Death Penalty Bill: An Update on ‘Pendulum’
January 31st, 2007 by josh farleyThough we’ve recently discussed capital punishment here at the forum — no jokes about how everyone in the “capitol” should be punished please — we need to revisit the topic.
Why? Because some of our legislators, including local Rep. Patricia Lantz, are calling for a bill that would put a stay on the death penalty until July 2008.
House bill 1518 would create a “death penalty task force,” that would look into the overall system.
Capital punishment in the United States is certainly on the
decline. A recent Associated Press story by Robert Tanner reported
that the “number of death sentences handed out in the United States
dropped in 2006 to the lowest level since capital punishment was
reinstated 30 years ago, reflecting what some experts say is a
growing fear that the criminal justice system will make a tragic
and irreversible mistake.”
What is your take on the issue?
But before you do that, here’s some more background.
In the U.S., 37 of 38 states use lethal injection as the means to carry out the death penalty. But recent cases in Missouri, California and Florida have seen the courts choose to re-examine the issue of whether the form of execution is “cruel and unusual punishment.” One of the last acts of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was to suspend the death penalty and establish a commision to see if injections were “constitutional,” according to an article in the Economist.
Here in Washington, where the death penalty has been used off and on since 1854 when it was a terriotory, there are now seven individuals on death row, according to the department of corrections. An eighth was recently overturned by the state’s supreme court.
Kitsap County actually has the oldest case on death row, also according to the corrections department. Jonathan L. Gentry, convicted in 1991 of fatally bludgeoning 12-year-old Cassie Holden just outside Bremerton, was recently in court on another appeal to overturn his sentence. That outcome is pending.
Apart from federal issues, Washington state has its own quandry with the death penalty. Here it is, summed up by AP writer Gene Johnson:
King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng has not sought capital punishment in the past three years — ever since he famously agreed to a plea deal that spared the life of the Green River serial killer, Gary Ridgway, in exchange for help finding more remains of his victims. Many lawyers wonder if he will ever seek the death penalty again against lesser murderers.
Also according to Johnson, a state supreme court decision last year saw the high court vote 5-4 in keeping the death penalty law — thus the pendulum may be close to swinging toward banning it.
Where do you fall?
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February 1st, 2007 at 12:57 am
Death Penalty Was at one time I believe solved two problems .
One making sure that person would never take another life ,
Two providing a deterrent to make sure you knew if you took someone’s life , you would have to forfeit yours.
Can’t prove a deterrent , and I would also concede in the way the death penalty is carried out today , it is not a deterrent except for that individual will not murder again .
It does not seem like the deterrent works anymore , for one it appears if you have money you can out of the death penalty , also with the number of appeals and the way the system of checks and balances , the system appears now to basically checks and checks and no balance .
I just wish the people who were so concerned about making sure murderers get so many benefits of the law , would pay attention just a little more to obtaining some help for the victims . Just an example would be those who take a life and own property , that asset should be easily obtained by the victims children or family … That kind of concern needs investigative committees set up by the Reps like Pat Lantz. They seem overly concerned for the rights of the criminals .
I am really tired of the victims of crimes being ignored , like recently with the victims of child abuse who testified and felt so humiliated and ignored .
They listened to prosecutors who plea bargain cases , and disregarded the victims on account they were not the experts ..
Victims of crimes ARE THE EXPERTS .
February 1st, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Victims of crimes are, in too many cases, dead … or so traumatized by the abuse…they cannot function.
The ONLY thing we can do after the fact is to ensure the convicted predator never is loose again to destroy another life and alter life forever for the family.
The predator, the killer, gave up all ‘rights’ to life when s/he destroyed the innocent.
Our obligation and duty is to put the predator down humanely.
Any good veterinarian can take care the predator doesn’t ‘suffer’…
Sharon O’Hara
February 8th, 2007 at 10:05 am
Because of the humungous costs of trials and appeals, our system has added another victim to the crime of murder–the taxpayer in society. Since I don’t think capital punishment is a deterrent to keep someone from committing their first act (many live in prison better than they did on the streets), the goal, perhaps, should be to prevent further victimization of society. Ideally this would be from a quick elimination of the actual perpetrator. However, that won’t happen as long as mistakes by attorneys and judges continue to go unpunished and in fact attorneys are rewarded by more business for new trials and appeals. Thinking we will get a just solution to the problems inherent with capital punishment from committees chaired by advocates of the Bar isn’t realistic. There is too big a conflict of interests.
I’d be for elimination of the Death Penalty if it meant less expense to society. By spending untold thousands and often millions of dollars to eliminate someone, we are damaging ourselves, not the perpetrator.