Good news:
On a personal note, the first political rally I ever attended was Abolition Day in 2009. At the time–not much over 2 years since the 2007 Cheshire home invasion–repeal seemed like an unreachable goal. In 2010, despite the election of Gov. Malloy, I was skeptical of whether he would really fight against the death penalty. In 2011, the death penalty repeal fell short due to a lack of Democratic support.
This 2012 win is not only a great win because it's (mostly) smart legislation, but also because it was not politically feasible only a short time ago. There will be other awful tragedies in our fair state, ones that the right-wing will attempt to exploit for political points by attempting to bring back execution. We will be there for fight.
With Malloy’s signature today, Connecticut becomes the 17th state to end the use of capital punishment and the fifth state in the past five years to abolish the death penalty.It wasn't a total victory, though:
Unfortunately, we were unable to beat back a last-minute amendment mandating solitary confinement for defendants sentenced under the new law — conditions that have been shown to be inhumane and dangerous not only to prisoners but to society. Even as we celebrate this latest repeal of the death penalty as an indication that people across the nation are recognizing the systemic injustices that plague the entire death penalty system, we will continue to fight the injustice of long-term solitary confinement.Still – we should be proud of the Nutmeg State.
 |
| Source. |
This 2012 win is not only a great win because it's (mostly) smart legislation, but also because it was not politically feasible only a short time ago. There will be other awful tragedies in our fair state, ones that the right-wing will attempt to exploit for political points by attempting to bring back execution. We will be there for fight.
