Representative Adriano Espaillat Reintroduces the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act

NEW YORK, NY – Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) reintroduced the “Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2023,” to continue his efforts to oppose the death penalty at the federal level amid the heavy racial bias against those on death row, along with the fact that death sentences are disproportionately handed out if the victim is white but not if the victim is black.

“The racial bias in America’s criminal justice system—particular in the administration of capital punishment—is long documented. While we have made impactful changes, much work still remains in our efforts to reform a system that is plagued with racial bias. In the last two Congresses, I introduced the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act to abolish the federal death penalty, and the bill continues to garner tremendous support among my congressional colleagues, advocates, and scholars,” said Rep. Espaillat. “My bill would also ensure that anyone currently on federal death row would be resentenced. It is not the place of our government to decide who dies—especially in a country where 1 in 25 individuals (4%) sentenced to death are innocent. Black Americans make up over 41% of death row prisoners yet account for only 13.4% of the national population. Now, let that sink in. If we are going to make a difference, it starts now and continues until there’s true reform within our systems. Otherwise, this practice is effectively modern-day lynching by another name. Abolish the death penalty now.”

A 2020 study shows that defendants convicted of killing white victims were executed at a rate 17 times greater than those convicted of killing Black victims. In this way, the implementation of the death penalty is arbitrary and capricious. Moreover, people on death row are often found innocent and exonerated. A well-renowned study released by the National Academy of Sciences shows that approximately 1 in 25 individuals on death row are innocent. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 190 death row inmates in the United States have been exonerated over the past fifty years. However, regardless of their innocence, once a prisoner is executed by the State, there is no turning back. This uncomfortable truth has been a stain on America’s justice system for far too long, and it must come to an end.

“The death penalty forgets a core tenet of humanity – human beings change. Humans have an immense capacity to learn, to heal, and to grow. Executing someone denies this principle and gives no course for a human being to change. A person is not defined by the worst choice they made, but the death penalty only views someone’s life through this narrow lens. And what’s more—it undermines the core vision upon which this nation was founded,” Espaillat continues.

As Pope Francis said before a Joint Meeting of Congress in 2015:

The Golden Rule []reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development. This conviction has led me, from the beginning of my ministry, to advocate at different levels for the global abolition of the death penalty. I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes.

“A human life is an invaluable thing, and no government established on the values of life and liberty should use the theft of a person’s life as a punishment,” concludes Espaillat.

Specifically, Espaillat’s comprehensive bill to abolish the federal death penalty would:

1. Repeal the provision of capital punishment for criminal offenses under United States Federal Criminal Code, the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Controlled Substances Act, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
2. Resentence those currently on death row.
3. Prohibit the death sentence as a penalty for any pending or future violations of federal law.

During the 117^th Congress, the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act was endorsed by more than 230 groups including: the NAACP, ACLU, Amnesty International USA, National Action Network, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Innocence Project, National Black Justice Coalition, Southern Poverty Law Center, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Vera Institute of Justice, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Death Penalty Action, 8th Amendment Project, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Southern Center for Human Rights, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Equal Justice USA, Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, Grassroots Leadership, Drug Policy Alliance, among others.

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