The New York Civil Liberties Union is opposed to capital punishment under any and all circumstances.
Capital punishment is a barbaric remnant of an uncivilized society.
It is immoral in principle, and unfair and discriminatory in practice. It assures the execution of some innocent people. As a remedy for crime, it has no purpose and no effect. We need not accept the views of those who would respond to violence with violence. The argument that the death penalty deters capital crimes more effectively than imprisonment is illusory.