I don't doubt that most people on death row are likely guilty, but even one innocent person executed is too many. It's like arguing that civilians killed in war are a small price to pay for the greater goal.
The Gov. of Illinois put a halt to all executions after they discovered that a few recent ones turned out to be wrongly convicted, proven by evidence found afterward. Not only does that affect the innocent - which is reason enough to consider abolishing the death penalty - but it also affects the person's family and thus the rest of us. It's begging for crippling lawsuits at least; at worst, it creates an irreparable distrust for our form of justice and for the government in general.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Capital Punishment
Date: 2006-09-09 07:42 pm (UTC)The Gov. of Illinois put a halt to all executions after they discovered that a few recent ones turned out to be wrongly convicted, proven by evidence found afterward. Not only does that affect the innocent - which is reason enough to consider abolishing the death penalty - but it also affects the person's family and thus the rest of us. It's begging for crippling lawsuits at least; at worst, it creates an irreparable distrust for our form of justice and for the government in general.