ATLANTA – State Representative Beth Moore (D-Peachtree Corners) recently introduced House Bill 485, which would repeal and prohibit the death penalty in Georgia and commute any pending capital punishments to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“If we are to teach our children that it’s a crime to kill another human being who poses no immediate threat to us or to others, then we must uphold that same standard for ourselves,” said Rep. Moore. “The time has come to end the antiquated, inhumane practice of state-sanctioned executions of incarcerated individuals in Georgia. In response to those who support the death penalty, I want to offer a quote from attorney and civil rights advocate Bryan Stevenson, author of ‘Just Mercy’ and director of the Equal Justice Initiative, who said, ‘The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment in this country is do we deserve to kill?’ Considering Georgia’s own historical and legal precedent, the answer is clearly no.”
This legislation is inspired by studies which have highlighted that the death sentence may be given more frequently to those with serious mental illnesses and intellectual disabilities, those with an inadequate legal defense in capital cases and those who experience racial and economic disparities, and that it is used more often on poor, Black defendants.
“I believe it is time for Georgia to join the growing number of states who have come to realize that the death penalty does not deter crime, eliminates any chance of redemption, and, from a conservative fiscal stance, does not make sense,” said State Representative Bill Werkheiser (D-Glennville), who is the lead Republican co-sponsor of HB 485.
Since 1976, Georgia has executed 76 individuals, including four since 2019. As of January 4, 2021, forty inmates on death row in Georgia are awaiting execution. As a result, Rep. Moore urges her colleagues in the Georgia General Assembly to pass HB 485 to make Georgia the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, following the Virginia, which became the first southern state to do so on February 21, 2021.
Rep. Moore also seeks to prohibit the death penalty based on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Georgia’s death sentence statute in 1971 in Furman v. Georgia (408 U.S. 238). Justice Brennan and Marshall wrote in concurring opinions that the death sentence amounts to “cruel and unusual punishment” and is incompatible with the evolving standards of decency in a contemporary society. Georgia later enacted new statutes for capital punishment.
This legislation is supported by the Southern Center for Human Rights, Georgia Innocence Project, Georgia Defense Lawyer’s Association, Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center, Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty, Georgia Catholic Conference, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and Georgia Catholics against the Death Penalty.
HB 485 is also co-sponsored by House Minority Caucus Chairman Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain), and other co-sponsors are also attorneys, such as State Representatives Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta) and William Boddie (D-East Point), as well as a pastor, State Representative Gregg Kennard (D-Lawrenceville). During the 2019-2020 session, a similar bill was sponsored by former State Representatives Brett Harrell (R-Snellville), Scot Turner (R-Holly Springs) and David Stover (R-Newnan).
For more information on HB 485, please click here.
Representative Beth Moore serves Georgia’s House District 95, which includes the cities of Peachtree Corners, Berkeley Lake, Norcross, Duluth, and Johns Creek across Gwinnett and Fulton Counties. She was first elected to the House Representatives in 2018 and serves on the committees for Energy Utilities & Telecommunication, Banks & Banking, Science & Technology, and Information & Audits committees.
Representative Bill Werkheiser represents the citizens of District 157, which includes Evans and Tattnall counties and portions of Wayne County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2014 and currently serves as Chairman of the Industry and Labor Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Juvenile Justice, Public Safety & Homeland Security and State Properties committees.
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