Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty

Conservatives Concerned
EstablishedMarch 12, 2013
Location
  • United States
Websiteconservativesconcerned.org
Formerly called
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty

Conservatives Concerned, formerly Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, is a USA-based national network of conservative Republicans and Libertarians calling for a re-examination of the American system of capital punishment.

Organization

Conservatives Concerned engages in advocacy, education, and outreach to conservative, Republican, and Libertarian leaders and organizations around capital punishment. Conservatives Concerned provides a national forum for conservatives on both sides of the issue to express their concerns about the death penalty.[1]

The organization cites several reason for conservative opposition to the death penalty, including the high cost of capital punishment compared to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, the risk of wrongful execution, the negative impact on victims families, the lack of deterrence, and a contradiction to pro-life values. [2]

Activities

Conservatives Concerned's programs include educating conservatives about the death penalty system and mobilizing them to bring about its end through legislative advocacy, resource development, case work, awareness campaigns, and more.

The organization has partnered with conservative, Republican, Libertarian, and faith-based leaders and organizations across the country and spoken at national meetings of the Republican Liberty Caucus,[3] the Young Republican National Federation, Young Americans for Liberty,[4] the Liberty Political Action Conference,[5] State Policy Network, CPAC St. Louis,[6] CPAC,[7] and the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference.[8]

While Conservatives Concerned works nationwide, the organization currently has dedicated state affiliates in Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Georgia. [9]

History

Conservatives Concerned traces its roots to Montana in 2009, when conservative lawmakers and Republican party officials came together to call for an end to the death penalty, citing exorbitant costs. [10]As interest grew in Montana and beyond, the movement formally launched as Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2013.[11] At the time, the national organization was represented by founders, members, and staff from Montana, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan, and Georgia.

Since its founding in 2013, Conservatives Concerned has helped end the death penalty in New Hampshire, Colorado, and Virginia, and Republican lawmakers have sponsored death penalty repeal or reform legislation in states like Ohio, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Texas, Oklahoma, and Utah. [12] They have participated in efforts to repeal the death penalty in Nebraska[13], Florida[14], Wyoming[15], Louisiana[16], Ohio[17], and more.

On October 28, 2019, Conservatives Concerned released a Conservative Statement of Support to End the Death Penalty signed by more than 250 prominent conservatives from 44 states.[18]

In 2023, Conservatives Concerned was included in letters from hundreds of organizations calling for President Biden to commute federal death row.[19]

The organization changed its name to Conservatives Concerned in 2024, dropping "About the Death Penalty." Until 2025, Conservatives Concerned was a project of Equal Justice USA, a non-profit organization working on criminal justice issues.[20]

Over the past several years, Conservatives Concerned launched several state chapters that remain active today. Tennessee Conservatives Concerned launched in 2015, followed by Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned in 2022, Texas Conservatives Concerned in 2023, and Georgia Conservatives Concerned in 2026.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Who We Are". February 8, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Why We're Concerned". Conservatives Concerned. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Press release: Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty at the Republican Liberty Caucus National Convention". May 3, 2013.
  4. ↑ "A Conservative Tidal Wave for Repeal". August 12, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Press Release: Death Penalty to be Discussed at LPAC". September 11, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Press Release: Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty to be at CPAC St. Louis". September 26, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Press Release: Conservatives Bring Death Penalty Concerns Back to CPAC". February 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Atlanta Journal Constitution". Archived from the original on June 24, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  9. ↑ "State Campaigns". Conservatives Concerned. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  10. ↑ Press, Associated (January 18, 2010). "Senator on national stage fighting death penalty". Billings Gazette. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Small Government Conservative? Group Says You Should Oppose Death Penalty". US News & World Report. March 22, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  12. ↑ "About". Conservatives Concerned. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  13. ↑ Benen, Steve (May 28, 2015). "An unexpected win for death-penalty opponents in Nebraska". MS NOW. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Florida conservatives organize to end the death penalty | Facing South". www.facingsouth.org. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  15. ↑ Boyns, Myles (January 2, 2020). "'Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty' made their way to Wyoming with hopes to repeal the Death Penalty". Wyoming News Now. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  16. ↑ Maldonado, Marcus (March 7, 2019). "A young conservative makes the case for ending Louisiana's death penalty". The Lens. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Voices of Conservative Ohioans". otse.org. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Hundreds of Conservatives Sign Statement to End the Death Penalty". Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. October 28, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  19. ↑ "2024.12.08 Compiled Letters Urging President Biden to Commute Federal Death Row.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  20. ↑ "About EJUSA". Equal Justice USA.
  21. ↑ "State Campaigns". Conservatives Concerned. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.