Georgia House Bill 485 would repeal the death penalty in Georgia
Urgent action is needed to help this bill pass in the 2021-2022 session.
A bipartisan group of legislators have introduced House Bill 485. If enacted, this bill would repeal the death penalty in Georgia and replace it with life without parole. This powerful action would move our state even further in the pro-life direction it has already undertaken.
As pro-life people, we cannot accept the risk of wrongful conviction, leading to the execution of an innocent person. Seven people have already been exonerated from death row here in Georgia. The imposition of the death penalty is riddled with racial bias and unequal justice for the accused. Georgia’s standard for proving intellectual disability is capital cases is the highest in the nation, risking sending people with intellectual disabilities to death. In addition, millions of dollars are spent on capital trials, incarceration, and lengthy appeals. This money should be used for solving other crimes, investing in education to prevent crime, and providing more services to victims and their families. Georgia already leads the way with some of the nation’s strongest pro-life laws. Now we need your support to expand that commitment with a hearing on HB 485.
There are three targeted actions that we are asking Catholics to take to help increase the likelihood of this hearing taking place: