George Pataki

George Pataki, an avowed supporter of capital punishment, was elected governor of New York in 1994. The following year he signed legislation reinstituting the death penalty in the state (New York’s previous governors, Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo, had consistently vetoed such legislation). In the following viewpoint, he credits the death penalty for helping to reduce crime rates in New York. The death penalty deters crime by sending the message to potential murderers that their own lives may be taken, he asserts. It also prevents situations in which convicted killers serving life sentences are free to kill again upon their escape or parole from prison.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What, in Pataki’s view, happened in New York during the two decades in which the death penalty...