Memorandum In Support Of A Repeal Of
The Death Penalty In New York State

Assembly Bill A2306 / Keith Wright
January 2003

While Working for Repeal, We Petition the Legislature to Declare a Moratorium on all Pending Death Penalty Cases

Interfaith IMPACT of New York State is a statewide advocacy organization representing Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, and Reform Jewish congregations and individuals. We address emerging public policies and their legislative implications from our shared faith traditions, which derive from the historic teachings of our faith in God and humankind, and which call upon all people to participate in the ongoing work of perfecting the world.

We speak for a great number of New Yorkers who cannot support a law that executes someone who may be innocent, has not been proven to deter crime, is racially biased, discriminates against the poor, and wastes needed tax dollars

Since capital punishment was reinstated in New York in 1995, there have
been 4,725 arrests for murder. Currently there are six men on death row, half of them sentenced in Suffolk County. (Statistics from Capital Defender's Office, 1995?2001.) With the advent of DNA testing and moratoriums declared in Illinois and Maryland, many people are questioning the validity of this law. Nationwide, over 100 people who were on death row have been proven innocent since new death penalty laws were passed in 1973.

In June of 2002 the New York City Council passed a resolution calling
for a statewide moratorium on executions. Moratorium resolutions also
have been passed in the cities and towns of Rochester, Buffalo, Mount
Vernon, and Greenburgh, and by many religious communities.

Maintaining a death penalty law has cost New York State more that $100 million since the statute was passed in 1995, much more than the cost of keeping felons in prison for life. With our state currently facing a $12 billion plus deficit, can we afford a law that takes funds away from vital education, health, and social services?

As a step toward the abolition of capital punishment, we join with New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty and other groups in pressing for a moratorium on executions in New York State.

Return to Current Issues