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[cem_devecioglu]

STMO, it was really an interesting thread..

[albitz]

It's funny you should raise these points Zulu. As I was posting last night the missus had a 'Worst criminals' or some such tosh on the telly. These guys were absolute madmen, running amok full of drugs. No deterrent would have made them think twice.

A case in point S

Although it can of course be argued that regardless of the deterrent factor the world would be a better place without them.

[ScottieMV6]

Until such time that it can be proved that there are no bent coppers who can make up confessions, bent judges and jurors who can be bought etc. then there is no way capital punishment is acceptable in this country IMHO.

There have been too many cases of people being convicted of murder and then found innocent years later and released with a "sorry" from the govt. How would the govt. have said sorry to these people had they been executed? Stefan Kliszko springs to mind.

Just my tuppence worth on this subject.

[Dishevelled Den]

It's funny you should raise these points Zulu. As I was posting last night the missus had a 'Worst criminals' or some such tosh on the telly. These guys were absolute madmen, running amok full of drugs. No deterrent would have made them think twice.

A case in point S

Although it can of course be argued that regardless of the deterrent factor the world would be a better place without them.

Ahh we knudge another aspect of this vexed question and one with which - unfortunately - I'm very familiar

[jereboam]

Until such time that it can be proved that there are no bent coppers who can make up confessions, bent judges and jurors who can be bought etc. then there is no way capital punishment is acceptable in this country IMHO.

There have been too many cases of people being convicted of murder and then found innocent years later and released with a "sorry" from the govt. How would the govt. have said sorry to these people had they been executed? Stefan Kliszko springs to mind.

Just my tuppence worth on this subject.

Don't know about the bent coppers and biassed/bribed judges, but the reliance of modern courts on expert witnesses doesn't exactly inspure confidence that justice will be done.  Some of these experts offer a valuable insight into technical aspect of a case, but some are just career-building academics or are just in it for the money.

[alunonhisown]

Why the death penalty cannot EVER be restored (Reason 1)
JANUARY 1, 2010:



PENNSYLVANIA:

Death-row inmate accepts plea deal, could be free soon


After spending 17 1/2 years in prison, Ernest Simmons, a death-row inmate who steadily maintained his innocence and was granted a new trial after revelations of prosecutorial misconduct, is expected to walk free this year.

Mr. Simmons, 52, was convicted of the 1992 murder of Anna Knaze, an 80-year-old woman who was found strangled and beaten in her Johnstown home. He once came within four days of his scheduled execution.

His retrial was scheduled to begin Jan. 25, but yesterday he pleaded no contest to 3rd-degree murder. Cambria County Judge Timothy Creany resentenced him to 5 to 10 years in prison and a 10-year probationary term.

Because he has already served a longer sentence, Mr. Simmons will be credited with time served. The Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole will determine his release date.

"Depending on how fast the board operates, we're hopeful that he'll be out by the holidays next year," said Kenneth Sottile, one of Mr. Simmons' lawyers. "He's probably looking at 6 months."

Mr. Simmons was awarded a new trial in 2005, after substantial misconduct on the part of prosecutors and police was uncovered.

When police searched for a suspect in Ms. Knaze's murder, they had quickly honed in on Mr. Simmons, a Philadelphia native who in 1984 had admitted to attacking and robbing 2 elderly men.

But an investigation by student reporters at the Innocence Institute of Point Park University revealed that police and prosecutors had hidden evidence favorable to Mr. Simmons, such as hair tests that did not link him to the crime and tapes of secretly recorded phone conversations during which Mr. Simmons repeatedly declared his innocence to his girlfriend. During an interview with student reporters, the prosecution's key witness recanted her witness identification.

"It would have been an entirely different proceeding had we had all the information that was withheld," said Mr. Sottile, who was also Mr. Simmons' lawyer during his original trial.

When he was offered the plea bargain, Mr. Simmons believed the most practical thing to do was to end the protracted judicial process, said Mr. Sottile.

"Ernie's maintained his innocence adamantly since day one," he said. "Had they not permitted him to enter a plea of no contest, he wouldn't have pled."

Cambria County District Attorney Patrick Kiniry said the commonwealth agreed to the plea partly because of the difficulty of reassembling witnesses after a 17-year lapse.

"When this opportunity arose, we decided to put closure to the case, to end all the appeals," he said. "Hopefully this provides closure for the family [of Ms. Knaze] as well."