USA - Kansas. Conservatives speak out in support for House Bill 2129, which would abolish the death penalty

Kansas Conservatives speak out in support for House Bill 2129, which would abolish the death penalty, and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole. They spoke to community members what they believe are the biggest issues with the death penalty in Kansas. One being the amount of money wasted keeping the death penalty in force, when no one has been executed in Kansas since 1965. "In Kansas, we haven't actually executed anyone in 50 years. So we get all of the benefits of paying for capital cases, and if there were any benefits to actually executing anyone, we're not realizing those anyways," said Representative Bill Sutton, Republican. In a March 16 release issued by the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty (KCADP), Sutton said, "I am pro-life across the board. That is non-negotiable. By ending the death penalty, Kansas can take an important step toward promoting a culture of life, as well as end a costly and ineffective government program." Previously, Rep. Steven Becker, who introduced the bill in committee on Jan. 27, told NCR "What I want to accomplish with that bill is to replace that death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole, only this time, as I put it, this time we would really mean it." Former Republican State Rep. Anthony Brown said: "More Kansas conservatives like myself are recognizing that the death penalty is unnecessary and in many ways harmful to the state." "Because of this growing conservative support, red states like Kansas are considering ending the death penalty." Many anti-death-penalty speakers were at Tuesday's event, including two death row exonerees, who now use their experiences to teach. Ron Keine and Ray Krone were both falsely accused of a crime punishable by the death penalty, and were later found innocent. "Nine days from my execution, a police officer four states away was walking down the street," said Keine, who was convicted of murdering a University of New Mexico student in 1974. "He said he experienced a religious epiphany. He walked into the nearest church and he confessed to the crime I was on death row for." Krone, who works with Keine at the death-row survivor organization Witness to Innocence, spent 10 years in prison, including two years on death row, after found guilty of killing a Phoenix bartender in 1991. He was freed when DNA evidence proved he wasn't responsible for the woman's death. The U.S. Air Force veteran had been working for the U.S. Postal Service when arrested. Seven months later, he was on trial for murder. "I had nothing to worry about, of course, because I was innocent," Krone said. "I was convicted by that jury. I was sentenced to death because I declined to show remorse. How do you show remorse for something you didn't do?" They also argued the death penalty didn't serve as a deterrent to crime and that prosecution of capital cases cost an estimated $395,000 each as opposed to $98,000 for a noncapital case. The death penalty was reinstated in Kansas in 1994, but the state hasn’t executed anyone since 1965. Young conservatives also call for repealing the death penalty. Laura Peredo, president of Ravens Respect Life at Benedictine College, explained her rationale for opposing the death penalty: “No crime can change the fundamental truth that every human life possesses dignity from the moment of conception until natural death. I am one of a growing number of young people who support repealing the death penalty — a reform that demonstrates our unwavering commitment to safeguarding life at all stages, without exceptions.” Jill Craven, Secretary of the Fourth District of the Kansas Republican Party, said it’s time that Republicans take a stand on the death penalty consistent with party values. “I challenge conservatives to take a fresh look at all the details surrounding this issue — moral implications and fiscal impact — and again stand boldly for what is right,” said Craven. Gov. Sam Brownback, a pro-life Republican who would hold the veto pen if the House and Senate passed a repeal bill, didn't participate in the rally. He did say in an interview prior to the event that anti-abortion activists had increasingly been drawn into the capital punishment conversation. "You hear it connected," Brownback said. "You hear it said more frequently now."