A group of Latino legislators passed a resolution demanding the end of the death penalty in the United States because it disproportionately affects people of color of all ages.
The National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators said there is disproportionate punishment for Latinos, Black Americans and Native Americans.
“The disproportionate and prejudicial application of the death penalty towards Latinos and other minorities, the high costs of this cruel and unusual punishment to our tax payers and the increasing likelihood that innocent people can be wrongfully executed by the states — among many other compelling reasons — led us to raise our voices to call for an end to capital punishment,” said NHCSL President and Pennsylvania State Representative Ángel Cruz in a statement.
The non-profit, non-partisan group is made up of 320 Hispanic legislators in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
"Black, Latino, Native Americans, and all people of color are sentenced to longer prison terms, more likely to be tried as an adult, and are more likely to be sentenced to death in the USA," the resolution reads.
The resolution asks the U.S. congress and local municipalities to search for alternatives to combating violence and repeal the death penalty. The group points out that death penalty cases often cost taxpayers millions of dollars — an Urban Institute study found death penalty cases cost an average $3 million per trial, nearly three times as expensive as a trial without the possibility of a death penalty.
“We cannot allow more government dollars to be diverted to killing people, instead of investing them in prevention, rehabilitation, and effective crime fighting measures that ensure greater safety in our communities," Cruz stated.
"I encourage all states to follow the example of New Jersey in eliminating the death penalty, and I look forward to working to eliminate it throughout the United States with the help of other advocates such as Equal Justice USA,” said assemblywoman Annette Quijano, D-New Jersey,
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The resolution states 150 innocent people on death row were exonerated after being wrongfully convicted. Death penalty cases involving white victims were more likely to find the defendant guilty, according to data curated by the Death Penalty Information Center.
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Rep. Dan Pabón, D-Colorado, said the death penalty is the "civil rights issue of our time."
"Even if repealing the death penalty results in one innocent life being saved, it’s worth it. Our criminal justice system should focus on ‘justice,’” Pabón said.
