My rant about the death penalty

In the comments on an article about the death of Gregory Powell, one of the infamous Onion Field killers. One commenter wondered if the cost of the long incarceration of Powell would change the mind of anti-death penalty folks like me. Here's my response:

Sorry, but no.

The simple fact of the matter is that the police make mistakes or act in illegal ways to close a case. Not always, not even often, but it happens. Same goes for prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges.. the entire criminal justice system is capable of error.

So what do you do if evidence is found that someone was wrongly convicted? A judge can void the conviction and call for a new trial. In extreme cases the judge can declare the entire case irreversibly tainted and order the convict freed immediately. States have funds to compensate those imprisoned wrongly for their loss of freedom.

How do you compensate a dead man? Isn't the premeditated intentional killing of an innocent man the very definition of murder? Should we execute those responsible for the wrong verdict?

People are freed every month after their convictions are overturned. Your lust for blood and vengeance isn't justice, it's the howling of a lynch mob.

If you really cared about lowering prison costs you'd be advocating for an end to the war on some drugs, working to end the poverty and hopelessness that leads to a life of crime, and demanding alternative sentences for non-violent offenders.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/