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Death Penalty Issue Brief

In the Killing Fields of the State:
Why Abolition of the Death Penalty Is a Queer Issue

Download Issue Brief as PDF (279 KB)

This is the first in a series of AFSC LGBT issue briefs that explore interrelationships inherent in LGBT anti-violence work, with particular reference to the U.S. criminal justice system.

In it, we examine the death penalty through a queer lens, always placing the issue in a broader social and economic context, and within a human rights framework. Race and class are central to an understanding of the death penalty and how it is applied in the United States.

In a global context, it is necessary to understand that the death penalty is used in many different nations, not only as a response to serious wrongdoing, but to sustain the social, political, and economic status quo. People may be sentenced to death and executed on the basis of many factors, including expression of political ideas, sexual and gender identity, religious expression, and ethnicity.

AFSC speaks to these issues from our own experience of more than 50 years’ engagement with the criminal justice system in the U.S. and more than eight decades of work with those harmed by the violence of war, ethnic cleansing, hatred, and poverty.

Although we have a clear point of view and spiritual belief about the death penalty — we consider it unacceptable under any circumstance and work for its abolition — we do not seek to polarize the discussion or demonize those who disagree with us.

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