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Originally Posted by forester814  Hmm. OK, this idea has merit.
But how would we establish "no doubt at all?"
A signed confession? Those can be coerced.
DNA evidence? If there is none, does that automatically exempt the guy from the death penalty, and he gets life in prison instead as the maximum penalty? |
Several eyewitnesses.
There was a case in a town I used to live in where the perpetrator shotgunned the victim in front of dozens of people. And when one man who had witnessed the shooting became enranged and tried running the shooter over, the perpetrator fired a round into his windshield too.
That was a pretty clear-cut case. Even so, the victim's family asked that the prosecution not pursue the death penalty.
Not so much out of mercy, but rather so that the killer would have to rot in prison and be reminded every day about what he had done. At least that's what the victim's father said during the sentencing hearing. If at first you don’t succeed – try, try again and then quit. There’s no sense in making a damned fool of yourself. – W.C. Fields
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