The CENTER publicly endorses the abolition of the Kansas death penalty. In that regard we ask that you encourage your state senator to help pass Senate Bill 375, to abolish Kansas’ death penalty, that may be scheduled for debate and a vote any time this week or next. To assist you with that important task we have copied below a detailed memo from our friends at the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty.

We ask this of you in keeping with one of the principles that guides our work, the concept of restorative justice–a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior.

–Bill Beachy

The Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee recently held hearings on and passed Senate Bill 375 to abolish the death penalty in Kansas! Solid testimony was given to support abolition: evidence of the many systemic problems with capital punishment, the moral dimension, lack of deterrence, impact on victims’ families and much more. That committee action resulted in the bill being referred to the full Senate for its consideration.

EVERY VOICE IN SUPPORT OF ABOLITION IS NEEDED! If those of us who want the death penalty ended are silent, our Senators will think we are ok with the death penalty.

Please contact your Senator TODAY and let him/her know that you support abolition. It can be as simple as “I support SB 375, abolition of the death penalty because….” and then list 1 or 2 reasons why.

To get your senator’s name and contact information you can call the Toll Free Legislative Hotline at 800-432-3924 and they will assist you with that information. (For those living in Topeka, the local number is 296-2149.)

Senator’s email addresses can be found at: http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-senate/searchSenate.do

• Not needed! Kansas can provide for the safety of its citizens under the life without parole provisions of the law.

• Impact on Victim Families! The death penalty does not help address the victim family’s needs for healing and closure. It just drags them through the system for years and can never restore the life of their loved one. And, given the cost of the death penalty, it means that those dollars can’t be used to meet victim family needs.

• Flawed system! In the 15 years that Kansas has had the death penalty, there have been numerous types of mistakes in capital cases: prosecutorial misconduct, jury misconduct, judicial errors, withheld evidence, and ineffective assistance of counsel. These mistakes have resulted in re-do’s or delays in the cases involved.

• Innocent and Sentenced to Death! Nationally for every 8.5 executions, there has been one person released from death row due to innocence. Additionally, there is strong evidence that several innocent persons have been executed!

• Cost! Kansas Legislative Post Audit’s own report indicates that a Kansas case taken to execution can cost up to 70% more than a case taken through decades of incarceration. The extra costs of the death penalty start at the moment a case is determined to potentially be capital, and aren’t just due to attorney costs or appeal costs.

• Too Risky! People who say the Kansas death penalty can be done more cheaply or quickly only raise the risk of mistakes in the system. Death penalty cases are complex, and their preparations and trials reflect that.

• Kansas’ Budget! The January 11 State of the State message revealed that Kansas needs to make about $400 million of additional budget cuts. The death penalty does not enhance public safety and it uses dollars that could be better spent on other vital state programs.

[Thanks to Donna Schneweis, Coordinator, and Christina Partain Cook, Organizer, of the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty for the content of most of this memo.]