We can all listen to those who favor state executions, find common ground, and work to plant seeds of doubt. At least 381 homicide convictions have been overturned since 1963 because prosecutors concealed evidence of innocence or presented evidence they knew to be false. Volunteers told of helping attorneys in capital cases and appeals and how to find and train them was discussed. Another helpful sign was that at least a dozen law schools are starting projects like the one at Northwestern University whose students found evidence of a number of wrongful convictions. As one flyer stated, The death penalty is a horrifying lottery in which political, financial, community, and racial pressures play a more decisive role in sending a person to the death chamber than the actual crime itself.
Crime is no greater and often less where there are no death sentences.
Most now approve of that abolition. And a possible death sentence is not a deterrent. Not one of those executed said they thought of whether or not they might get the death penalty when committing their crime. The conference honored Illinois Governor George Ryan for declaring a moratorium on executions in his state during a thorough review of the process by which the state decides whether and whom to kill. He said, As governor, executions are my responsibility and I, in fact, throw the switch.