Until you have a family member murdered you cannot understand the relief and closure that their murder getting the death penality can give. I had an uncle murdered in a robbery who left behind a wife and 5 children ranging from teenagers to very young. His daughters were unable to be walked down the aisle when they were married, his only son who was the youngest didn't have a man to guide him into manhood, his wife didn't have her husband to grow old with.
The anger and sadness will never leave my uncles family. If his muderer had gotten a live sentence they would have felt they got justice, instead he got a life sentence. He went on living having family visits, conjugal visits with his wife, I believe fathering another child. Pictures of his families living, and letters. Their husband and father had none of these. For them this was not justice.
So do I believe in the death penalty, YES. In most states if not all having the death penalty appeals are automatic. Also the prisoners go on to live 15-20 years or more. That is the average of the appeals process.
It cost us billons of dollars a year to keep all the life sentence murders in jail. We have terrible over crowding in most states. You also have him continuing his criminal activities in jail - murdering other prisoners who may have not been violent criminals, raping other prisoners, selling drugs etc.
In my opinion these billions could be put to better uses, education of our children, child protection so we maybe have less criminals, law enforcement, and medical research.
Yes, this is a very hot topic for all of us for different reasons, even among family members. Because it is a matter fueled by emotions it will never be solved to everyones satisfaction.
