Death Penalty

Well, the people have spoken and they have recommended the death penalty for Scott Peterson. I say reccomend because , after all that work and a unanimopus decision of the jury, the judge in the case can still choose to sentence Peterson to life in prison.

Given the way that the death penalty is carried out in this country it will likely be decades before Peterson is executed if ever. The likelyhood is that even if he gets the death penalty, Peterson will be a senior citizen before it comes around.

The Peterson verdict is the most sensible thing I have heard from California in years.

The problem with capital punishment in this country is that  the process takes so long to complete. By the time an execution takes place, no one but the victims remember the crimes.

I was recently asked whether I believed that the death penalty was a deterrent to crime. Even if it is not, I support it simply as a punishment for crime.

What I know for sure is that the death penalty deters repeat offenders.