Over the years I have heard one group after another come up with all kinds of reasons, proofs, and studies claiming that punishment does not deter crime. I don't agree. Do I believe there are too many people incarcerated for non-violent crimes, yes. Do I believe that there are far too many offenses where the punishment is worse than the crime, yes. Do I believe that the Justice-Industrial-Complex is way out of whack, emphatically yes. But I do not agree that harsh punishment, even execution, is a futile deterrent.
Case in point:
A wild scene unfolded in a South Carolina courtroom on Thursday when two former lovers became hysterical after receiving a pair of life sentences for the murder of a three-year-old girl. The defendants, both 25, were living together as a couple in 2009, when police discovered the toddler covered in cuts and bruises, the Charleston Post and Courrier reports. Butts, identified as the child's godmother, was caring for Serenity while her mother, Ieshia Richardson, moved from Detroit.
You will never convince me that anyone who knew these women or their families won't think twice.
In my view, execution would have been a proper sentence for these two. Now, the taxpayers are on the hook for the $2-million or so it's going to take to support this trash for the rest of their lives. I have two three-year-old granddaughters. Had anyone done to them what these women did to that little girl, I would have killed them myself.
This is an everyday just another day in Detroit. At least they got a portion of real justice, here they may have gotten 20 years and out in 12. For those of you who don't know I live in Detroit.
ReplyDeleteI have some reservations about the death penalty, because of the fallibility of the justice system and the risk of executing someone who is, in fact, innocent. However, for some, like these two, a single execution isn't enough.
ReplyDelete"Had anyone done to them what these women did to that little girl, I would have killed them myself."
ReplyDeleteAnd I might have helped you and then thrown myself on the mercy of the same justice system. But I do not believe that the death penalty is an effective deterrent when the appeals process goes on for decades. And the Innocence Project has shown that there can be value in the very delays that make that penalty behaviorally ineffective.
WM... there's a little Detroit in every city.
ReplyDeleteSusan... you're right one execution isn't enough for these type crimes.
Nance... I have the same reservations as you and Susan but the fact of the matter is that mistakes are made and always will be and we will always regret them. To me, that is not reason enough to do away with the death penalty. In many cases, such as the recent case here in Florida where it took 15-years to execute someone (Davis) who had "reformed" while in prison and created a cadre of people seeking his clemency that included Jimmy Carter, people are guilty with irrefutable proof and justice should be swift and certain. In this case, 5 eye-witnesses saw this man kill someone in cold blood, in broad daylight. In cases like that, that person should have been marched out of the courtroom and straight into the death chamber. As it was, it cost us upwards of $5-million to finally put him away. Think what that money could do for the homeless.