without halting executions while a study is conducted, more tragic “mistakes” of people wrongly convicted and executed could occur.
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