How do you feel about the death penalty

[BigSandyRookie]

I guess NC prosecutor Mike Nifong missed that meeting.

I think I'd like to add that NC is in the top 5 states I'll never revisit based solely on their "Justice" system. Followed closely by SC who has made the news too frequently for nut job cops. I'm content to hop on a plane and fly right over places like that on my way to Disney.

I guess all you people worrying about Nifong and other such atrocities think the system was better in the past and that it has recently gotten worse. I seriously doubt it. In fact, I would be willing to bet that there are far fewer injustices and civil rights violations today. Also, thanks to modern technology, such as DNA, I'd be willing to bet that the chances of the innocent being convicted are almost zero. I'm sure someone will say "it should be zero, not almost. I agree. But, as long as humans are in the justice equation, there will always be room for error.

I don't think the modern technology itself has made the process safer for the accused. I do think that, because of it and tv shows like CSI that over-simplify it, as well as a media that immediately leaps to publicize accounts of "Nifongs" and "bad cops" jurors are much less likely to convict without absolutely concrete proof of guilt (CSI-type proof). Let's face it. Americans, by and large, don't trust the system or authority like before. I'm not saying they should. I'm just saying it's a shame. Believe me, for the accused today, the system is wired to protect them at all costs. I could go on forever, but i won't.

I know a little of what i say. I'm a prosecutor. I try cases all the time. I've never prosecuted anyone that i even suspected was innocent. I have seen numerous guilty people "walk" because of distrust of police and what we call the "CSI effect". I do believe in the death penalty, but feel more strongly about truth in sentencing. Don't get me started there.

[father of 4]

Thanks for your input big sandy. I feel you have said it all and as far as I am concerned you know a heck of a lot more about it than any of us. Thanks. Our DA in this area told us on the Grand Jury that he wasnt going to bring a case before us unless he felt he had enough evidence to convict.

[slab_slayin_fool]

i think that there is no real death sentence as it should be carried out in the same week at the most after being convicted.

[beenfishin?]

My 2 cents.... Seeing as how our "justice" system is so screwed up and so many innocent people are found guilty, I can't just agree or disagree with any thing in particular. I will say that if there are two eyewitnesses then the death penalty should be enforced and carried out within 24 hours!! DNA evidence should NOT be used in court! Any idiot can steal your hairbrush and leave YOUR DNA at HIS crime scene!! Guess who goes to prison, then?? 3 guesses and the first 2 don't count!

[Outlaw1&2]

Have no sympathy for em, someone who commits a henous offense warranting the death penalty should be fryed immediantly,they have no place on this earth.

[Foxy]

So I spent some time in a supermax prison the other week (for work). After that experience, I'd have to say my opinion on the death penalty has changed a bit. I used to oppose it all together.

IMO criminals should be sent to life in prison. If they behave and cooperate while in prison, fine, let them stay there for the rest of their lives. However some inmates go to prison and continue to commit crimes such as murder. I can think of one inmate I met who attacked and stabbed 2 corrections officers (one of them in the head) and then went on to stab his own lawyer, in court. He's serving a life sentence for several very brutal rapes btw. He accosts anyone who walks past his cell. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, his entire existence is centerred around ways to attack and kill people. Any object you give him, he'll find a way to fashion a weapon out of it. He's not mentally ill according to the experts. IMO guys like that should be put down. Aside from the fact that they are more trouble than they are worth, there is just nothing you can do with guys like that. There's no way you could ever change them. What do we do to dogs that behave like that? The risk that they pose to others outweighs any reason for them to be kept alive.

[father of 4]

Foxy all I got to say to that is AMEN. Everyone that is against the death penalty should do as you did and meet people like that. Plus people saying that we treat our offenders too harsh need to do the same. Im proud you had that experience. Now you can speak from seeing not just hearing about things.

[Foxy]

Foxy all I got to say to that is AMEN. Everyone that is against the death penalty should do as you did and meet people like that. Plus people saying that we treat our offenders too harsh need to do the same. Im proud you had that experience. Now you can speak from seeing not just hearing about things.

^Thanks

People think that by sending someone to prison for the rest of their lives = problem solved. But what they don't realize is that those people are still very much a danger to society. There are a lot of good, decent people that risk their lives everyday going to work in correctional institutions. And a life sentence in prison is a badge of honor for a lot of criminals. Its sick, but a lot of them LIKE prison. They view their parole time as simply a vacation. It is also well known that most of America's top street gangs are run from prison. Even criminals locked in solitary confinement, from thousands of miles away are able to send a message and have someone killed. They have nothing to lose. They have already gotten the maximum sentence they can get. If spending the rest of their lives in a room the size of a bathroom for 23 hours a day and not being able to ever hold their own children again doesn't deter them from a life of crime, then what else possibly could? Like I said, the risk they pose to the public outweighs their right to life.

Sure, innocent people sometimes go to jail. Maybe some have even gotten the death penalty. But I find it hard to believe that the truly innocent inmates are the ones stabbing corrections officers.

PS - Oh yeah and the sad thing is that these gang leaders sitting in their cells 23 hours a day probably make more money then you or I do

[magnum500]

My sentiments exactly Foxy. The more that are put to death the fewer problems we will have in prisons.
The other thing about the death penalty that a lot of people do not realize is the impact it has on the victims family. The appeals go on and on and every time a new appeal comes up the victim's family is made aware of it. This just keeps bringing up the past when you are almost comfortable with life again.It brings the horrible memories to the forefront and makes you relive that day again and again.

I do feel sorry for the criminal's family for their loss on him being put to death. But it still remains that he commited a horrific crime and he should pay the ultimate price for his crime. We can only hope that this person is at peace with God when he pays that final price.

[Luke77]

If you really want to cry, and be broken hearted. Just Google terms like "freed by DNA evidence" "released on DNA evidence" "DNA evidence proves innocent" it's an endless list.

On the other end of the stick, that should also mean anyone convicted during the present for killing a family of 3 should be executed because modern DNA analysis can prove it.