Many individuals who are against the death penalty have changed their minds after a lifetime of being for the death penalty when they hear cases that expose our justice system's fallibilities, cases that prove the human error element in our democratic experiment, cases like that of Curtis Edward McCarty.

McCarty, the 124th individual to be freed (May 11, 2007) from death row because he was innocent, was just released by the state of Oklahoma. McCarty, who had been sentenced to die three times and has spent 21 years on Oklahoma's death row for a crime he did not commit, has been released after District Court Judge Twyla Mason Gray ordered that the charges against him be dismissed.

Curtis Edward McCarty's case and the other 123 cases of innocent people sent to death row for crimes they did not commit are but a few examples of the fallibility of our criminal justice system. Together, they have served over 1200 years incarcerated for crimes they did not commit. Ultimately, the justice system relies on humans, which allows the inevitability of human error. The death penalty is unique in our criminal justice system because it is an action of utter finality - when a mistake is made, the penalty cannot be rescinded nor restitution granted.

Montanans want common sense policies that hold criminals accountable, provide healing for victims, and are fiscally responsible. The death penalty is none of these - it is simply bad public policy that risks executing the innocent. The death penalty wastes millions of dollars pursuing a handful of executions that would be better spent on programs which are smart on crime - programs that actually keep Montanans and future Montanans safe.

The Coalition commends you on your interest in this weighty topic and invites you to consider where you stand - wherever you stand - on the death penalty. We invite you to look around our website, learn the facts, and see why so many ultimately realize that the death penalty is a failed criminal justice experiment, bad public policy, and a system that we simply can't afford to continue...