When thinking about the death penalty and life in prison without parole, think about all the convinctions that have innocent people dying by the hands of the state or who are serving sentences for crimes they did not commit. One would be too many, but it is far more than that.
If you have any doubts, or you're a believer and want to see the great work that is happening in this field, check out the Equal Justice Initiative or the Innocence Project (it is a goal of mine to work for an organization that does work like what is happening at at EJI and the IP).
Yes, this is something i think about and talk about all the time but yes, i just watched the movie "conviction" and yes, I cried. The justice system, at its best, is flawed. At its worst it is a travesty of justice. In too many situations having money determines the kind of defense you can get when the consequences are life and death or life in prison with no parole opportunity. I am a big believer in fair. and that just isn't.
check out these interesting articles about related topics:
The scandal surrending the forensic evidence labs in North Carolina is horrifying - the story was broken by reporters are the Raleigh News & Observer. Convinctions from years of prosecutions are being looked at again, and overturned. However, there are a number of cases where there will be no justice for the wrongfully convicted because those defendants have been executed.
Pennsylvania and the Death Penalty;
2 Alabama counties accused in lawsuit of keeping blacks off juries in serious criminal cases;
2 Alabama counties accused in lawsuit of keeping blacks off juries in serious criminal cases;
and then, of course, there was the tragedy of the recent execution of Troy Davis.
