Topics in the News: Death Penalty
Rick Santorum on Abortion
: Aug 11, 2011
No abortions even in cases of rape; one violence is enough
Q: In June, you said, "I believe that any doctor who performs an abortion should be criminally charged for doing so." You would allow no exceptions for cases of rape and incest?SANTORUM: You know, the US Supreme Court on a recent case said that a man
who committed rape could not be killed, could not be subject to the death penalty, yet the child conceived as a result of that rape could be. That to me sounds like a country that doesn't have its morals correct. That child did nothing wrong.
That child is an innocent victim. To be victimized twice would be a horrible thing. It is an innocent human life. It is genetically human from the moment of conception. And it is a human life. And we in America should be big enough to try to surround
ourselves and help women in those terrible situations who've been traumatized already. To put them through another trauma of an abortion I think is too much to ask. And so I would absolutely stand and say that one violence is enough.
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Source: Iowa Straw Poll 2011 GOP debate in Ames Iowa
Ron Paul on Crime
: Apr 19, 2011
Too many capital convictions have been proven errors
There was a time I simply stated that I supported the death penalty. Now my views are not so clearly defined. I do not support the federal death penalty, but constitutionally I cannot, as a federal official, interfere with the individual states that
impose it. After years spent in Washington, I have become more aware than ever of the government's ineptness and the likelihood of its making mistakes. I no longer trust the U.S. government to invoke and carry out a death sentence under any condition.
Too many convictions, not necessarily federal, have been found to be in error, but only after years of incarcerating innocent people who later were released on DNA evidence. Rich people when guilty are rarely found guilty and sentenced to death.
For me it's much easier just to eliminate the ultimate penalty and incarcerate the guilty for life--in case later evidence proves a mistaken conviction.
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Source: Liberty Defined, by Rep. Ron Paul, p. 32-33
Ron Paul on Crime
: Apr 19, 2011
Eliminate ultimate penalty & incarcerate for life
I do not support the federal death penalty. For me it's much easier just to eliminate the ultimate penalty and incarcerate the guilty for life--in case later evidence proves a mistaken conviction.
The cost of incarceration is likely less than it is for death penalty appeals drawn out not for years but for decades. This issue is not only about mistakes that governments make. It is about the power they wield.
If the government can legally kill, it can do just about anything else short of that. I no longer believe this government should be trusted with this power. The death penalty does have an effect on the society that endorses it.
The more civilized the society is, the more likely it has moved away from a casual or careless administration of the death penalty. The more authoritarian a government becomes, the greater is the number of executions.
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Source: Liberty Defined, by Rep. Ron Paul, p. 33-34
Rick Perry on Crime
: Nov 15, 2010
Death penalty for aggravated rape
The people are forced to check their view of what should be an appropriate punishment with the Supreme Court case of "Kennedy v. Louisiana", which involved a sentence of death for a man convicted of rape. This case demonstrates just how out of touch with
America the Court truly is.Patrick Kennedy was sentenced to death not just for rape, but for the rape of his 8-year-old stepdaughter. The little girl suffered massive trauma to her genital area. The injuries were so severe that she required emergency
invasive surgery to attempt to repair the damage.
Kennedy refused a plea deal that would have taken the death penalty off the table. He was then convicted under a 1995 statute that provided for the death penalty for anyone convicted of raping a child
under 12.
A jury of his peers sentenced him to death, and Kennedy appealed to the Supreme Court. Texas supported Louisiana. The Court ruled the law unconstitutional, citing the prohibition in the Eighth Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment.
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Source: Fed Up!, by Gov. Rick Perry, p. 99-100
Herman Cain on Tax Reform
: Jul 11, 2010
All tax increases are bad; but 2011 increase is punitive
All tax increases are bad, but there are some that are just plain unfair and punitive for no logical reason. The marriage penalty, the small business penalty, the retirement penalty, and the death penalty are in that category. Most people are unaware that
these automatic tax increases come about because of a sunset clause in the 2000 tax decrease legislation. - As of January 1, 2011 the standard deduction for married couples will no longer be double that for a single person.
- Small businesses wil
no longer be able to expense equipment purchases up to $250,000. The new limit will be $25,000 which is equivalent to a tax increase.
- Many retirees work and save all of their careers to be able to retire on dividends on their savings, stocks and bonds
These dividends will no longer be taxed at the long-term capital gains rate of 15%. They will now be taxed as ordinary income at a top bracket rate of 39.6%.
- The dreaded death tax will return to a 55% top rate on estates over $1 million.
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Source: Political column, THE New Voice, "Tax increases of 2011"
Hillary Clinton on Homeland Security
: Mar 25, 2008
Long-held pro-defense spending stance; not a move to center
As long as she has been in public life, Clinton has held many positions that are ordinarily associated with Republicans, supporting the death penalty, numerous free-trade agreements, and high defense spending, to name a few. She was also a strong
and early supporter of the Iraq war (though she became a critic as the war dragged on). Yet these positions are not only not taken as evidence that she is in fact a centrist, they are used as evidence of insincere political calculation.
She has often been characterized as MOVING to the center in preparation for a presidential run, even when her position on the issue in question has remained unchanged.For Clinton, long-held positions, like a hawkish approach to military affairs,
are taken as evidence of a shift. And the prevailing assumption is that when she breaks with some in her party (or even when she sticks with her party) it is for crass political purposes and not an outgrowth of genuine conviction.
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Source: Free Ride, by David Brock and Paul Waldman, p.134-135
Hillary Clinton on Crime
: Jan 1, 2008
Longtime advocate of death penalty, with restrictions
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.
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Source: Pew Forum on Religion and Politics 2008
Ron Paul on Crime
: Jan 1, 2008
Opposes death penalty at state and federal level
Paul opposes the death penalty and would vote against it in “any legislative body he was a member of,” according to campaign spokesman Jesse Benton.
In 2005, Paul praised the late Pope John Paul II for being an “eloquent and consistent advocate for an ethic of life, exemplified by his struggles against abortion, war, euthanasia and the death penalty.”
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Source: Pew Forum on Religion and Politics 2008
Joe Biden on Crime
: Nov 11, 2007
Biden Law of 1994 created several new capital offenses
Biden is credited for authoring several significant pieces of legislation in the area of federal law enforcement, including The Violent Crime Control & Law Enforcement Act of 1994, widely known as the Biden Law, which:- Banned the manufacture of 19
specific semiautomatic “assault weapons”
- Allocated more money to build prisons & set up bootcamps for delinquent minors
- Designated 50 new federal offenses, including gang membership, and created several new federal death penalty offenses, including
murders related to drug dealing, drive-by shooting murders, civil rights-related murders, murders of federal law enforcement officers, and death caused by acts of terrorism or weapons of mass destruction.
The law was passed shortly before the Oklahom
City bombing, and its provisions were applied to execute Timothy McVeigh. The legislation received bipartisan support, but was reviled by death penalty opponents and civil libertarians. Some believe it broke ground for the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.
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Source: The Contenders, by Laura Flanders, p.179
Barack Obama on Crime
: Oct 30, 2007
No extra penalty for gang association
Most people like the idea of a politician who votes for individual rights, but the fact that Obama could do so and still maintain the respect of law enforcement shows his political skills. Obama voted against a proposal to criminalize contact with a gang
for any convicts on probation or out on bail. In 2001, Obama opposed making gang activity eligible for the death penalty. “There’s a strong overlap between gang affiliation and young men of color....
I think it’s problematic for them to be singled out as more likely to receive the death penalty for carrying out certain acts than are others who do the same thing.“ In 1999, Obama opposed mandatory adult prosecution for youth who discharge a firearm nea
a school, declaring, ”There is really no proof or indication that automatic transfers and increased penalties and adult penalties for juvenile offenses have, in fact, proven to be more effective in reducing juvenile crime or cutting back on recidivism.“
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Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.146
Mitt Romney on Principles & Values
: Oct 21, 2007
Proud of his accomplishments in fighting the Liberal Lion
Q: [to Romney]: Sen. McCain suggests that you’re conning people--he has used that phrase--with your conversions on a number of issues.ROMNEY: When I ran against Ted Kennedy in 1994, that was a big uphill climb. But let me tell you, I was fighting for
issues like making sure that we would have the death penalty in our state, fighting to keep our taxes down. I was fighting against the Liberal Lion in perhaps the toughest state in America. And I’m pretty proud of what I was able to accomplish in that
race, but nothing compares to the pride I have with the work that I was able to do as a governor.
McCAIN: Gov. Romney, you’ve been spending the last year trying to fool people about your record. I don’t want you to start fooling them about mine.
I stand on my record as a conservative, and I don’t think you can fool the American people. They may not agree with me on a couple of issues, but they’ll know I’m telling the truth, and my steadfast positions on these issues for more than 20 years.
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Source: 2007 GOP primary debate in Orlando, Florida
Ron Paul on Crime
: Sep 27, 2007
Changed opinion to anti-death penalty due to many mistakes
Q: Is the death penalty is carried out justly?A: Over the years, I’ve held pretty rigid all my beliefs, but I’ve changed my opinion about the death penalty. For federal purposes, I no longer believe in the death penalty. I believe it has been issued
unjustly. If you’re rich, you get away with it; if you’re poor & you’re from the inner city, you’re more likely to be prosecuted & convicted. Today, with DNA evidence, there have been too many mistakes. So I am now opposed to the federal death penalty.
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Source: 2007 GOP Presidential Forum at Morgan State University
Mitt Romney on Education
: May 15, 2007
Supports English immersion & abstinence education
In the toughest of blue states I’ve had to stand up for life, and I have. I’ve had to stand up for traditional marriage, and I have. I stood to make sure that we could have English immersion in our schools, because I think kids should be taught in
English. I fought for the death penalty. I fought for abstinence education. I have the kind of leadership that will allow America to build upon the same kind of reputation and heritage that we got from our conservative founders in this party.
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Source: 2007 Republican Debate in South Carolina
Barack Obama on Crime
: Feb 10, 2007
Reformed death penalty by listening & compromising
I arrived in this capital city as a state Senator. It was here, in Springfield, where I saw all that is America converge--farmers and teachers, businessmen and laborers, all of them with a story to tell, all of them seeking a seat at the
table, all of them clamoring to be heard. I made lasting friendships here--friends that I see in the audience today. It was here we learned to disagree without being disagreeable--that it’s possible to compromise so long as you know those principles
that can never be compromised; and that so long as we’re willing to listen to each other, we can assume the best in people instead of the worst.
That’s why we were able to reform a death penalty system that was broken.
That’s why we were able to give health insurance to children in need. That’s why we made the tax system more fair and just for working families, and that’s why we passed ethics reforms that the cynics said could never, ever be passed.
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Source: Speech in Springfield, in Change We Can Believe In, p.194-5
Jon Huntsman on Crime
: Feb 6, 2007
Supports death penalty but not necessarily expanding it
The House said anyone convicted of murdering a child under 14 should be eligible for the death penalty. The bill has been criticized by death-penalty opponents, who want Utah to join other states in restricting or eliminating capital punishment.
Maryland, N.J. and Washington are considering eliminating the death penalty or limiting its use. In the Utah House, this legislation passed, 72-0. Gov. Jon Huntsman supports the death penalty but has said he's not ready to take a position on expanding it
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Source: Utah Valley Daily Herald, p. A8
Ron Paul on Crime
: Jan 22, 2007
Opposes the death penalty
He opposes the death penalty and abortion, and is strongly opposed to a military draft. He has voted against amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage and also against an amendment to prohibit flag-burning.
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Source: SourceWatch.org
Ron Paul on Homeland Security
: Jan 22, 2007
Criticizes use of war on terror to curtail civil liberties
He criticizes the United States’ intervention in Iraq and what he charges is the use of the war on terror to curtail civil liberties. He also endorses a non-interventionist foreign policy and defederalization
of the healthcare system, opposes the death penalty and abortion, and is strongly opposed to a military draft. He has also broken with his party by voting against the Patriot Act in 2001 and again in 2005. He is strongly opposed to a military draft.
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Source: SourceWatch.org
Sarah Palin on Crime
: Nov 7, 2006
If legislature passed death penalty law, I would sign it
I support adequate funding for a strong public safety presence in Alaska. Feeling safe in our communities is something we cannot accept any compromise on. This includes policing in all its forms, the court system, prosecutors and corrections.
If the legislature passed a death penalty law, I would sign it. We have a right to know that someone who rapes and murders a child or kills an innocent person in a drive by shooting will never be able to do that again.
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Source: Campaign website, www.palinforgovernor.com, “Issues”
Sarah Palin on Crime
: Nov 3, 2006
Strong public safety presence, via police, courts & prisons
PUBLIC SAFETY: I support adequate funding for a strong public safety presence in Alaska. Feeling safe in our communities is something we cannot accept any compromise on. This includes policing in all its forms, the court system, prosecutors and
corrections. If the legislature passed a death penalty law, I would sign it. We have a right to know that someone who rapes and murders a child or kills an innocent person in a drive by shooting will never be able to do that again.
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Source: Palin-Parnell campaign booklet: New Energy for Alaska
Sarah Palin on Crime
: Oct 22, 2006
Death penalty for adults who murder children
Q: Would you introduce--or, if introduced by a legislator, would you support--a bill to adopt the death penalty in Alaska? If yes, which crimes should it apply to?
A: If the Legislature were to pass a bill that established a death penalty on adults who murder children, I would sign it.
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Source: Anchorage Daily News: 2006 gubernatorial candidate profile
Barack Obama on Crime
: Oct 1, 2006
Some heinous crimes justify the ultimate punishment
While the evidence tells me that the death penalty does little to deter crime, I believe there are some crimes--mass murder, the rape and murder of a child--so heinous that the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage by
meting out the ultimate punishment. On the other hand, the way capital cases were tried in Illinois at the time was so rife with error, questionable police tactics, racial bias, and shoddy lawyering, that 13 death row inmates had been exonerated
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Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58
Barack Obama on Crime
: Oct 21, 2004
Death penalty should be enforced fairly and with caution
Q: [to Keyes]: Doesn’t your pro-life stance conflict with your support of the death penalty?KEYES: It doesn’t conflict at all. Abortion and capital punishment are at different level of moral concern. Abortion is intrinsically, objectively wrong and
sinful whereas capital punishment is a matter of judgment.
OBAMA: I think that the death penalty is appropriate in certain circumstances. There are especially heinous crimes: terrorism, the harm of children.
Obviously, we’ve had some problems in this state in the application of the death penalty. That’s why a moratorium was put in place and that’s why I was so proud to be one of the leaders in overhauling a death penalty system that was broken.
We became the first in the nation requiring the video taping of capital interrogations and confessions. We have to have this ultimate sanction in certain circumstances where the whole community says “this is beyond the pale.”
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Source: Illinois Senate Debate #3: Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes
Barack Obama on Crime
: Oct 21, 2004
Death penalty should not discriminate by gang membership
Q: On mandatory death sentences for gang members who kill cops you voted no. Would you explain?OBAMA: [The proposed legislation] was entirely unnecessary and unconstitutional. It suggested that
I could kill a police officer but because I’m not a gang member, I would be treated differently. I think both cases should be death penalty eligible.
KEYES:
Senator Obama does not think it superfluous to have hate crimes legislation that adds a special animus to certain acts of violence already penalized against the law.
But in order to convey against those certain acts a special category of deviation from society. The law provides a special message aimed at discouraging things considered especially harmful to a society and a community.
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Source: Illinois Senate Debate #3: Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes
Barack Obama on Principles & Values
: Oct 21, 2004
Seek common ground, not a moral crusade
I came to Chicago 20 years ago to help communities that had been damaged by steel plants that had closed. I’ve worked 20 years to bring jobs to the unemployed. After law school, I worked as a civil rights attorney, helping to bring affordable housing and
for the last 8 years I’ve worked as a state Senator. I’ve provided tax relief to those who needed it, health care to those who didn’t have it and helped to reform a death penalty system badly in need of repair. I accomplished these things by setting
partisanship aside and seeking common ground. That’s what you, the people of Illinois have told me you want, someone who can reach out and find practical solutions. Now my opponent has a different track record. He is on a moral crusade and labels those
who disagree with him as sinners. I don’t think that kind of talk is helpful. I think government works best when we focus on practical solutions for affordable health care and jobs, and working together, I’m certain we can accomplish all of these tasks.
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Source: Illinois Senate Debate #3: Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes
Barack Obama on Crime
: Jul 15, 2004
Battles legislatively against the death penalty
Obama’s most significant contribution has been his legislative battles against the death penalty, and against in the criminal justice system.
In Illinois, it’s been a series of shocking exonerations of innocent people who are on death row.
He was involved very intimately in drafting and passing legislation that requires the video taping of police interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.
And he also was one of the co-sponsors of this very comprehensive reform or the death penalty system in Illinois, which many people say may trigger the retreat on the death penalty in many other states.
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Source: Salim Muwakkil and Amy Goodman, Democracy Now
Mitt Romney on Crime
: Sep 17, 2002
Supports death penalty in heinous murders
Romney pushes for a death penalty law for murderers convicted of heinous first-degree homicides. “The ultimate penalty should be available in Massachusetts for criminals who commit the most egregious murders,” Romney said.
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Source: Campaign web site, www.romney2002.com, “Issues”
Mitt Romney on Crime
: Mar 21, 2002
Favored mandatory sentencing and three strikes
- Supported death penalty
- Wanted to abolish parole, limit probation, and end furloughs and release programs for violent or repeat offenders
-
Favored mandatory sentencing and three strikes and you’re out
- Supported restrictions on plea bargaining
- His crime prevention efforts also focused on instilling family values.
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Source: Boston Globe review of 1994 canpaign issues
Mitt Romney on Crime
: Oct 24, 1994
Supports death penalty and “three strikes” sentencing
Romney’s crime platform contains little that is radical or new - pro-death penalty, tough sentencing for violent offenders, support for “three strikes,” and support for judges who are tough on crime.
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Source: Anthony Flint in Boston Globe
Buddy Roemer on Crime
: Feb 3, 1982
Death penalty for presidential assassination
Roemer co-sponsored H.R.5448, a bill to establish procedures for imposition of the death penalty for presidential assassination.- Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, when the defendant is found guilty to an offense punishable by
death.
- Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, but permits information to be excluded by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury.
- Specifies mitigating
factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Conditions imposition of the death penalty on a unanimous finding by the jury that
aggravating factors sufficiently outweigh any mitigating factors.
- Directs the court to impose the death penalty upon a finding that such sentence is justified.
- Establishes procedures for appeal from the death sentence.
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Source: Bill co-sponsorship records from Library of Congress
Page last updated: Nov 13, 2011