Airs Sunday, May 12, 2019, at 6 p.m. Louisiana is among 30 states that allows the death penalty as a form of criminal punishment. Currently, executions in the state are on hold due to a federal suit against Louisiana over its lethal injection protocol. Louisiana is also unable to get the drugs it uses due to a ban by drug manufacturers. Attorney General Jeff Landry says Louisiana could obtain lethal injection drugs if the Legislature made the purchasing process more secretive. Lawmakers could also allow for execution options other than lethal injection. Meanwhile, Republican Representative Dan Claitor and Democratic Representative Terry Landry will introduce bills this session to abolish Louisiana’s death penalty saying it’s expensive, not a deterrent, and morally wrong. Louisiana Public Square brings together proponents and opponents of capital punishment to explore the debate on “The Penalty of Death."
• District Attorney Don Burkett, Sabine Parish
• Richard Bourke, Director of the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center
• Michelle Ghetti, Deputy Solicitor General, La. Department of Justice
• Rep.Terry Landry, D-New Iberia
The program features interviews with Wilbur Stiles, Louisiana Deputy Attorney General; Alanah Odoms Hebert, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana; E. King Alexander, a Calcasieu Parish attorney on the Advisory Board of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty; and Wayne Guzzardo, the father of a daughter who was killed in 1995 whose murderer is still on death row. LPB CEO, Beth Courtney, and LPB news anchor, Natasha Williams, host the program.