Again...if you have a system that puts innocent people to death, even if it is by accident, then you can not continue using the system. The ends simply do NOT justify the means when it means killing innocent people. I think you guys have a warped view of prison...maximum security pens are not as comfortable as you guys seem to make it out to be. It's not the Marriot....but some sort of diversions for these guys have to be put in place, or you create a far more dangerous atmosphere for the security personnel who work there. Lock 'em up and keep them there for life. Unfortunately, given the costs of appeals, that's cheaper than the death penalty.
<b>Max</b>: Also, what about cases like the McDuffie case, where a convicted triple murderer gets out and kills five more innocent women (that we know of). Doesn't DNA evidence severely reduce the likelihood of wrongful conviction and application of the Death Penalty? I'm sure that when he was sentenced, no one imagined that he would ever be put back onto the steet even once much less twice. Is it better to minimize our mistakes and do the best we can with convictions and sentencing or leave the general population at risk?
2 concerns here, giddyup... 1. i'm all for life sentences, no parole...you murder someone, you should never see the light of day again. that's the only way. 2. I'm a little nervous about all the DNA stuff...i'm concerned that the science itself will be doing the convicting, rather than a judge or jury.
I get no satisfaction out of killing anybody-- unless it were one of my loved ones I think! In the McDuffie case there were conflicting issues. He was released because of over-crowding issues (it was called inhumane punishment). How can that be avoided? I'm just tired of the expense we bear on behalf of our least-deserving citizens. I wish we had some kind of Devil's Island where we could park the murderers and rapists an by-and-large forget about them. Let them form their own society and function as they see fit. It's a wide open second chance. Maybe execute the worst of them if they are ever escape and are caught on US soil or something....
This came directly from the General Accounting Office - the Federal government, not the ACLU or some other organization you might think would have a vested interest in bias: <i>In 1990 a report from the General Accounting Office concluded that "in 82 percent of the studies [reviewed], <b>race of the victim was found to influence the likelihood of being charged with capital murder or receiving the death penalty."</b></i> You don't get much clearer than that. Why do you think attorneys prosecuting a black person on trial want white peopl in the jury box? They realize that, however progressive and un-biased the person may seem, there is a better chance at getting a conviction and a stiff penalty if the jury is white. That is just the reality.
He was arrested LAST YEAR? How can Iran execute somebody in a year, yet it takes us about 10-15 years?
Iran lacks a little basic judicial concept called due process, which our Constitution supports...another one of those annoying rights our grandfathers fought and died to preserve!
Juries already hear tons of scientific evidence that is hard to understand. And consider that most DP cases turn on EYEWITNESS accounts or circumstancial evidence, DNA is much more reliable than the current system. If anything, more application of DNA testing will help exonerate the innocent. However, there are limitations here as well. They classify cases differently depending on what type of DNA evidence is available and whether it would exonerate the accused. I think Category 1 (or whatever it is they call it) is when there is a single perpetrator and DNA present (as in a rape/murder). If the semen is NOT from the defendant, then the DNA testing has proven scientifically the validity of the claims of innocence. So far those released from death row have been in this category. As more variables are introduced the likelyhood that the DNA will cause someone's release is reduced. Of course there is MUCHO resistance from DA's and Federal prosecutors to DNA testing. They drag their feet at best. They are not interested in losing convictions they've already gained. My wife said the DA in Tennessee (this guy was later released after DNA proved he was not the perp) told her that he would release the sample for testing only if she got a court order. And that if she did get a court order, they were going to charge him with several other crimes committed (i believe it was rape/murders) in the same area about that time. This is years after the guys trial, and yet this DA was holding extra cards to play hardball on the DNA issue. Crazy.
