via Wikimedia
The criminal justice system looks different than it did just a decade ago. Thanks to reforms, authorities are being forced to reverse course. This even applies to the death penalty. The practice rooted in racism disproportionately targets Black people… but things are changing.
The United States stands out in a bad way for continuing the outdated practice, but New Hampshire just became the 21st state to ABOLISH the death penalty. That means no prisoners are going to be executed as punishment - certainly a good thing.
The state only has one person on death row and, since the ban is not retroactive, he won’t be spared. However, the reality is that the practice of executing people has long been stopped in many places around the world. The U.S. is just behind.
A 2017 Gallup poll found only 55% of people in the U.S. support the death penalty and that’s a 45-year low. The Atlantic reports, “Since 1999, there’s been a 75 percent decline in executions, and in the 30 states that still have death-penalty laws, more than a third have not performed one in more than a decade.”
New Hampshire has taken a step in the right direction, but it’s up to other states to follow their example. Until then, America’s support of execution will continue to make it a backwards country in the global community.