The Democrats scrap plans to abolish the death penalty
Shane Claiborne, the activist and author, has drawn attention to a quiet move by the Democratic Party in the United States to remove abolishing the death penalty from the party platform:
Unfortunately, on at least one issue, the Democrats have gone backward rather than forward, in a move that caught many of us by surprise. As the festivities finished up in Chicago last week, the Democrats quietly removed abolishing the death penalty from the party platform, a move that certainly will not help them distinguish themselves from Trump and win this election.
Living in a country where the death penalty has not been enacted since 1964 (although it was only officially removed in 1998), it’s hard to comprehend that it still exists in America, and that the Democrats are abandoning their plans to abolish it.
Claiborne adds:
It is disappointing that this key commitment, and a signal difference with the Trump agenda, has been removed from the DNC platform. President Biden and Vice President Harris need to do more than pause executions for the remainder of their administration; we need them to stop executions for good.
