Like & Share

Friday, January 28, 2011

READ THIS EDITORIAL: Jeff Engelhardt advocates forgiveness, not death penalty

One of the issues that have been debated and passed out of the Illinois General Assembly is the abolition of the death penalty. I found this editorial over at the Capitol Fax today. Rich Miller reports that our Democratic Gov. Quinn is taking his time on whether to veto or approve this legislation. There are some who don't like that and there are those like Rich who support what Quinn is doing in mulling this legislation's fate. Miller further states that the Governor was himself a supporter of the death penalty.

I'm not going to take a position on whether or not this death penalty should be abolished. I just want you to read the editorial. This issue is personal to Engelhardt:
On April 17, 2009, three members of my family were murdered.


My father, grandmother and 18-year-old sister were all stabbed to death in their own home. My mother was in critical condition and my older sister was left with her baby girl and the horrifying sights of what happened to her family.

I was feeling helpless, six hours away at Southern Illinois University.

It didn't take long for the assistant state's attorney to tell me they wanted to pursue the death penalty for the man accused of committing the terrible crime.

As the citizens of Illinois await the governor's decision on the death penalty, it has given me another opportunity to contemplate what I would want done in my situation.
Go read the whole thing!
Posted by at
Tagged: , , , , ,

1 comment:

Gerard said...

Three inarguable reasons for capital punishment-not how it's practice in Illinois, but under an effective criminal justice system:

1. It levers up whatever sentence someone who commits a capital crime might get. In other words, if he only receives life, that can be bargained down-especially if it's life with parole, e.g. Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan, etc..., later on. If someone's convicted of a capital crime and the death penalty is a prospect, then the worst than can happen is he gets life without parole.

2. It's a deterrent. If a capital criminal is executed, he can never kill anyone again, without it's a CO, or another inmate, or someone he murders after escaping from prison-all have happened.

3. It's a wider deterrent to potential murderers. Even though groups like the Death Penalty Information Center will tell you it's not, they're lying. Just go back and research Ernst Van Den Haag's essays, which are definitive in this respect.

1/28/2011 4:42 PM

Post a Comment

Comments are now moderated because one random commenter chose to get comment happy. What doesn't get published is up to my discretion. Of course moderating policy is subject to change. Thanks!