You say that life in prison without parole actually provides a more swift and certain penalty for murder. Isn’t death the most certain there is?
When someone is sentenced to life in prison without parole, that’s the end of the story. They fade from the front pages and into irrelevance. For surviving loved ones, the forced tie to the murderer is over and the struggle for healing can begin. That’s not the case with the death penalty – a killer gets in the newspaper for the trial, and again for the punishment, and again for the automatic appeal, and more often again and again because of the stunningly high reversal rate for death sentences. And what’s worse, we are no longer certain that those sentenced to death are guilty. As of January 2006, 122 people have been exonerated from death row – about one person is exonerated for every nine who are executed. Every time there is another mistake and another trial, public confidence in the criminal justice system becomes a little less certain, and a little less justice is done.
Related Questions
- You say that life in prison without parole actually provides a more swift and certain penalty for murder. Isn’t death the most certain there is?
- How are victims’ rights impacted by the lengthy death penalty process?; and (7) Is life without parole a viable alternative to the death penalty?
- Do you think someone who commits murder should get life without parole, or get the death penalty?
