Statement by David Kaczynski - Court of Appeals Ruling in People v. Taylor

ALBANY, NY (10/23/2007)(readMedia)-- The Court of Appeals made the right decision in overturning NY’s last remaining death sentence in People v. Taylor. Today’s decision is entirely consistent with the Court’s 2004 ruling in People v. Lavalle, which found the state’s 1995 capital punishment statute unconstitutional because of a flawed and coercive jury deadlock instruction.

Today’s ruling is also in step with a marked change in public attitudes toward the death penalty in New York, as measured by public opinion polls. Over ten years, the death penalty in New York wasted $200 million in taxpayer dollars, could not be imposed fairly or reliably, and created an unacceptable risk that innocent people would be executed. There has emerged a consensus among the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers that a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without parole effectively protects the people of New York at a fraction of the cost of the death penalty. Ending the death penalty frees up millions of dollars in public resources that can now be redirected to effective crime control measures, including increased support for law enforcement and crime victims.

Today’s decision by the Court should in no way be interpreted as minimizing the harm caused by homicide. It merely underscores what the state Assembly discovered in 2004 and 2005 when it held a series of public hearings to study the issue of capital punishment – that the death penalty, despite its high cost, unfairness, and serious risks, benefits no one. On the contrary, it subjects surviving family members to years of re-victimization and uncertainty. In reflecting on the Court’s decision, we must also remember the victims and their surviving family members and resolve, in their memory and honor, to oppose violence by every reasonable and rational means.

As documented in last week’s report on wrongful convictions in New York by the Innocence Project, our state is a national leader in the negative category of wrongful convictions, right up there with Texas. It would be truly unconscionable to impose the death penalty on the innocent. The Court’s ruling effectively eliminates wrongful execution of the innocent as a possible outcome in New York’s legal system – an enormous protection considering New York’s shameful record of wrongful convictions as well as the 124 innocent people who have been exonerated from death row nationally.

The Court has found, along with a majority of New Yorkers, that we can live without the death penalty.

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