Please call Rep. John Tilley, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and thank him for agreeing to give HB16 a hearing.
Kentucky’s General Assembly has passed the halfway mark and time is running out to get bills heard and passed in both chambers.
HB 16, which abolishes the death penalty for people with mental illness, is still in the House Judiciary Committee, but we have enough time to pass the bill. Chairman John Tilley (D-Christan and Trigg) has indicated that he will hear the bill in committee so it can be sent to the House floor for a vote. HB 16 now has 23 cosponsors, 15 Democrats and 8 Republicans, a really good mix of legislators. To see a complete list, select this link.
Please call 800-372-7181 and leave the following message for Rep. Tilley:
Chairman Tilley, thank you so much for agreeing to give HB 16 a hearing with a vote in your Judiciary committee. It is important that we do not use the death penalty to punish a severely mentally ill person. Please hold this hearing no later than March 10 so there is time to pass the bill before the session ends. Thank you.
When you call to leave Chairman Tilley a message, please take just another minute or two to leave a message for your state representative:
Please support HB 16 to prevent the execution of severely mentally ill persons.
If you do not know the name of your legislator, the person who answers the phone may be able to help you. But it is easier to use Project Vote Smartlink to fill in your home address, including your nine digit zip code to learn the names of your state representative and your state senator.
Please call as soon as possible, because we expect movement on this bill in the next two to three weeks. It is very important legislators hear from their constituents. Continued…
Al Bennett served in Kentucky’s General Assembly in 1976. He voted to reinstate the death penalty in December of that year. Since then he has changed his position and now speaks out against its use and urges others to do the same. Al is a member of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and has testified against it before members of Kentucky’s General Assembly.
KCADP is seeking additional testimonials. If you are willing to take the witness stand against the death penalty, contact staff@kcadp.org and our videographer will be in touch.
Despite what you might hear in the media and from some politicians, many family members of murder victims oppose the death penalty (KCADP has several such people on its board of directors). Highlights from testimonials in the Dallas Morning News’s Death Penalty Blog’s in “Victims families speak out against the death penalty” include
“The system didn’t seem fair to me.”–Robert Curley, whose 10-year-old son Jeffrey was kidnapped and murdered in 1997
“If we truly cared about victims, we would put all our knowledge and resources into saving them. Crime prevention, not retaliation, should be our number one goal.”–Renny Cushing, whose father was shot to death in front of his wife 22 years ago
The appeals process for inmates sentenced to death in Kentucky works differently than for others receiving lesser sentences upon conviction at trial.”The appeals process for anybody in that situation is that it goes directly to the state Supreme Court,” Yustas said, noting that the process bypasses the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
A defendant in a death penalty case has 30 days from the date a judge imposes a final sentence to file an appeal.
And in November, the Supreme Court of Kentucky suspended executions in the state until the state Department of Corrections revises its procedures for execution. Kentucky has used three drugs in lethal injections when executing an inmate.
The ruling, which pertained to three inmates slated for execution, also required that the state Corrections Department hold public hearings and publish details of the death penalty procedure.
Out of step with modern thinking
A 2006 University of Kentucky comparison study indicated that support for the death penalty has decreased over the years.
That study showed that support for the death penalty declined from 35.9 percent in 1989 to 30.8 percent in 1999, with that figure holding steady over the next seven years.
Also, preference for long-term sentences such as life without parole increased from 46 percent in 1989 to almost 68 percent in 2006.
Unnecessary
Kentucky has executed only three inmates since 1976, the most recent execution occurring in 2008. Two of the three inmates volunteered to be executed.
Bud Welch's daughter, Julie Marie, was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing. He thinks closure "nothing but a myth perpetuated by politicians and news media."
So says Bud Welch, who’s daughter, Julie Marie, was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing:
You legislators hear a lot about the phrase, “Victims needing closure.” I’m here to tell you, that is nothing but a myth perpetuated by politicians and news media. Six months after the bombing a poll taken in Oklahoma City of victims’ families and survivors showed that 85% wanted the death penalty for Tim McVeigh. Six years later that figure had dropped to nearly half, and now most of those who supported his execution came to believe it was a mistake. In other words, they didn’t feel any better after Tim McVeigh was taken from his cell and killed.
Why abolish the death penalty in Kentucky?
It's costly.
It's out of step with modern thinking.
It's risky.
It's unfair, broken, and arbitrary.
It's unnecessary.
Victims' families deserve better.
Why abolish the death penalty in Kentucky?