By Jessica Weisman
WASHINGTON, DC – Following the execution of Amber McLaughlin by the state of Missouri this week, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush denounced the death penalty in a statement, calling the death penalty “inhumane.”
Bush targeted Missouri Gov. Michael Parson for criticism, and noted how he “failed his mandate as governor to save lives. He has actively chosen violence over mercy and as a result…our state has killed yet another person,” stated Bush.
The lawmaker charged the “death penalty is archaic, barbaric, and cold-hearted,” and “destroys families and communities.” Bush advocates for its “abolition” in the statement, drawing attention to other incarcerated persons on death row.
“There are more individuals who are set to be scheduled by the state of Missouri,” said Bush, adding, “We must not allow another life to be taken.”
Even though the jury did not reach a unanimous verdict on a proper punishment, McLaughlin was still sentenced to the death penalty. Information regarding McLaughlin’s mental health issues stemming from her traumatic childhood were also absent during her trial.
Despite efforts from Congressional member Bush and other lawmakers to stop the execution of McLaughlin, Missouri’s governor denied their requests.
The execution marks the “state’s first use of the death penalty on a woman since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976 and the first execution of an openly transgender person in U.S. history.”
Another individual is set to be executed by the state of Missouri later this year, and Rep. Bush is using her experience as a “national leader in the push for clemency reform and death penalty abolition” to attempt to change this person’s fate.
