Letter opposing death penalty released by county attorneys from Salt Lake, Summit, Utah, Grand counties | Gephardt Daily

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

43% : Signing the document are Sim Gill, Salt Lake County District Attorney; Margaret Olson, Summit County District Attorney; Christina Sloan, Grand County District Attorney; and David Leavitt, Utah County District Attorney, who last week announced his intent to stop seeking the death penalty in his county's cases.
41% : The defect which we urge the Legislature to repeal is the death penalty."
40% : The letter also says the death penalty is given more often to minorities than to Caucasians; is expensive to taxpayers; and is "inherently coercive," saying it "gives already powerful prosecutors too much power to avoid trial by threatening death."
37% : The letter goes on to cite the death penalty as "a permanent and irreversible sentence within an imperfect system.
30% : County attorneys elected to serve in four of Utah's 29 counties have drafted and sent a letter opposing the death penalty, addressing it to Gov. Spencer Cox and the Utah Legislature.

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