Ken Schram: Death for officer's killer?
I've gotten enough e-mail asking me this question that I feel compelled to answer it publicly.
Would I support the death penalty for the person convicted of killing Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton?
No, I would not.
That's not a easy answer for me to give.
For much of my life I was a qualified supporter of the death penalty.
Until I attended an execution at Walla Walla about 10 years ago.
It was then that I concluded that death was too easy.
I looked at the years and cost of death penalty appeals.
I came to understand that families of victims don't often get the kind of closure they expect.
I questioned the inequity of how death penalty cases are handled.
I concluded that there are a whole host of reasons not to support the death penalty.
And none of those reasons touch on pity for those who commit such horrific crimes.
I would make life in prison for what are now death penalty cases far more harsh.
These are people who should never be allowed in the general prison population.
They should spend the rest of their lives in isolation, to wallow and languish in a 6 by 8 foot cell absent all hope.
I have an immense amount of respect and admiration for law enforcement.
And I admit that the murder of Officer Brenton challenges my death penalty convictions.
But I will stay with what I have come to believe.
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Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. You can also e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com.
Would I support the death penalty for the person convicted of killing Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton?
No, I would not.
That's not a easy answer for me to give.
For much of my life I was a qualified supporter of the death penalty.
Until I attended an execution at Walla Walla about 10 years ago.
It was then that I concluded that death was too easy.
I looked at the years and cost of death penalty appeals.
I came to understand that families of victims don't often get the kind of closure they expect.
I questioned the inequity of how death penalty cases are handled.
I concluded that there are a whole host of reasons not to support the death penalty.
And none of those reasons touch on pity for those who commit such horrific crimes.
I would make life in prison for what are now death penalty cases far more harsh.
These are people who should never be allowed in the general prison population.
They should spend the rest of their lives in isolation, to wallow and languish in a 6 by 8 foot cell absent all hope.
I have an immense amount of respect and admiration for law enforcement.
And I admit that the murder of Officer Brenton challenges my death penalty convictions.
But I will stay with what I have come to believe.
---
Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. You can also e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com.