Tompkins County, NY Resolution Calling for Abolition of the Death Penalty
Type: Resolution
Status: Adopted on 2/15/05
Vote: In Favor - 13 Opposed - 1
Source File: http://www.tompkins-co.org/legislature/minutes/2-15-05.html
Text:
RESOLUTION NO. 24
RESOLUTION CALLING FOR ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
WHEREAS, in 1995, New York State reenacted the death penalty, and portions of New York's death penalty statute have been ruled unconstitutional in the state's courts, and there has been a de facto moratorium on the death penalty in New York State since June 2004 when the New York Appeals Court found in LaValle that the death penalty statute was so seriously flawed "...that under the present statute, the death penalty may not be imposed" (Judge George Bundy Smith), and
WHEREAS, the General Accounting Office of the United States Congress has found racial bias in the implementation of death penalty statutes, numerous studies have confirmed this bias, and no reputable sociological study has ever shown the death penalty to deter crime, and
WHEREAS, since 1973, more than 110 inmates nationwide have been released from death row because substantial evidence of their innocence was uncovered, and
WHEREAS, the death penalty has consistently been demonstrated to cost more than life without parole, and
WHEREAS, polls have repeatedly shown that a majority of New Yorkers support alternatives to the death penalty when given the choice, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Public Safety Committee, That the Tompkins County Legislature urges the Governor of New York State, the State Legislature, and New York's District Attorneys to abolish the death penalty in New York State,
RESOLVED, further, That the Tompkins County Legislature urges Congress and the President of the United States to pass resolutions ending federal executions as quickly as possible and sign them into law,
RESOLVED, further, That copies of this resolution shall be sent to the President of the United States, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the local members of Congress, the United States Senators from New York, the Governor of New York, the Speaker of the State Assembly, the Majority Leader of the State Senate and local State Senators, Assembly Members, and District Attorneys.