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Conservatives Say No To The Death Penalty

Support for the death penalty has declined over the past 20 years. A Pew Research Center poll this year shows a 30 percent drop among Democrats and a 10 percent decline in support among Republicans. However, GOP approval of the death penalty is still strong at more than 75 percent.

In North Carolina, Rep. Jon Hardister (R – Guilford) is leading an effort for conservatives to oppose the death penalty. He says opposition to capital punishment aligns well with conservative principles.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Hardister, representative of District 59 in Guilford County, about the conservative argument against the death penalty.

The State of Things Republicans Jon Hardister NC Legislators Guilford County Death Penalty Politics Greensboro

Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

See stories by Frank Stasio