56 Pro Death Penalty Quotes by Attorneys from the U.S.A III
"The crimes of rape, torture, treason, kidnapping, murder, larceny, and perjury pivot on a moral code that escapes apodictic [indisputably true] proof by expert testimony or otherwise. But communities would plunge into anarchy if they could not act on moral assumptions less certain than that the sun will rise in the east and set in the west.” [The Death Penalty, but Sparingly 1 July 2001]
“Abolitionists
may contend that the death penalty is inherently immoral because governments
should never take human life, no matter what the provocation. But that is an
article of faith, not of fact, just like the opposite position held by
abolitionist detractors, including myself. All of the
instrumental or complementary reasons chorused by anti-death penalty supporters
do not withstand scrutiny.” [The Death Penalty,
but Sparingly 1 July 2001] “The
death penalty honors human dignity by treating the defendant as a free moral
actor able to control his own destiny for good or for ill; it does not treat
him as an animal with no moral sense, and thus subject even to butchery to
satiate human gluttony. Moreover, capital punishment celebrates the dignity of
the humans whose lives were ended by the defendant's predation. Nothing less would
adequately give expression to the sacredness of innocent life.” [The Death Penalty,
but Sparingly 1 July 2001] “Conscription and war, like the death penalty, also involve government action that knowingly will precipitate the extinguishment of human life. And the dead conscripts, unlike a capital criminal, will be free of any legal or moral guilt.” [The Death Penalty, but Sparingly 1 July 2001] “The death penalty is first cousin to conscription and war. In both cases, the government exercises coercion and undertakes action that it knows will end human life. In the former, the justification is retribution commensurate with the sacredness of the lives taken by the defendants in cold blood. In the latter, the government sacrifices the lives of its citizens to protect our constitutional dispensation from domestic or foreign enemies or for related reasons of urgent national security.” [The Death Penalty, but Sparingly 1 July 2001] |
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Sunday 18
December 2011 - "When I was prosecutor in Houston in
the 1980s, there would be something like 900 murders a year, and it seems like
there was a store clerk or two being killed every weekend," said Rob Kepple, executive
director of the Texas Association of District and County Attorneys. "It probably shouldn't surprise folks that the active
use of death penalty was a tool that was used, at the very least to try to save
some of the lives of those clerks. Now the murder rate is way down and you
don't see nearly as many of those as you used to." |
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Now think about the person who intentionally murdered that boy or girl. If you are not so angry that you want to kill that murderer, you are not being honest with yourself. [Our Innate Morality Demands Execution May 07, 2001] This leaves as the primary objection that the state should never kill, an untenable position. States kill in just wars and authorize police officers to fire in self-defense. The state also, inevitably, makes choices that result in death, such as the decision to raise the speed limit to 65 mph or build a dam. [Our Innate Morality Demands Execution May 07, 2001] It is true that the death penalty is administered not in the heat of war or a gun battle but after the opportunity for deliberation. But the procedural safeguards and opportunities for multiple judicial appeals may strengthen the case for the death penalty. [Our Innate Morality Demands Execution May 07, 2001] People make all sorts of choices that shorten their lives. The state has put people on notice that committing murder can lead to the death penalty. McVeigh has made his choice and should have to live and die with the consequences. [Our Innate Morality Demands Execution May 07, 2001] Much of the disquiet of elite opinion with the death penalty seems to stem from a reluctance to differentiate between right and wrong. A just society, however, must protect its citizens and vindicate their sense of justice. Perhaps paradoxically, executing McVeigh is the best way to affirm Americans' deeply held belief that life is a gift from God and that those who cold-bloodedly snuff it out should not continue to enjoy that gift. [Our Innate Morality Demands Execution May 07, 2001] |
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Sunday 23 October 2011 - While some defense lawyers say Hochul is overzealous and is wasting taxpayer money, Hochul, 52, defends his record. He said he is enforcing federal law and trying to protect law-abiding people in neighborhoods terrorized by gang violence. Hochul said his office does elect to file murder and racketeering charges in some gang-murder cases, and it's the murder charge in the context of racketeering that makes the cases death penalty-eligible. But ultimately -- after a review process that usually takes months -- the final decision on whether to pursue the death penalty is made by Attorney General Eric Holder in Washington. And after a death penalty case goes to trial, a jury decides whether the defendant will face execution. "I often go out and speak to block clubs in the inner city, and people come up to me and tell me they are afraid to go out for a walk in their own neighborhood, or sit in their own backyard," Hochul said. "We will continue to bring these cases against the most violent offenders and leave the ultimate decisions to the attorney general and juries." Among those who still face potential death penalty prosecutions are: (1) Three men accused of ambushing and murdering Quincy Turner, a race car driver who was a federal witness in a Jamestown drug probe. (2) Six people accused of torturing and murdering Francisco Santos, whose body was found on the Seneca Nation's Cattaraugus Territory, and other violence. (3) Three alleged members of the Seventh Street gang who are accused of murders, assaults and drug trafficking on Buffalo's West Side. "We take these decisions very seriously," Hochul said. "We only file capital charges against those defendants who appear to be the worst of the worst." |
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Thursday 3 May 2012 - District Attorney Steve Cooley asked the Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday to execute a Death Row inmate convicted in the 1985 murder of a pizza deliveryman in a Glendale hotel room. Cooley requested the court-approved single-drug protocol--used in Ohio, Washington and Arizona for Death Row inmate executions. “It is time Sims and Cox pay for their crimes,” Cooley said. “I am joining with the California District Attorneys Association and other District Attorneys throughout California in asking the Superior Courts throughout the state to hold these killers responsible for the innocent lives they took so many years ago.” “The death penalty was voted into law by the citizens of this state and continues to be supported by a majority of the citizens,” Cooley said. He noted that it has been six years since the last California execution. “It is time to enforce the law of the state and carry out the death sentences that have been returned by juries, imposed by trial judges and affirmed by our appellate court system,” Cooley said. |
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Friday 2 November 2012 - "Prosecutors across the country are closely watching what happens with this, with some concern about how it could potentially impact them if this gains momentum," said Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorneys Association. Burns, whose group represents 39,000
prosecutors, said law enforcement officials are fighting to preserve an
"appropriate penalty" in the most heinous of criminal cases. |
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Tuesday 5 July 2011 - Former Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine, a proponent of the death penalty and a vocal critic of Ryan's decision to clear death row, pointed out that among those who benefit from the ban is a man who raped a mother and daughter in front of one another before stabbing them to death. "I believe there are some people who do such terrible things that they forfeit their right to be among us," he said. Devine said he doesn't believe the death penalty is gone forever in Illinois, and that the debate will begin anew when there is a particularly horrific crime. "I suspect when the next John Wayne Gacy, Timothy McVeigh ... happens, there will be some discussion of bringing it back," he said. "Nothing is carved in stone." |
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San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos was among fellow top prosecutors at the steps of the state Capitol on Tuesday 24 April 2012 voicing their opposition to a measure that aims to abolish California's death penalty. The California District Attorneys Association, of which Ramos is past president, is opposed to the SAFE California Act, a November ballot measure that would replace the death penalty with the punishment of life in prison without parole. The measure to abolish the death penalty official qualified for the November ballot on Monday. If voters approve, 725 death row inmates would have their sentences converted to the new punishment, which would be the harshest that prosecutors could seek. In Sacramento, Ramos marched with fellow district attorneys and victims' family members in support of Crime Victims Week, which began on Monday. Opponents say the measure removes justice for victims of death row prisoners. "It's a horrible idea and I think (supporters of the measure) are manipulating the facts," Ramos said. "Nobody sitting on California's death row has ever been proven innocent. These people brutally and horrifically murdered citizens of our county. We are careful about who we select for the death penalty and we don't make these decisions lightly ... I can tell you that the people sitting on death row are not only guilty, but they deserve the ultimate punishment."Saturday 5 May 2012 - San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos is speaking out against a November ballot initiative that aims to end the death penalty in California. In an interview, he said it's his priority right now. The SAFE California Act was cleared last month for the fall ballot. It seeks to replace the death penalty with a sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole as the maximum punishment for murder. The initiative's proponent, Savings, Accountability and Full Enforcement for California, cited several reasons for the repeal effort, including the state's significant budget crisis, the high cost of maintaining the death penalty and the risk of executing an innocent person. If the initiative passes, more than 700 death row inmates - including 43 who committed their crimes in San Bernardino County - would join the prison's general population. But it would require the inmates to work and pay restitution to the state victim compensation fund. "I think it's wrong," Ramos said of the repeal effort. "As we know, the citizens of California have voted for and approved the death penalty." Ramos said the title of the SAFE California Act is misleading and that its proponents are simply using California's tough economic times to further their cause. We have nobody who is innocent sitting on death row, he said. Ramos said the non-profit RAND Corp. found no objective data as to the true cost of the death penalty. The state will have to pay for housing either way, he said. "I'm such an advocate for the death penalty," said Ramos, who also advocates for victims' rights. "You want to save money, let's start putting people (on death row) to death." Statewide, 41 death row inmates killed police officers, 141 killed children and 135 sexually assaulted and raped their victims, Ramos said. One of San Bernardino County's notorious killers, Kevin Cooper, has been sitting on death row for 27 years after being convicted of the hatchet slayings on June 4, 1983, of Doug and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old house guest in Chino Hills. Cooper appealed 10 times each to the California Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, Ramos said. "Each
time, the evidence got stronger against him," he said. "Cooper wanted us to conduct DNA testing and we did. The
most recent blood tests revealed Cooper's DNA." No execution date has been set for Cooper or any other California death row inmates because of concerns that the state's lethal injection method, which uses three injections, is inhumane. But Ramos does agree that the death penalty needs to be fixed. There should be an appellate process, he said, but it needs to be streamlined to prevent appeals just for the purpose of delay. Ramos also believes the method used should be a single injection and that it's not cruel and unusual punishment. "It's a humane way," he said. "It basically puts them to sleep. I will tell you this, our victims didn't have that choice. They didn't get to say goodbye to family members." District attorneys statewide use their discretion when deciding whether to seek the death penalty. "This is probably one of the most serious decisions I have to make as a DA," Ramos said, "whether or not to seek the death penalty. I have a lot of respect for the whole process. It's a huge decision to make." Wednesday 3 October 2012 - San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos, a Catholic, said he respects Prejean. But Ramos, who did not attend Wednesday’s speech, said the death penalty truly is for the worst of the worst. He pointed to Rickie Lee Fowler. A jury convicted Fowler of five counts of first-degree murder and two counts of arson in connection with the 91,000-acre Old Fire. The same jury Sept. 28 recommended that Fowler be executed. Earlier this year, Fowler was sentenced to 75 years to life for repeatedly raping a cellmate. “If Fowler is not executed”, Ramos said, “he’s going to continue to commit crimes on other victims. Our question is, ‘Will he kill someone in prison? Will he kill a correctional officer?’” Ramos said passage of Prop. 34 would cause pain and suffering for the families of victims. Murderers like Fowler will be able to receive visits from their families. “Where do our families go?” Ramos asked. “They go to the cemetery.” |
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Death penalty abolitionists, invoking utilitarianism theories of justice, argue that empirical data doesn't establish that the penalty is a general deterrence to murder. They should consult a correctional officer who works with the most violent inmates sentenced to life. What incentive, short of their own deaths, would these inmates have to refrain from killing in the absence of the death penalty? It's absurd to suggest that not once, in mankind, has anyone considered the prospect of losing his own life in deciding against the commission of a murder. The preservation of that one innocent life alone justifies the existence of the death penalty. Furthermore, it is a specific deterrent as the likes of David Alan Gore will never kill again. [Sunday 6 May 2012] Abolitionists argue life without parole adequately addresses society's
concerns. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security by this
bait-and-switch tactic, which leads us down the "slippery slope." The
death penalty has the historical support of a significant majority of the
public, yet the courts have steadily diluted its enforcement by invoking the
amorphous concept of "evolving standards of decency." Drawing upon European doctrine and U.N. resolutions, the Supreme Court
has defined decency for us. Is it really hard to imagine a future when the
court determines that the denial of any chance for release from prison is
"indecent" and hence violative of the Eighth Amendment? Guess what
group will be out front making this argument? Mark my words! [Sunday 6 May 2012] |
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Do you support the death penalty?
Why or why not? Yes, only in the most
extreme cases. There is no set formula for deciding which case deserves the
death penalty. Each case must be considered on the facts of the crime, the
nature of the victim, the offender's history and mental status, and the other
factors required by law. |
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Friday 30
September 2011 - The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has denied the claims of an
Arkansas man convicted of murdering a Kingfisher woman in 2005 in Blaine
County. Grissom’s
second appeal claimed his defense failed to properly investigate, develop and
present mitigating evidence on his behalf. He also claimed testimony from an
Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper at trial was “emotional and improper.” The
appeal also claimed Grissom’s Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were
violated. The court denied all claims. |
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Saturday 2 March 2013 - Harford County State's Attorney Joseph Cassily calls that "bogus," saying 80 percent of the murders committed in Maryland are by black men. Cassily said if the death penalty is repealed, people already serving life sentences could murder with impunity. "This is not repealing the death penalty, this is about legalizing certain forms of first-degree murder by removing the penalty," he said. |
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Do you support the death penalty?
Why or why not? As King County Prosecutor
I will uphold the law. I plan to approach each case individually, on its own
merits, just as Norm Maleng did. I think the death penalty is justified in rare
cases where the crimes are especially heinous and guilt is absolute. But we
have to be very careful to apply the ultimate sanction rarely and fairly — too
many death row inmates have been proven innocent by DNA tests to do otherwise. |
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Thursday 21 June 2012 - The union representing Riverside County’s deputy district attorneys is opposing a November ballot initiative to end capital punishment in California. “Abolishing the death penalty is not only dangerous to the citizens of Riverside County and California, but it also will drive up prison costs at a time when California is facing a severe budget shortage,” said Michael Hestrin, vice president of the Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Association, in a press release. “This initiative is an attempt by the ACLU to hijack our criminal justice system and curtail the rights of victims.” As of May 2012, there are 725 murderers on death row. Of those, 126 involved torture before murder, 173 killed children, and 44 murdered police officers. According to estimates by Californians for Justice and Public Safety, the repeal could result in an additional $600 million in housing costs and nearly $300 million in increased health care costs for inmates. In 2009, Hestrin prosecuted Raymond Lee Oyler, who is on death row following the arson-murder of five firefighters during the 2006 Esperanza fire. More recently, Hestrin, along with RCDDAA President and Senior Deputy District Attorney John Aki, obtained a death penalty verdict in the trial of Earl Ellis Green, who murdered Riverside Police Officer Ryan Bonaminio in 2010. Hestrin has successfully prosecuted seven death penalty cases and has six convicted murderers awaiting execution. The California District Attorneys Association named Hestrin Prosecutor of the Year in 2010. “Today, we
as prosecutors have taken a stand against the ACLU’s desire to protect the
murderers of our police officers, firefighters, and children. We unite
with law enforcement to stand up for victims and keep California a safe
place to live,” Hestrin concluded. |
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After the Supreme Court
turned Allen down, Deputy Atty. Gen. Ward Campbell, who prosecuted him, noted
that "every court has now rejected all of Allen's claims." "Allen deserves
capital punishment because he was already serving a life sentence for murder
when he masterminded the murders of three innocent young people and conspired
to attack the heart of our criminal justice system," Campbell said. |
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“There are some cases, a number of anecdotal instances where it seems
pretty clear that the death penalty in some instances does deter people from
committing certain crimes. Most of these guys aren’t going to think about what
they do. For the majority of them, it’s probably not going to deter them. But,
there are some of them, will not, do not kill because their afraid that they
might meet the same fate that the person that they’re going to kill meets.” [Interview by Professor
Fabrikant & class, thoughts on the
death penalty (February 2010)] |
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Saturday 28 January 2012 - Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders, a vocal proponent of the death penalty, said the state should find a way to accelerate the pace of executions so aging condemned inmates aren't an issue. "When voters start making timely executions a priority, the legislature will take steps to speed up the process," Sanders said. Thursday 3 January 2013 - Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders believes the state uses an abundance of caution when carrying out the death penalty. The state has executed three inmates since the U.S. reinstated the death penalty in 1976 and has 35 inmates awaiting execution on death row. Sanders said the state gives death penalty cases a significant amount of scrutiny. Costs for death penalty cases would just go into life-without-parole cases, he said. He believes society benefits from the death penalty. “I believe some killers are so heinous that they forfeit their right to live on this earth,” Sanders said. “Life in prison isn’t even punishment to some criminals. It’s just sending them home. If, God forbid, the Sandy Hook school shooting happens here in Kentucky but the killer livers, the vast majority of Kentuckians believe the death penalty should, at the very least, be an option, and rightfully so.” |
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Saturday 28 January 2012 - Kings County District Attorney Greg Strickland sees it in more basic terms: "People who rape and kill a child deserve death." There are four death penalty cases pending in Kings County, including one that involves a Corcoran State Prison inmate accused of killing his cellmate. That defendant already was serving life in prison without parole, Strickland said. If the death penalty was abolished, inmates who kill in prison would never be punished, Strickland said. "Where's
the justice in that?" he said. |
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Thursday 7 October 2010 - The U.S. Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a jail escapee who killed a hospital guard and a sheriff's deputy in a rampage that set off a manhunt near Virginia Tech. William Morva appealed his 2008 capital murder conviction and death sentence in the death of hospital security guard Derrick McFarland and Cpl. Eric Sutphin in August 2006. The Virginia Supreme Court last year rejected Morva’s claim that he should have been allowed to present an expert’s testimony on whether he would endanger guards or fellow inmates if the jury sentenced him to life in prison without parole. The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to hear the appeal, as first reported by The Roanoke Times on Wednesday. Morva was in jail awaiting trial on attempted robbery charges when he was taken to a Blacksburg hospital for treatment of an injury. He overpowered a Montgomery County sheriff’s deputy in the hospital and used the deputy’s pistol to shoot unarmed security guard McFarland, 32. Morva shot Sutphin, 40, one day later on a walking trail near the Virginia Tech campus, which had been shut down on the first day of classes as police tracked Morva. Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Brad Finch said he, too, was pleased with the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case. “This decision by the U.S. Supreme Court concludes a very important
part of the appeals process, and it represents an important step towards
justice for the victims and the victims’ families,” Finch said. |
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But Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger
said Thursday he remains a proponent of the death penalty. Wednesday 7 March 2012 - Shellenberger said there needs to be an "ultimate punishment" for those who commit certain heinous acts, including the killing of a police officer or the murder of a correctional officer by a prisoner. "What do you tell the family of a correctional officer when a defendant is already serving life for murder and then they killed your loved one?" Shellenberger said. "There has to be an ultimate penalty." Currently, Maryland has five defendants sitting on death row, including three who have avoided being executed since 1983. The state has executed five men since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, the last being Wesley Baker in 2005 for the 1991 murder of grandmother Jane Tyson. She was shot and killed during an armed robbery in a Catonsville parking lot in front of her 6-year-old granddaughter and 4-year-old grandson. Since Baker's execution, Maryland has established some of the most stringent policies in the country for prosecutors to seek the death penalty. Shellenberger said since 2009 capital cases in the state are limited to those with "biological or DNA evidence proving guilt, a videotaped confession or a videotape that can link the defendant to a homicide." Those restrictions, Shellenberger said, practically eliminates the chances of someone being wrongly convicted of capital murder and offer enough safeguards to ensure those improperly imprisoned—like Bloodsworth—are freed. Baltimore County has only sought the death penalty twice since the new restrictions were put in place, Shellenberger said. Both cases involved defendants in the 2010 murder of Hess gas station owner William "Ray" Porter.
Walter Bishop was sentenced in November to life with the possibility of parole after shooting Porter twice at the East Joppa Road station in Towson after he told police he was promised $9,000 from Porter's wife, Karla. Shellenberger said he will seek the death penalty against Karla Porter, who is scheduled to go to trial later this year."I believe that Maryland right now has the most restrictive death penalty statute in the country," Shellenberger said. "[The legislature has] added conditions to our death penalty statute that basically said you cannot rely solely on eyewitness testimony, that if you want to go forward with a death penalty case you would also need DNA linking the defendant to the crime, or a videotaped confession or an actual video of the murder taking place itself." "It's not called capital deterrent. It's called capital punishment. The concept is the punishment fits the crime." Sunday 27 January 2013 - The more loosely organized death penalty supporters, who have been slower to mobilize this year, expect a close fight that they still believe they can win. The last time advocates attempted repeal, in 2009, lawmakers ultimately recast the state's death penalty law to require a high standard of proof. As a result of the change that year, prosecutors can seek the death penalty only when they have DNA evidence, a videotape of the crime or a video-recorded confession by the killer. "Not only is it targeted to the worst of the worst, there are assurances there that an innocent person won't be affected," said Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott D. Shellenberger, who has been an outspoken proponent of keeping Maryland one of 33 states to allow the death penalty. |