Thursday, May 31, 2012

Week 3- Question Reponses (#3)

Garland simply stated that less than 1% of inmates on death row are actually executed. The statistics show that (some states do not follow this pattern) executions since 1976 are far less than the number of inmates on death row per state. I cannot say for sure since I have never been through an experience like this, but I feel that families would heal differently and may gain retributive justice other ways, besides wanting offenders to be put to death. I am sure that some families do not feel justice until the offender is killed, depending on the severity of the crime (which is obviously high if they are on death row) and their views on capital punishment. However, some families may be happy just knowing the offender is spending the rest of their live in jail, which will not be very easy. I honestly cannot answer how I feel because I certainly would not be able to kill someone or watch someone being killed.     

1 comment:

  1. Nice comments! My husband and I were talking about this recently. As a reporter, he witnessed an execution; as an attorney, he has defended in capital murder cases. He firmly believes as you do that families gain retributive justice in ways other than watching an execution. I have been very moved by several stories of crime victims' family members begging the prosecutor not to go for the death penalty, because they don't believe it "balances out the scales."

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