"A case for repealing the death penalty," is the OpEd by David Floyd, a member of the Kentucky General Assembly, published in the Louisville Courier-Journal.
On Feb. 12, I held a press conference in the Kentucky Capitol to introduce House Bill 330, my bill to repeal the death penalty. Truthfully, I don’t believe that many people have thought deeply about capital punishment, and, I admit, I had insufficiently pondered it as well.
My initial opposition formed through a spiritual lens, so in 2007 I joined others in cosponsoring legislation to repeal the death penalty. But I was the only conservative legislator in a group of liberals.
And:
Conservatives want a government that will balance budgets, cut waste and eliminate programs that do not make fiscal sense.
Kentucky’s death penalty is a program that costs a lot while accomplishing little. We’ve spent well more than $100 million on the death penalty since 1976 — and executed three people. Having a death penalty is clearly wasting taxpayer dollars, while a penalty of life without the possibility of parole makes much better economic sense.
Earlier coverage from Kentucky begins at the link; also available, more from conservative opponents of the death penalty.
Comments