Oregon changes death penalty
(AUGUST 2, 2019) Capital punishment is also known as the death penalty. It is execution (death) as punishment by the government for a serious crime. Capital punishment is legal in Oregon. However, the last person to be executed in Oregon was in 1997.
Governor Kate Brown signed a new law earlier this week. The new law makes it more difficult to use the death penalty in Oregon. Now fewer crimes lead to capital punishment. They include terrorist acts, and murders of children and police officers, and others.
"This is an important step, in Oregon and nationally, toward one day eliminating the death penalty nationwide," said the governor. She believes capital punishment is not effective. She thinks it is too expensive.
Currently 31 people are sentenced to death in Oregon, according to the Oregon Department of Corrections. But they will not happen soon. The governor has stopped them.
In the past 15 years, nine states have stopped the death penalty. Very few states still have legal capital punishment. In 2018, only about 56% of people support the death penalty.
The new Oregon law starts in September.
Crombie, Noelle. “Calling Oregon Death Penalty ‘costly and Immoral,’ Governor Signs Bill Limiting Its Use.” Oregonlive.Com, oregonlive.com, Aug. 2019, www.oregonlive.com/crime/2019/08/calling-death-penalty-costly-and-immoral-governor-signs-bill-limiting-its-use.html. Accessed 2 Aug. 2019.
VanderHart, Dirk. “Gov. Kate Brown Signs Bill Narrowing Oregon Death Penalty.” Opb.Org, OPB, Aug. 2019, www.opb.org/news/article/death-penalty-oregon-bill-signed-kate-brown/. Accessed 2 Aug. 2019.
Wikipedia Contributors. “Capital Punishment in Oregon.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 June 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Oregon. Accessed 2 Aug. 2019.