John Kerry's position on

Death Penalty: In the 1972 case of Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 153 (1972), the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision effectively striking down most federal and state death penalty laws finding them "arbitrary and capricious." The court held that the death penalty laws, as written, violated the "cruel and unusual punishment" provision of the Eighth Amendment and the due process guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment. But the decision did not rule the death penalty itself to be unconstitutional, only the laws upholding it; therefore, many states began to write new laws to comply with the court's ruling. At present, 38 states and the federal governemnt have a death penalty.

Description of candidate's position: Kerry is opposed to the death penalty, because he believes that states can make too many mistakes. To correct for this, Kerry is pushing for DNA testing requirements for all federal executions. But despite his strong opposition to the death penalty, Kerry does support its use for post 9-11 terrorists, and for Osama bin Laden. In 2001, he was only one of 5 co-sponsors of a bill to enact a national moratorium on the death penalty while it was studied. Kerry would be "the most anti-death penalty president elected in the modern era," according to David Elliot of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Link and Link and Link

Quotation from the candidate: "I oppose the death penalty other than in cases of real international and domestic terrorism. We know we have put innocent people to death; 111 innocent people have already been released from death row. As president, I'll enforce the law but I'll also have a national moratorium on federal executions until we use DNA evidence to make sure those on death row are guilty." Link go to "Moratorium on federal executions-only exception is terrorism" 

Assessment of the proposal: Two critical questions about the death penalty are being asked that sometimes overshadow assessments of candidate's policy: is it morally wrong, and will the wrong person be executed? Therefore, some assessments are based on those questions, not specifically the candidate's policy.

Positive: Frank McNeirney, director of Catholics Against Capital Punishment, has stated that Kerry is a "refreshing change of pace" for presidential candidates because of his views on the death penalty. In fact, the Democratic party has eliminated references to supporting the death penalty, which it has done for the last three campaign cycles. Link 

Negative: Talk Left, an organization devoted to liberal coverage of crime related issues, has indicated that although Kerry is way ahead of Bush on this issue, his policy is likely to be irrelevant because most executions are done by the states. Link

Comparison: At first glance, the two candidate's positions on the death penalty are polar opposites: Bush supports the death penalty while Kerry opposes it. However, both candidates support required DNA testing for federal executions. For Bush, the requirement means deterring others from committing crimes; for Kerry, the requirement means fewer mistakes are made when executing federal offenders.

Link to Bush's issue page