William Petersen

Dear Legislators, I am deeply concerned about the moves to reinstate the death penalty in the 2026 session. The legislature did the right thing to repeal it in 2019 by a large 2/3’s majority and there is no good reason to bring it back as New Hampshire the lowest homicide rate in the nation. The death penalty is not a deterrent from violent crime and its related costs would diverts resources we could use more effectively to preventing crime and hold convicted criminals accountable for their actions (consistent with NH Bill of Rights Article 18, The True Design of Punishment). The criminal justice system is human and therefor fallible, with an inherent risk of executing an innocent person. Since 1973, at least 200 people who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated. As a called and ordained minister, the number one reason to not reinstate the death penalty is because it violates the moral codes of most major religious groups. Faith traditions from Protestants (including Episcopalians and Lutherans)and Roman Catholics, to our Jewish siblings in God, oppose the death penalty and were among the groups that worked for years to repeal it here in the Granite State. The state’s death penalty is opposed by numerous people with experience in law enforcement, corrections, and criminal justice who believe our current penalty for capital murder of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is sufficient to keep our citizens and visitors safe. The administration of the death penalty is far more expensive than alternatives and is a misuse of limited public resources. Finally, we have not executed anyone since 1939 and there are no compelling reasons to do so again. Sincerely, The Reverend William R. Petersen, Wolfeboro