NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (D-La.) for the first time called for the legislature to abolish the death penalty in the state in April.
“It is wholly inconsistent with Louisiana’s pro-life values, as it quite literally by definition promotes a culture of death,” Edwards said.
Once the Louisiana Capital Appeals Project heard the message, they filed clemency petitions with 51 of 57 of the current Louisiana death row prisoners, which would turn their death sentences into life imprisonment without the possibility of parole if approved.
“He said that Louisiana is a pro-life state, and that means pro-whole-life from conception to the end of your life. These men and women on death row shouldn’t be condemned for the worst day of their life,” executive director of Capital Appeals Project Cecelia Kappel said.
Kappel said there are many systematic problems with the death penalty and said it has caused more harm than good since its installation in the state.
“It doesn’t deter crime, and it catches up innocent people because the people it impacts are poor people, disproportionately Black, and people with mental illness,” Kappel said.
Kappel said she hopes Edwards will commute these death sentences before his term finishes and hopes this will lead to changes in the state regarding capital punishment moving forward.
“All we can do is put our best case in front of the pardon board and hope that they see that these individuals are worthy of a life without parole sentence and those get sent to the governor, and ultimately it’s in his power to grant these petitions,” Kappel said.
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