Are we headed both locally and nationally towards an end to capital punishment, or will it continue for the foreseeable future?

A public debate on whether the United States should abolish the death penalty will be Monday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Emory’s School of Law Tull Auditorium, sponsored by Emory's Aquinas Center of Theology.

The debaters will be Phillip Thompson, director of the Aquinas Center, and John Malcolm from the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation.

Thompson will argue that for ethical, public policy and religious reasons, capital punishment laws should be repealed.  Malcolm will argue for the constitutionality of the death penalty.

The publicity surrounding the execution of Kelly Gissendaner in September 2015 pushed capital punishment to the fore of consciousness again in Georgia. Another execution is scheduled for Feb. 2.

In 2015, only six states had executions. Georgia was third among states with five. 

The event is free but attendees must register.

For more information, see the Aquinas Center.