By Aftab Siddiqui, President of the Dallas Peace and Justice Center
The debate over the death penalty has re-entered national headlines in the aftermath of Christa Pike's botched execution by the State of Tennessee. Pike survived an attempted execution by lethal injection after being administered two doses of pentobarbital. Following the failed attempt, she was hospitalized and later discharged back to prison, while the state faced intense scrutiny—leading to a temporary suspension of scheduled executions and a formal review.
On October 10, 2026, activists representing a wide coalition of organizations gathered to strongly condemn state-sanctioned executions. Demonstrators held a rally on the bridge at the intersection of Mockingbird Lane and North Central Expressway in Dallas. The common theme among speakers was clear: states have no right to kill people, and the criminal justice system overseeing capital cases is broken and unjust. With more than 600 executions carried out nationwide since the Supreme Court allowed the practice to resume, movement leaders stressed that full abolition is long overdue.
Participating organizations and representatives included:
Faith Commons: Rabbi Nancy Kasten, Pastor George Mason
League of Women Voters–Dallas: Diane Tasian, Susybelle Goslee
Dallas Peace and Justice Center: Patricia Murphy, Aftab Siddiqui
Faith Works: Rev. Andy Stoker
Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle: Rev. Christopher Blake Thomas
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty: Nan Tolson
Peace Mennonite Church: Pastor Samuel Voth Schrag
Dallas Religious Society of Friends (Quakers): Paula Keeth
Muslims for Peace: Imam Khalid Shaheed
Texas Coalition Against the Death Penalty: Bob Michael
Pax Christi Dallas: Joyce Hall
Oak Lawn United Methodist Church: Pastor Ryan Wager
Human Rights Dallas: Hadi Jawad, Dr. Jennifer McNabb
SMU Human Rights Program: Dr. Rick Halperin
This issue is especially pertinent in Dallas and Tarrant Counties, both of which have historically led the state in sending people to their deaths. Over the years, human rights activists have engaged in ongoing discussions with District Attorneys in both counties to urge an end to capital punishment, though with limited success.
While most anti-death penalty activists have historically been progressives, recent years have seen activists from the right join the movement. Many base their opposition on a limited-government viewpoint—arguing that governments have no business killing people—or on fiscal conservatism, noting that capital proceedings cost significantly more than life imprisonment without parole.
At a personal level, my own view on the death penalty shifted toward complete abolition in the 1980s while living in Pakistan under the military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq. Seeking to consolidate power, his regime used state institutions and religion to ruthlessly punish pro-democracy activists, labeling them nonbelievers. Military courts routinely targeted low-level political activists, sending hundreds to the gallows. During his 11-year rule, nearly 1,000 people were convicted of trumped-up offenses and executed. Public whippings of politicians, teachers, journalists, activists, and workers were common, alongside public hangings. One consequence of these violent public punishments was the deep brutalization of society, visibly raising the threshold of violence accepted in daily life. It became clear to me then that capital punishment is inherently unacceptable.
In the United States today, the case against capital punishment rests on compelling legal, ethical, and economic arguments
The Risk of Executing Innocent People: The death penalty is irrevocable. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, over 190 people sentenced to death have been later exonerated due to evidence of their innocence. When the justice system makes a fatal mistake, it is impossible to correct.
Lack of Deterrence: Many studies and criminologists suggest that the death penalty does not deter violent crime more effectively than long prison sentences. Crime rates in states and countries that have abolished capital punishment are often comparable to, or lower than, those that retain it. Most individuals committing capital crimes do not weigh the potential consequences or believe they will be caught.
Racial and Socioeconomic Bias: Statistics consistently show that the application of the death penalty is influenced by systemic biases. Defendants are significantly more likely to receive a death sentence if the victim of the crime was white rather than a person of color. Furthermore, defendants who cannot afford private legal representation often rely on underfunded public defenders, impacting the quality of their defense.
Financial Costs: Maintaining a death row system is remarkably more expensive for taxpayers than keeping someone in prison for life. Legal proceedings in death penalty cases are exceptionally complex, involving multiple appeals, extensive pre-trial motions, and specialized housing, which can cost millions of dollars more per case than standard life-imprisonment trials.
Ethical and Human Rights Concerns: State-sanctioned execution violates fundamental human rights, specifically the right to life and freedom from cruel, unusual, or degrading treatment. Ethical concerns also extend to execution methods that result in prolonged suffering, as well as the psychological toll on inmates spending decades in solitary confinement on death row.
It is high time that Texas and the United States abolish the death penalty for the reasons stated above.