Statement of Concern
Statement
June 1, 2021
We, the undersigned, are scholars of democracy who have watched the recent deterioration of U.S. elections and liberal democracy with growing alarm. Specifically, we have watched with deep concern as Republican-led state legislatures across the country have in recent months proposed or implemented what we consider radical changes to core electoral procedures in response to unproven and intentionally destructive allegations of a stolen election. Collectively, these initiatives are transforming several states into political systems that no longer meet the minimum conditions for free and fair elections. Hence, our entire democracy is now at risk.
Decline death penalty and discovery innocence | American government, politics and policy cambridge.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cambridge.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Virginia may abolish the death penalty. There’s a racist history behind why a few jurisdictions use it most. Frank R. Baumgartner, Christian Caron A death penalty opponent demonstrates outside the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., on Jan. 15. (Bryan Woolston/Reuters) Virginia may be aboutto eliminate the death penalty, which would remove the state with the greatest historical use of the punishment from the execution business. Simultaneously, President Biden is the first sitting president to openly oppose capital punishment. Dozens of lawmakers have urged him to commute the death sentences of all those on federal death row.
Our recent research offers some useful insights for those considering whether Virginia or the federal government will retain their death penalty systems. Public opinion has shifted dramatically since the 1990s. Since 1973, 174 innocent men have been released from death row, which has shaken public confidence in the system. Today, fe