Time to Move Beyond the Death Penalty in New Hampshire

Time to Move Beyond the Death Penalty in New Hampshire

Wayne D. King

Like a lot of citizens, I have been all over the board on the death penalty during my life. It not because I’m indecisive, it’s because like most of us, I found it hard to get beyond the Old Testament admonition of “an eye for an eye” when I was hurting or outraged over an injustice. In my heart, I knew it was morally wrong for government to punish an individual for a heinous crime by committing the same act itself. But in truth, I simply chose not to think about that and to simply come down on the side of vengeance. 

But the years have gone by and while my eyesight may have dimmed, time and experience have sharpened my vision. It’s partly the number of people who have been proven to be innocent after being convicted of crimes by our judicial system - including some who have been shown to be innocent after the sentence has been carried out; It’s partly from my discomfort with a system that - while trying hard to be conscientious - is still not colorblind or egalitarian. It partly that I am more inclined toward the teachings of Jesus and Gandhi and King now than I am toward the Old Testament view of the world.   And while it seems cold to consider costs of capital punishment when a human life hangs in the balance, the simple truth is that in a just society it costs more to put someone to death than to simply throw away the key.

For the Senators who are faced with a vote for or against repeal of the death penalty I have only sympathy. I’ve been there. But the view from here is different. First because it is clear to me now from the outside that this is an issue of conscience that your constituents will respect.  They may come down in a different place from you but with very few exceptions - even among those who are actively involved on one side or the other in the legislative battle - they will not base their vote on your position on this issue.

I don’t often worry too much about where the United States is in relation to the rest of the world but on an issue of human rights - well, we should be second to none. Would we find it acceptable if - for example - segregation was still acceptable here when the rest of the developed world had moved beyond it? Would we allow the employment of children at long, dangerous and filthy work, even though the rest of the developed world had outlawed child labor? All the countries of Europe, plus Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Rwanda, and many more have put the death penalty behind them.  It’s time for New Hampshire and the USA to do the same. 

Yes, this is an issue of conscience, but for those who vote to repeal the death penalty you can be sure that in addition to a forgiving public, you will be on the side of the moral arc of history. The time has come for us to assume our rightful place of moral leadership on this issue and eliminate the death penalty. 

Wayne King is a recovering politician and the President of Moosewood Communications in Rumney, NH.