Democratic Candidates on the Death Penalty

The Village Voice’s James Ridgeway summarizes the Democratic candidates’ positions on capital punishment. A rough ranking of the candidates by stated opposition to the death penalty is as follows:

1. Dennis Kucinich; Carol Moseley Braun; Al Sharpton: oppose it in all circumstances.
2. Wesley Clark: uneasy about capital punishment, has misgivings about how it’s used.
3. John Kerry: in favor of capital punishment only in limited cases, such as terrorism; would honor state preferences.
4. Howard Dean: favors capital punishment only for extreme crimes; would seek a federal Innocence Protection Act.
5. John Edwards: generally supports the death penalty; favors tightening protections to eliminate wrongful convictions.
6. Dick Gephardt: has voted against making it easier for death row prisoners to file appeals.
7. Joe Lieberman: has voted to restrict death row appeals; has voted to enlarge the class of criminals eligible to receive the death penalty.

Via TalkLeft.