To the editor:

Kansas Senate Bill 208 would abolish the death penalty in Kansas. Citing the high cost of death penalty cases vs. life-without-parole cases, around $450,000 is saved in the latter. As much sense as it makes to save dollars and save lives, there are other moral and legal arguments to justify abolishing the death penalty.

Globally, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the United States and Iraq are the leading practitioners of capital punishment. In point of fact, Iraq executed fewer than the U.S. Shamefully, we find ourselves lumped with some of the most repressive nations around the world.

As a deterrent, the death penalty has long been recognized for its lack of such. A 1995 survey of police chiefs placed it last among seven categories for reducing violent crimes. A 2006 FBI Uniform Crime Report shows the South has the highest murder rates and accounts for 80 percent of executions.

Since 1973, more than 120 people have been released from death row after being found not guilty from improved DNA testing. An average of five cases a year have occurred since 2000, an increase from three over the previous 20 years. Do we really need to risk executing an innocent man or woman when evolving DNA testing continues to improve?

Finally, the death penalty has historically been carried out against minorities, poor and undereducated who often receive less than adequate legal representation when fighting for their lives.

Alan “Ace” Hickey,
Lawrence