Jury Recommends Death For Ford
Today's Times- Standard covered the Wayne Adam Ford trial being held in San Bernadino, but they didn't link to the story on their web site. Here's an older link to the story for those that don't remember Ford.
Wayne Ford, many of you will remember, was the Arcata based truck driver who admitted to killing a bunch of women. He turned himself in to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office a few years ago. Now the jury has recommended the death penalty and I believe it's up to the judge to follow through with their recommendation. Call me a softy, I think he should get life imprisonment.
Sure, I'll be the first to admit I'm pretty much opposed to the death penalty. I won't argue the reasons for my opposition here. I just think that, in a case like Ford's, where he turned himself in (police had no idea he was the killer), that should be taken into consideration. He could of just kept on killing and perhaps never been caught. He might have actually saved someone else by turning himself in.
I don't know how far I'd go with that line of reasoning. I know I felt kinda the same way about Polly Klaas's killer, Richard Davis. He confessed to killing the girl during an interview. Of course, he was already under arrest as a suspect in the murder, but he confessed.
Should Richard Allen Davis have gotten life for fessing up to what he did? I don't know. Maybe not, but I still wouldn't be found out in front of San Quentin protesting his execution. Regardless of my general opposition to the death penalty, I'm not that die- hard an opponent to protest the Davis execution and I won't lose any sleep over it.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 8:12 AM
12 comments
12 Comments:
We shouldn’t trust a flawed and racist system to determine who should be put to death. Despite a jury recommendation, courts often narrow the scope of what can be entered into evidence or even mentioned during the trial. Sometimes prosecutors are so hell-bent on getting a conviction they overlook evidence that would prove innocence, and there are innocent people who have been put to death. A death penalty news index from Amnesty International noted that ''capital punishment in Illinois...so riddled with faulty evidence...and legal incompetence that justice has been forsaken.''
I have no sympathy for rapists and child molesters and other perpetrators of violent crimes against the innocent. But the current system does not serve justice and shouldn’t be trusted to put people to death.
As a practical matter, it is cheaper for the tax payers to hold someone in prison for life than it is to put them to death.
yeah, I want to pay in excess of 40 grand a year to keep him alive. not.
i do agree, fred, that someone like him deserves more consideration than richard alan davis, by virtue of the fact that he stopped himself by turning himself in, therefore you can conclude that he knew right from wrong, and had a shred of humanity left in him.
not richard alan davis, who took the girl from her bedroom and killed her.
no sympathy. and a humane execution is too kind.
Heraldo wrote, "As a practical matter, it is cheaper for the tax payers to hold someone in prison for life than it is to put them to death.".
Years ago, when I was working at Juvenile Hall, a couple of the psychiatric dudes from County Mental Health were discussing the death penalty in the court room. One of them was Phil Crandall, currently the head honcho at Social Services. I forget the other one's name.
Anyway, the other guy brought up the point that, after all was said and done, it was cheaper to just do life imprisonment, after all the legal wrangling and appeals.
I don't know that I'd ever really looked at it that way before, but I thought he made a good point.
I know some will say we should eliminate all the appeals and such and just execute the guy. But we're talking about the State taking a human life here, so I think we need the legal hurdles to the death penalty to be high.
I might add that that is my opinion. Libertarians differ on the issue of the death penalty.
I wrote, "a couple of the psychiatric dudes from County Mental Health were discussing the death penalty in the court room.".
Strike out "court". I meant "control".
Fred, you won't find many Ph.D going for the death penalty, you just won't. You'll find even less MD wanting it.
Hey Heraldo, does this have a familiar ring to it?
"Sometimes defense attorneys are so hell-bent on getting an acquittal, they overlook evidence that would prove guilt."
One does not negate the other.
anon.r wrote, "you won't find many Ph.D going for the death penalty, you just won't. You'll find even less MD wanting it.".
I'm sure you probably won't, but their occupation doesn't make their arguments any more or less valid.
"Sometimes defense attorneys are so hell-bent on getting an acquittal, they overlook evidence that would prove guilt."
I would hope so. It's not the defense attorney's job to prosecute his or her client.
Heraldo said: "...there are innocent people who have been put to death."
I would be interested to learn of the source of this "factoid" as it applies to our "racist" criminal justice system.
Hey Fred,
Like you, I'm an LPer who opposes the death penalty.
Stumbled across you doing a "libertarian" search on Yahoo360.
If you're interested, my page is
http://360.yahoo.com/jshuey44
Racist Criminal Justice System, your are a complete $#%^@ idiot! You are talking out your ass ! You have nothing to back up or base that stupid stupid statement.
Also, don't know if it's an absolute fact but I heard (cable TV) that it costs abour $30,000 a year to keep a murder in prison and if he / she lives for 30 years it is still cheaper than going for the death penalty. The reason being the murder gets two lawyers appointed at each level of appeal. And the appeals an go on for 10 years or more. The up side to the death penalty is that it keeps lawyers employed at government expense.
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