1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

Please legislate to end the death penalty at all levels. The U.S. has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. High incarceration does not deter crime. The U.S. is one of very few prosperous democracies that still executes human beings. Execution does not deter crime. It does not bring restitution to the victims of crime. But it destroys the humanity of the persons and authorities which carry it out. The moral horror of erroneous convictions and botched executions is an affront to justice, humanity, and even to God for those who believe. I ask you to speak out against the death penalty; to hold hearings on wrongful and botched executions; and to demand evidence-based comparative policy studies as the basis for criminal justice. Show America what the rest of the world knows: when you improve living conditions crime rates go down. When you do not operate a for-profit prison system and instead invest in housing, jobs, and education, crime and violence fall.