Why We Should Use the Death Penalty and Use It Often

I was arguing with a person who doesn't believe in the death penalty. Her contention was that life without the possibility of parole was the right way to go. I told her that, practically speaking, there is no such thing as life without the possibility of parole. She said, "Of course there is." I told her that federal rulings from appeals courts and/or the justice department, a pardon by a liberal governor, overcrowded prisons, or any number of other factors could mean that a person who was never meant to get out of prison could one day be a free man. She didn't believe me. 

In 1981, Wayne Edward East slashed the throat of 77-year-old Mary Eula Sears. He stuffed her body into a closet and ransacked her home. He was convicted of capital murder the following year and sentenced to death. Obviously, the only way the jury expected him to leave prison was in a box. 

A federal appeals court reduced the sentence to life in prison in 1999. He was released on parole late last year. Not exactly what the jury anticipated.

The Parole Board wanted to send him to Abilene upon his release, but Abilene said he couldn't come there. That's where he murdered Ms. Sears. Instead, he was sent to Glenn Heights. That's where he was arrested last month for child molesting.

If we had just carried out the death penalty to begin with, this child wouldn't have been traumatized. The appeals court and the parole board bear the guilt right along with East. And I restate my case -- there is no such thing as life without the possibility of parole.

"Murderer accused of molesting girl." The Dallas Morning News; July 13, 2012; p. 2B.