Durston for Congress

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Death Penalty

When we hear of the gruesome details of some murder cases, the immediate reaction that many people have is that death by lethal injection is too kind a fate for the murderer. On deeper consideration, though, we must acknowledge that killing is the problem, not the solution. The death penalty is not applied equitably in our country. People of color and the poor are much more likely to be sentenced to death than other people convicted of similar crimes. There is no convincing evidence to show that the death penalty is an effective deterrent against homicide. Finally, there are many documented cases in which people have been executed for crimes which they were later proved not to have committed. For these reasons, I oppose the death penalty.