WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (AFP) - US death penalty opponents hope that Democrat John Kerry, a former prosecutor who opposes executions, wins the presidency from George W. Bush, who strongly supports the death penalty.
Anti-death penalty groups do not officially endorse any candidate. But "obviously, there is a difference between the two on the issue," said Diann Rust-Tierney, executive director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
The issue seems almost absent from this year's campaign. It was not mentioned once during the three closely watched presidential debates these last weeks.
Neither Kerry nor Bush stands to gain politically from advertising his views on the topic, according to Rust-Tierney.
Recent polls have shown that one-half to two-thirds of Americans approve of the death penalty. But with the advent of DNA testing and the overturn of death row sentences in recent years, capital punishment "is not the easy political issue that it once was," Rust-Tierney said.
"One of the reasons this issue has not come up with president Bush is because his record on this issue is so excessive," she added.
"Ordinarily, it would have come up from the Bush campaign because they thought they could win on it but what they, I think rightly, concluded is that whatever advantage they would get by saying John Kerry is anti-death penalty, they would lose and may even harm themselves, because it would require a more close look at this president's record on this issue."
Americans are growing more sensitive to the fallibility of their judicial system, she said. Last week, a man was exonerated after spending 17 years on death row in Texas, the state Bush governed from January 1995 to January 2001. He authorized a record 152 executions during that time.
"People are very concerned about the process and when you look at the process, at the time governor Bush presided over, it's one of the worst in the country in terms of fairness and accuracy," she said.
Steve Hall, director of the Stand Down Texas project, which advocates a moratorium on executions in the southwestern state, is not surprised that neither candidate has mentioned capital punishment on the campaign trail.
Only one question was posed on the topic during presidential debates four years ago, he recalled.
"The issue does not hold a lot of interest for most voters. Most people don't reflect much about it, they think it won't ever affect them and are happy with the status quo that it is available," he said.
His group is not endorsing either candidate, but "clearly Kerry's view mirrors our view."
"He has been a prosecutor, knows how tough these cases are and appreciates the irreversibility of the death penalty."
Kerry is now making an exception in the case of terrorists, a move that is "mostly political pandering," according to Hall.
Death penalty opponents are concerned that the next occupant of the White House will change the composition of the US Supreme Court. Justices are nominated by presidents with the consent of the Senate, and several of the current judges are likely to retire soon.
"Bush has a record of appointing, in district court but especially on appellate courts, extreme individuals, clearly far removed from the mainstream. The Supreme Court deals with significant death penalty issues, virtually every term," Hall said.
Last week, the US Supreme Court heard arguments on the legality of the death penalty for criminals aged under 18 in a case that has received international attention.
The nine-member court was divided and the result likely to be decided by the two moderate justices.
"The concern we share with everybody is that whoever is the president appoints people who are not ideologues but people who pay attention to basic civil liberties and due process," Rust-Tierney said.
"My hope is for a president who's going to appoint thoughtful, fair justices who, looking at the current system, would strike down many of the practices going on with regard to the death penalty."
Since capital punishment was re-instated in the United States in 1976, 935 prisoners have been executed. About 3,500 more are currently on death row in the United States.