NHACDL Opposition Statement: Reinstating the Death Penalty

The New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense lawyers opposes the reinstatement of capital punishment in NH for the following reasons:

Our justice system is human and, therefore, fallible. Since the 1970s, nearly 200 people on death row nationwide have been exonerated. In a system where official misconduct and witness error are real possibilities, the death penalty is a risk we cannot take.

Reinstating the death penalty is an unfunded mandate. Capital cases require bifurcated trials, specialized experts, and decades of constitutionally mandated appeals. These costs fall squarely on taxpayers and will further drain a public defense system that is already in a state of crisis.

Capital punishment is rarely about the "worst of the worst." Instead, it is frequently a "lottery of geography," determined by the resources of a specific county or the political leanings of a prosecutor. This creates a "standardless" justice that violates the principle of equal protection.

There is no credible evidence that the death penalty protects police officers or deters violent crime more effectively than life imprisonment without parole.