NASWNYS National Association of Social Workers

The National Association of Social Workers- New York State Chapter (NASW-NYS) strongly opposes S.319/A.7799, an act seeking to amend the penal law and the criminal procedure law, in relation to sentencing for the commission of certain provisions of murder in the first degree.

While NASW- NYS is indeed concerned about violent crimes perpetrated in the state, and is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of several New York State Troopers within the past year while bravely fulfilling their duty, we do not support the use of capital punishment on several grounds.

First and foremost, research in the area has consistently found there to be no evidence that the death penalty serves as a deterrent. Actually, the reverse appears to be true…according to a recent study released by the Death Penalty Information Center, when “Comparisons are made between states with the death penalty and states without, the majority of death penalty states show murder rates higher than non-death penalty states. The average number of murder rates per 100,000 people in 1999 among death penalty states was 5.5, whereas the average number of murder rates in non-death penalty states was only 3.6.” Such findings can be extrapolated to the world wide stage as well as data released by the British Home Office recently revealed that “The United States, which retains the death penalty, has a murder rate that is more than three times that of many of its European allies that have banned capital punishment.”

Also, due to the recent flood of exonerations for people on death row, NASW-NYS opposes capital punishment due to its risk of executing innocent citizens. As of April 26, 2007, New York finds itself near the top of the list in the number of wrongful convictions uncovered using DNA evidence. Texas leads with 28 exonerations, Illinois has 27 and New York is third with 23. In the same period, New York has had 3 exonerations that did not involve DNA. No other state comes close to matching these numbers.

Moreover, evidence has consistently shown a discriminatory pattern regarding imposition of the death penalty; with African American convicts much more likely to be executed for murder than their Caucasian counterparts. In addition, research conducted by Amnesty International suggests that individuals convicted of murdering Caucasian victims appear to be significantly more likely to receive a capital sentence than those who kill African American’s.

Further, the practice of capital punishment, which involves a deliberate act of execution by the state, is at variance with the fundamental rights of the Social Work profession. The death penalty is a violation of human rights that belong to every human being, even those convicted by serious crimes. Social Work is a career imbued with compassion; yet Social Workers also stand for the principle of justice, which we believe is already well served by the current provision of a life sentence in prison for those convicted of such acts as first degree murder.

NASW-NYS steadfastly opposes passage S319/A7799 reinstating capital punishment in New York State and strongly urges members of the New York State Assembly to do so as well.