I just finished watching Bill and Scotty’s discussion about Trump’s end to Obama’s moratorium on executions as far as the Federal Government is concerned and just wanted to add a few thoughts on the matter.
I have over the years considered and reconsidered my position on a death penalty even being an option for judges and juries to contemplate. Like it is with many people, when I was younger I had very definite and absolute opinions about imposing a death penalty with a very narrow ‘grey area’. As I have gotten older, raised a family, and perhaps gained some wisdom during those years my position and attitude are just as firm as ever but also a bit more merciful, quite a bit more merciful. I do still, however, think that there is a need for a death penalty to be an option yet it needs to be very clear and I mean abundantly clear in how it is defined with clear limits and equally strict rules for how and when a death penalty can even be considered.
One thing Bill had said is “if a law is not to be enforced it should be stricken from the ‘books’ ” and I would add to that any penalties that go with the unenforced, stricken law should go with it. Furthermore, I also think that there should be more strict rules that govern the appeals process. I am not a lawyer and don’t know how to go about enforcing such limits in or on the appeals process but it clearly needs to be done. When there are inmates sitting on ‘death row’ for more than a decade in many cases that just lessens or takes the teeth out of applying a death penalty, to begin with. If it is just a matter of the courts being jammed then that is one of the things to be focused on first during the restructuring of how, when, and where a death penalty can even be considered.
Finally, a death penalty should be primarily an individual state issue or consideration and that the federal government should be severely limited as to what crime or type of crime would rise to the level of a potential death penalty. Lastly, a person’s race, ethnicity, skin color, or ideology should NEVER even be a part of the whole and the entire issue of the existence or application of a death penalty regardless of the crime committed. Equal and blind application of our laws has helped us here in the USA to maintain the stability and relative health of our republic and hopefully will continue for many years to come.