Write A Letter to the Editor

letters to the editor LTEWe need YOU to help create some buzz about repealing the death penalty here in New Hampshire!

We’re working to ensure newspapers throughout the state feature letters to the editor from volunteers like you about why repeal is important. Your voice is vital to help show that people from all religious, philosophical, and political viewpoints support repeal.

Haven’t written a letter to the editor before? No problem! We can help you out with information to make sure you have the facts on your side and can even proofread your letter before you send it out if you’d like.

We’re looking for a couple of volunteers to sign up every week from now through the legislative session at the end of June. Please email Jamie Capach at JCapach@NoDeathPenaltyNH.org if you can help out.

SAMPLE TALKING POINTS:

    • The bill suspends death penalty until it can be ensured that it is not being imposed on innocent people. Over 150 people in the US have been released from death row because they were innocent. As long as the death penalty is an option, there is a real and unacceptable risk of executing an innocent person. The government should not be in the position of executing its citizens

    • 12 states have executions on hold or moratoriums on the death penalty. Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma have temporarily halted executions. Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana and North Carolina have a de facto moratorium on executions. Colorado, Oregon and Washington have formal moratoriums on executions. 36 states in total have either abolished the death penalty, have executions on hold or have not carried out an execution in at least 5 years.

    • The Fiscal Note states this bill will decrease state expenditures. The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council and Department of Justice all state that death penalty cases are more expensive to prosecute. The legal costs for death penalty cases is 3 to 5 times more than the cost of incarceration for life. NH has spent over $5 million on the Addison case alone. Our tax money could be better spent on victim services and cold cases.
    • The death penalty causes more harm. Guards, doctors, nurses and and prison wardens who are forced to execute prisoners often suffer PTSD for years. Some even commit suicide.

    • The death penalty is unfair. All over the US, statistics show that if you are poor and from a minority community, you are much more likely to receive the death sentence for the same crime than if you are white and wealthy.

    • There is no conclusive proof that the death penalty deters violent crime or makes our communities safer. Life in prison without parole is adequate punishment for murderers and it preserves public safety.

    • The drawn-out court cases and appeals elevates the story of the killer for years, sometimes decades, while it denies the real victims the healing and closure they need.

    • Killing another person for any reason is immoral. Why do we kill those who kill to show that killing is wrong?


For more in-depth treatment of the issues, visit our Issues page.

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