A surprising new conversation is occurring within the circles of the political Right in Utah: the abolition of the death penalty.
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty was founded in order to give those on the Right space to advocate the end of capital punishment. Marc Hyden, the organization’s national advocacy coordinator, said that the death penalty egregiously violates conservative and libertarian principles.
“I believe that a policy, to be considered conservative, be at least pro-life, fiscally responsible, and representative of a limited government. The death penalty inherently risks innocent life. So, we know it’s not pro-life to risk innocent life. Then we find that the death penalty costs millions more dollars than life without parole,” Hyden said. “But in the end, you have to ask yourself, is this really representative of a limited government? Is there anything limited about giving an error-prone state the power to kill its citizens?”
An effort to end the death penalty in Utah this past legislative session passed the state Senate but failed to get a vote in the House. Hyden said that reactions from fellow conservatives and libertarians to a push for abolition have been positive.
“It’s been great. I’ve been to CPAC four years in a row. We’ve been to Young Americans for Liberty conferences. I’ve been to local GOP meetings and I’ve spoken at Tea Parties,” he said. “I find everywhere that there has been a longstanding hunger to have this discussion from the political Right’s perspective, but they’ve never had an organization or a forum to have that discussion.”
Hyden will present his views at the state Young Americans for Liberty convention on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
