The previous 3 Attorney Generals of the United States withdrew authority for seeking the death penalty from local US Attorneys and directed those prosecutors to seek the death penalty in various cases. One reason for directing that the death penalty be sought was politics, an attempt to "federalize" the death penalty, a desire to hold death penalty trials in places in which execution was not permitted under state law. Now that there is a new Attorney General, and a new philosophy in the Department of Justice about what cases are appropriate for execution, it is essential that each of the pending 49 federal death penalty cases be reviewed, and if the Attorney General is not satisfied that death is appropriate, that the Attorney General direct federal prosecutors not to seek the death penalty. This may save as many as 49 lives. This will not result in the release of the accused, but it limits the maximum penalty to life without parole.
The previous 3 Attorney Generals of the United States withdrew authority for seeking the death penalty from local US Attorneys and directed those prosecutors to seek the death penalty in various cases. One reason for directing that the death penalty be sought was politics, an attempt to "federalize" the death penalty, a desire to hold death penalty trials in places in which execution was not permitted under state law. Now that there is a new Attorney General, and a new philosophy in the Department of Justice about what cases are appropriate for execution, it is essential that each of the pending 49 federal death penalty cases be reviewed, and if the Attorney General is not satisfied that death is appropriate, that the Attorney General direct federal prosecutors not to seek the death penalty. This may save as many as 49 lives. This will not result in the release of the accused, but it limits the maximum penalty to life without parole.
We the undersigned request that you review all pending federal death penalty cases and that you forbid prosecutors from seeking executions if the cases do not meet your criteria.
The previous 3 Attorney Generals of the United States withdrew authority for seeking the death penalty from local US Attorneys and directed those prosecutors to seek the death penalty in various cases. One reason for directing that the death penalty be sought was politics, an attempt to "federalize" the death penalty, a desire to hold death penalty trials in places in which execution was not permitted under state law. Now that you are the new Attorney General, and there is a new philosophy in the Department of Justice about what federal cases are appropriate for execution, it is essential that each of the pending 49 federal death penalty cases be reviewed. If you, as Attorney General, are not satisfied that death is appropriate, you should direct federal prosecutors not to seek the death penalty.
This may save as many as 49 lives. This will not result in the release of the accused, but it limits the maximum penalty to life without parole.
We urge you to order a review of each of the pending, federal death penalty cases and to forbid prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in all of the cases that do not meet the appropriate criteria for that extreme penalty.
We signed the "Direct federal prosecutors not to seek the death penalty" petition!
# 346:
3:33 am PDT, Jul 24,Vanessa Brake, Germany
# 345:
2:23 pm PDT, Jul 21,Daniel Wende, Germany
Death penalty is an act of inhumanity. I love your land. But in this point the state acting like Iran ... That is not good for the image of the USA. Pubishment yes, death penalty NO!
Greetings
# 344:
8:56 am PDT, Jun 23,Diana Becker, Germany
# 343:
2:06 pm PDT, Jun 20,Babette Irgmaier, Germany
# 342:
8:41 am PDT, May 11,Brigitte Schmidt, Germany
# 341:
1:02 pm PDT, May 4,Christian Höckmann, Germany
"Mine is the revenge!" said the Lord. Jesus takes away that burden from us. For those, who believe in Him, revenge is not needed any more. We are free.
# 340:
12:34 pm PDT, Apr 29,Cheryl McIver, Georgia
I don't believe anyone has the right to take a life regardless of the circumstance. The death penalty is a man made law and we know how they can be subject to flaws.
# 339:
11:50 am PDT, Apr 26,William Merline, Colorado
# 338:
12:34 pm PDT, Mar 31,Dalia Hettfield, California
# 337:
7:51 am PDT, Mar 30,Diana Oleskevich, Missouri
Death penalty sentencing is too expensive, and killing someone to show that killing is wrong just doesn't make sense.
# 336:
12:39 pm PDT, Mar 28,Debbie Harris, Canada
# 335:
2:57 am PDT, Mar 28,Maggie F Amaya, Texas
# 334:
7:19 pm PDT, Mar 22,Tammy Campbell, Florida
# 333:
11:12 pm PDT, Mar 20,Janis Ciofalo, Pennsylvania
Approxiametely 15 States have removed the death penality because our justice system is a disgrace. As long as our Justice System is in the state it is in, they must remove the death penalty!
# 332:
6:31 am PDT, Mar 20,Steven John Willlett, United Kingdom
The death penalty is more repressive than life without parole. Older people grow out of violence on the whole. Britain gives parole to most prisoners beofre they grow old. The death penalty has no useful purpose in a civlilized society
# 331:
6:39 am PDT, Mar 19,Paige Clark, Michigan
It is time for the US to join the rest of the civilized world and abolish the death penalty - both at the state and federal levels.
# 330:
2:33 am PDT, Mar 19,Sabine Brandt, Germany
Abolish the Death Penalty, the system is flawed to the fullest and it is NOT about justice but about skin color and money.
# 329:
4:01 pm PDT, Mar 18,Emma Wilkes, United Kingdom
An administration wishing to bring hope to America needs to eschew the failed ways of the past. The death penalty needs to be abolished NOW!!
# 328:
3:51 pm PDT, Mar 18,Paul Ames, United Kingdom
The death penalty has no place in modern society. It is just a relic of when then human race didn't know better. Enlightened administrations have moved on and left the death penalty in the trashcan of history. Now it is time for the US...at all levels..to become so enlightened.
# 327:
3:55 pm PDT, Mar 17,Rebecca Curtis, Virginia
So many things are dictated by the current political pull it truly is scary. I think life and death are the one thing that politicians need to stay out of. We are supposed to be a free, moral country and it is time we started acting that way!
# 326:
3:52 pm PDT, Mar 17,Tyge Wellman, Arizona
Kill Bush, Cheney, Rice and the whole gang first. They are the real terrorists in our country!
# 325:
1:05 pm PDT, Mar 17,Scott Cooper, California
I would add a personal note that insofar as life needs be considered sacred, I strongly feel that to be imposing the death penalty as a punitive measure for crimes committed needs be most circumspect, imposed in only the most clearly horrendous of cases. As a society, to be asking for less is, I feel, attempting to respond to violence with officially sanctioned violence, which would not seem either the ethical or moral stand to take. Thank you for considering my concerns.
# 324:
11:41 am PDT, Mar 17,Name not displayed, Colorado
# 323:
9:30 am PDT, Mar 17,Annette Blankenship, Virginia
# 322:
5:52 am PDT, Mar 17,Keith DeBlasio, West Virginia
I think Congressman Bartlett once summed it up best for me, "How can I be pro-life and pro-death at the same time? Either I believe in the teachings of Christ, or I don't."
# 321:
12:26 am PDT, Mar 17,Mary Neal, Georgia
Google the prisoner genocide site. You will see that the prisons and jails are so horrible that life in prison w/o parole is punishment ENOUGH. See also InformationClearinghouse Article 8451. My goodness! How horrible U.S. prison life must be! Please repeal the death penalty. I know you want to, because you are a decent man. - Mary Neal - Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
# 320:
12:08 am PDT, Mar 17,Sarah Hernandez, Texas
The death penalty is wrong. You should not take someone's life for revenge or any other reason
# 319:
8:21 pm PDT, Mar 16,Dennis Cubbage, Florida
# 318:
8:15 pm PDT, Mar 16,Cheryl Woods, Tennessee
# 317:
8:13 pm PDT, Mar 16,Ginny Hill, Tennessee
# 316:
5:20 pm PDT, Mar 16,MaryAnn Graham, California
# 315:
7:22 am PDT, Mar 16,Mirjami Vähäkangas, Finland
# 314:
10:27 am PDT, Mar 15,Karl Rodenberg, Germany
# 313:
10:00 am PDT, Mar 15,Jack Payden-Travers, Virginia
# 312:
5:14 am PDT, Mar 15,Glenn Larkin, North Carolina
Return discretion back to the local prosecutors; Can does not mean must.
# 311:
2:27 am PDT, Mar 15,Kathryn Hamoudah, Georgia
# 310:
9:48 pm PDT, Mar 14,Barbara Stephenson, Colorado
# 309:
6:50 pm PDT, Mar 14,Elizabeth Jeter, Texas
Please review these cases and convert their sentence to life without parole. It is the right decision to make.
# 308:
6:12 pm PDT, Mar 14,Kolbjorn Hansen, Norway
# 307:
5:55 pm PDT, Mar 14,Sandra Jones, Delaware
Please take this issue seriously. You have the power to save lives and stop the vicious cycle of violence. There are many people across the United States and in Puerto Rico who are vehemently opposed to the death penalty. The federal government has the responsbility to protect the lives of its citizens, NOT to take life, regardless of whether or not those lives have been convicted of murder.
# 306:
4:46 pm PDT, Mar 14,Name not displayed, California
# 305:
3:46 pm PDT, Mar 14,Matthew Tannenbaum, Massachusetts
killing people who have killed people does not stop other people from killing other people.
# 304:
3:32 pm PDT, Mar 14,Sherry Coombes, Texas
# 303:
3:31 pm PDT, Mar 14,Petra Haedrich-Kabacali, Germany
# 302:
3:23 pm PDT, Mar 14,Warren Curry, New Zealand
# 301:
2:59 pm PDT, Mar 14,Name not displayed, Netherlands
The death penalty should be stopped. To many innocent people died because of lies!
