We need to acknowledge that the death penalty is broken beyond repair.

We need to acknowledge that the death penalty is broken beyond repair.

In order to ensure our criminal justice system is fair and equitable, my office is conducting an immediate assessment of every prosecution within the past 10 years where these officers were involved. This is a shameful incident that the public deserves to have addressed in a meaningful and expeditious manner.

Given my experience, I believe there are three compelling reasons why the death penalty should be replaced. (1) The criminal justice system makes mistakes and the possibility of executing innocent people is both inherently wrong and morally reprehensible; (2) My personal experience and crime data show the death penalty does not reduce crime; and (3) The death penalty wastes precious resources that could be best used to fight crime and solve thousands of unsolved homicides languishing in filing cabinets in understaffed police departments across the state.

Given the irreversibility of the death penalty, the possibility of a wrongful conviction can never be overstated.