skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Campaign Launches to End Death Penalty in Wyoming

play audio
Play

Thursday, May 2, 2019   

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Dozens of Wyoming residents, civic and faith leaders have launched the Wyoming Campaign to End the Death Penalty in the 2020 legislative session.

Sabrina King, director of campaigns for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming, says repealing the death penalty will help eliminate racial and jurisdictional bias, save taxpayers millions of dollars, and eliminate the risk of executing innocent people.

King says nationally, more than 150 people have been tried, convicted and sentenced to death, only to be later found not guilty or exonerated.

"The reality is we know that, no matter how good, our criminal justice system is imperfect,” she stresses. “The only way to ensure that no innocent people are ever executed is to get rid of the death penalty."

King says decades of data show that a disproportionate number of death penalty cases involve poor people and people of color, and notes that Washington state has found it unconstitutional.

She says in Wyoming, since prosecutors have discretion over cases, the law is frequently not applied evenly county by county.

Proponents of keeping the death penalty argue that making criminals pay the ultimate price is necessary for families to receive justice, and some believe it's an important deterrent.

King disagrees, and points out that states with the death penalty actually have higher murder rates than states that don't.

She says investments in preventive programs, including mental health and substance-abuse treatment, are better proven tactics for reducing crime.

King adds that in her experience, families involved in death penalty cases did not get the justice they deserved.

"What we see time and time again is families are not served by the death penalty,” she stresses. “These cases go on for years, the families quite frankly usually come out and say, 'We wish this hadn't been a death penalty case.'"

King says just having the law on the books ends up costing state taxpayers nearly $1 million a year, money that could be used for other priorities in the 2020 budget session.

A repeal bill in this year's session passed the House but was defeated 18 to 12 in the Senate.

As of March, 24 U.S. states have abolished the death penalty or have moratoriums in place.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021