Appalachian State University government and justice studies professor Matt Robinson and global studies major Amanda Moore spoke to the Boone Town Council about the death penalty Thursday as part of a regional education campaign.
Robinson published a report in March 2011 summarizing data and scientific studies related to the death penalty in North Carolina. He presented 5 key findings that he said support the abolishment of the death sentence in the state.
"Now is a good time to summarize these studies for policymakers - from the local level to the state level and beyond," said Robinson.
Capital punishment is extremely rare in North Carolina, Robinson said, noting a decline in death sentences since 2001 and that no executions have taken place since 2006.
Executions are no greater a deterrent to murder than alternative sanctions such as life without parole, he said. Murder rates are low despite reduced use of the death sentence, he noted.
"Yet we continue to pay for it and maintain the system," he added, stating that studies show that capital punishment costs more than life imprisonment.
Those sentenced with the death penalty are more likely to be black, male and poor, and a number of innocent people have been sentenced to death - 7 people have been freed from North Carolina's death row since 1973 for being wrongly convicted, the report found.
Moore summarized information on the use of the death sentence globally, noting the United States is among a small portion of countries still using the sanction.
"The United States still remains an anomaly," she said.
Robinson said he would be back in the future seeking action from the council on the subject of death penalty - likely in the form of a resolution.
Source: Wautauga Democrat, August 24, 2012
