WYOMING – Dozens of Wyoming residents, civic and faith leaders and good government advocates will gather outside the State Supreme Court building in Cheyenne at noon on Tuesday, April 30, to launch the Wyoming Campaign to End the Death Penalty in 2020.
Repealing the death penalty got a serious look in the Wyoming Legislature last session. The bill had 13 co-sponsors in the House and five in the Senate, and had the support of leadership in both chambers. Ultimately, the bill passed in the House but failed on a 12-18 vote in the Senate. Still, it was the clo sest a bill like that had ever come.
The Campaign to End the Death Penalty in 2020 is supported by the ACLU of Wyoming, the Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne, the League of Women Voters of Wyoming, Holy Apostles Orthodox Christian Church of Cheyenne, and the Wyoming NAACP.
“Capital punishment is an intolerable denial of civil liberties and is inconsistent with the fundamental values of our democratic system,” said Sabrina King, director of campaigns for the ACLU of Wyoming. “We know innocent people are sent to death row, we know the toll on victims’ families from the death penalty is immense, and we know having it in law does not serve as a deterrent to violent crime. It’s time to end the death penalty in Wyoming.”
