In the past, I’ve been open about the fact that I support the death penalty for every reason but one; the likelihood – indeed, the inevitability of eventually executing an innocent person. When there is any conceivable doubt – and the fact that 200 people have been exonorated from death row in the past 31 years means that doubt is very conceivable – the fact that life in a supermax is every bit as secure as death and is reversable makes it much more acceptable.
But for all of that, I say this to you today; when they finally stomp John Evander Couey from the face of this earth for burying Jessica Lunsford alive, I will throw a party at my house.
Just saying that I’ll put my quibbles about capital punishment aside, now that Couey’s been sentenced to death.
So we can agree that if we’re really, really, really sure we can snuff these sub human creatures?
I am personally of the opinion that if someone kills a child in a manner as he did (or Richard Allen Davis did to Polly Klaas), with aggravated sexual misconduct, the killer should suffer death in the same manner as their victim. Rape him (with a broomstick) and bury him alive.
Granting the theoretical possibility of an innocent person winding up on death row, I haven’t seen evidence of such a case. Following your link to number 200 led, not to a death row inmate, but to someone on probation after serving time for rape.
Rape is about the only crime where DNA evidence is likely to prove guilt or innocence. Even then absence of evidence is not evidence of innocence. DNA is unlikely to be the only evidence in a case. Rape is not generally a capital crime.
New DNA evidence has led to the release of many convicted criminals. Many of these will not be retried. In only some of these cases is the DNA evidence likely to truly prove innocence. More often it taints the case so that there is sufficient doubt to lead to release.
I suspect that at least some of those released because of new DNA evidence are, in fact, guilty. I do not know what percentage of these people have been released from death row. I also am unaware of any convincing evidence of even one innocent person being executed in recent decades.