“We are thankful that Louisiana has been named the most pro-life state in the nation by Americans United for Life,” Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, said in January 2020.
Yet, even as the “most pro-life” state in the country, Louisiana pays to defend death sentences in court for 64 people serving time in Angola who will likely never be executed due to the state’s inability to procure the necessary drugs.
Louisiana most recently completed an execution on January 7, 2010, which was the first since 2002, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. 
The response from Louisiana lawmakers to this prolonged pause on executions has been mixed. While some legislators have worked to make Louisiana a well-rounded “pro-life” state and save money at the same time, others have questioned why the state hasn’t expedited executions by any means necessary.
Senate Finance Chairman Mack “Bodi” White, R-Central, noted during a committee hearing that he believes “it’s a lack of will” to perform executions that inhibits the state’s ability to procure lethal injection drugs.
This time three years ago, Gov. John Bel Edwards defended his Department of Corrections and their struggle to procure lethal injection drugs, while still being careful to not oppose the death penalty.
“That’s not through any fault of my own or the Department of Corrections,” he said in a 2019 statement. “I’m not inclined to go back to methods that have been discarded because popular sentiment turned against them or maybe some methods that were deemed to be barbaric and so forth.”
Legislators have revisited the death penalty this year, with bills filed in both the House and Senate seeking to end the practice. Advocates for abolishing the practice held a press conference earlier this week with Catholic faith leaders, including Baton Rouge Bishop Michael Duca. With the Catholic Church having opposed the death penalty for decades, advocates hope to appeal to Louisiana’s large Catholic population.
Yet, the odds of Louisiana abolishing the death penalty are slim, with Republicans feeling emboldened after overriding Edwards’ veto on congressional maps.
Despite the probability of passage being unlikely, the conversation around eliminating the death penalty that is set to happen at the Capitol this year is an important one.
Legislators should eliminate the death penalty, as it will not only save taxpayers dollars, but also take the government out of the business of state-sanctioned murder.
Charlie Stephens is a 21-year-old political communication junior from Baton Rouge.