On his way to the site of the Oklahoma City bombing on Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke affirmed that he categorically opposes the death penalty — even in the cases of convicted terrorist Timothy McVeigh and the El Paso mass shooter, who killed 22 Wal-Mart shoppers earlier this month in the district he once represented in Congress.
“I don’t support the death penalty,” O’Rourke told reporters. “I don’t know that taking another life will prevent the taking of lives going forward. I understand that some people feel differently, and it’s hard to argue with them after seeing the faces of the lives lost.
“It’s hard to argue with those in El Paso who feel that way, when someone came in and killed 22 human beings in our community. … That’s my belief and — but I understand those who feel differently about it,” he said.
NEW, TOUGHER-SOUNDING BETO UNLOADS ON TRUMP: ‘WELL, JESUS CHRIST, OF COURSE HE’S RACIST’
O’Rourke has previously said that nonviolent felons should be able to vote while behind bars, stopping short of fellow White House hopeful Bernie Sanders, who has called for the total enfranchisement of all felons, including the Boston Marathon bomber. – READ MORE