Texas Libertarian Party (LP) is as ridiculous as most anti-death penalty groups.
Yes, Texas executes the most, but is in the middle of the pack, when looking at executions per murder. Texas executes about 0.7% of our murderers, a tiny percentage.
The death penalty is sought for justice, as are all sanctions.
The LP wants less justice.
Innocents Executed
The LP depends upon The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), a fraud generating machine (1). The LP is unaware, because they do not fact check nor vet.
The DPIC claims a number of "possible" cases of innocents executed. It's nonsense (1). There MIGHT be proof of innocents executed, as recently as 1915.
Deterrence and, otherwise, Saving More Innocent Lives
deterrence
The LP says executions do not deter.
The evidence for death penalty/execution deterrence has never been negated and cannot be (2).
Deterrence is not measured by comparing gross violent crime rate or murder rates, between states, as is very well known, but not by LP.
For example. let's say Iceland and it's capital, Reykjavik, have the lowest violent crime rates in the world. Does that means all other countries and cities have no deterrent effect, by laws, policing and sanction, because all others have higher rates? Of course not, it's ridiculous on it's face.
Please educate yourselves. (2).
The LP, wrongly, depends upon Amnesty Intl. But LP doesn't fact check, so LP wouldn't know.
When New Hampshire had the death penalty, it had near the lowest violent crime rates in the country, every year, just as death penalty Louisiana had the highest.
24 recent US based studies found for death penalty/execution deterrence (2), as LP is unaware.
LP says that executions don't lower homicide rates . . . just pick and choose:
Texas
From 1992-2015, Texas had a near, uninterrupted, period of years with double digit executions, averaging 24 executions per year. From 1991-2015, Texas' murder rate dropped 69%. (15.3 - 4.8), a difference of 319%.
Capital murders may have dropped by 80%.
Texas's robbery rate dropped 60% (287 to 116), 1991-2015, a difference of 216%, with robbery/murder the most common death penalty eligible murders.
The United States
From 1965-1980, the US had a, near, complete cessation of executions - 3 total in 16 years -, the murder rate rose 100% (5.1 to 10.2); robbery 354% (71 to 251). Capital murders (robbery/murders) rose dramatically.
From 1992 to 2014 the US had double digit executions, averaging 49 per year - the murder rate dropped 55% (9.8 - 4.4), 1991-2014, the murder rate 223% higher in 1991 than in 2014; the robbery rate dropped 63% (273 to 101), the robbery rate 270% higher in in 1991 than in 2014. Capital murders may have dropped 70-80%.
If you looked at crime rates in neighborhoods, zip codes, towns, cities, and counties within each US state or between all the world's countries and their sub jurisdictions, with or without the death penalty, crime and murder rates would be high, low or medium, whether in a death penalty jurisdiction or not. Think.
LP clueless.
saving more innocents
The death penalty saves more innocent lives, in three ways, than does LWOP: enhanced due process, enhanced incapacitation and enhanced deterrence (2). The first two are unchallenged (2).
Enhanced deterrence prevails, after thorough review (2).
Anti-death penalty folks fight deterrence for one reason. With deterrence it makes them the group that, willingly, sacrifices more innocents, so that murderers may live, already proven with the first two and already accepted by anti- death penalty leadership (2).
Surely, LP clueless.
Costs
Again, regarding the costs of the death penalty, LP did not fact check nor vet, again.
For example,the infamous Dallas Morning News "cost study" found the death penalty costs $2.3 million, a life sentence $750,000.
DMN compared death penalty costs, for pre trial, trial, incarceration and appeals, to only the incarceration costs of a life sentence, which didn't even exist at the time of the "study".
A published academic review of the DMN "study" found that life was more expensive, with the costs that could be confirmed (3).
LP clueless.
Libertarians & The Death Penalty
LP: "The Libertarian Party of Texas opposes the death penalty as a form of punishment by the state, as well as any other unnecessary use of force by state agents in response to criminal action."
Incarceration is a use of force, holding people against their will, with the threat of injury or death, if escape is attempted.
Is that necessary to the LP?
The LP, the "Party of Principle advocating for a government that protects individual rights", apparently does not understand that murder is the "ultimate, irreversible violation of that person’s rights."
Clueless.
From Murray N. Rothbard, the godfather of Libertarianism:
" . . .the murderer loses precisely the right of which he has deprived another human being: the right to have one's life preserved from the violence of another person. The murderer therefore deserves to be killed in return." (3)
" . . . the instincts of the public are correct on this issue: namely, that the punishment should fit the crime; i.e., that punishment should be proportional to the crime involved. The theoretical justification for this is that an aggressor loses his rights to the extent that he has violated the rights of another human being." (3)
with many more (3).
LP clueless?
Is LP Leadership This Much of a Mockery?
LP: "Texas courts make a mockery of justice by condemning innocent people to death in broad daylight."
The LP, not surprisingly, is unaware that unanimous juries choose the death penalty, with a 48-0 vote (4 issues to vote upon). LP is, completely, unaware of how incredibly rare is is to find proof of actual innocent in a death sentenced case, as LP does not fact check/vet. Give it a try.
Since this is the LP stance and we sentence more innocents to prison terms, does LP wish to end incarcerations? It would not be a surprise.
The Vast Majority of States?
LP: "It’s long past time (for Texas) to join the vast majority of states and kill the death penalty."
24 states, the federal government and the military have the death penalty. For LP, 26 states without the death penalty, is a "vast majority".
Idiotic.
A Plea To The Legislature & The Governor
LP: "We call on Texas state legislators to enact legislation to end the death penalty this session. Meanwhile, we call on the Governor to immediately halt the current injustice by commuting all death sentences to life imprisonment . . . ".
Why would anyone listen to the LP's nonsense?
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1) The Death Row "Exonerated"/"Innocent" Frauds
71-83% Error Rate in Death Row "Innocent" Claims,
Well Known Since 2000
2) The Death Penalty: Saving More Innocent Lives
Deterrence, Death Penalties & Executions
3) Libertarians: Death Penalty Essential To Justice
Partial CV, Dudley Sharp
From: Dudley Sharp, independent researcher, death penalty expert, former opponent, Houston, Texas, CV