8th grade Amendment debates

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/08/03/fresh-doubts-over-a-texas-execution/

New evidence shows a man put to death in 2004 may have been innocent

He had been imprisoned for allegedly setting fire to his house with his 3 daughters inside (Amber, a 2-year-old, and twin 1-year-olds Karmon and Kameron.)

“But now new evidence has revived questions about Willingham’s guilt: In taped interviews, Webb(the informer), who has previously both recanted and affirmed his testimony, gives his first detailed account of how he lied on the witness stand in return for efforts by the former prosecutor, John H. Jackson, to reduce Webb’s prison sentence for robbery and to arrange thousands of dollars in support from a wealthy Corsicana rancher. Newly uncovered letters and court files show that Jackson worked diligently to intercede for Webb after his testimony and to coordinate with the rancher, Charles S. Pearce Jr., to keep the mercurial informer in line.”

The Innocence Project accused Jackson and said he would be sanctioned or even criminally prosecuted for falsifying official records, withholding evidence from the defense, suborning perjury and obstructing justice.

Source:http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/23/freed-from-death-row-after-28-years-refuse-to-give-them-my-joy/

Was on death row for two murders in 1985 which happened during different fast food restaurant robberies

Was on death row for 28 years

Set free April 3 2015 when ballistic results countered the only evidence used to throw him in jail in the first place

He is trying to let go of the anger as that will be a whole other kind of prison

"I have too much to live for to allow a bunch of cowards to take my joy. I refuse to give them my joy," Hinton said.

"I'm at peace with myself. The thing is, are they at peace? They know what they did. They know they lied 30 years ago. I feel that every man that played a part in sending me to prison, every man or woman, whether the judges, prosecutors, ballistic experts, or witness, whoever — they will answer to God. So I'm going to enjoy my life the best I can," Hinton said.

At a third robbery, a survivor said they spotted Hinton there even though he was ‘clock in’ at the time working in a supermarket/grocery store

Also the person who was checking the ballistics in the first place 28 years ago admitted he had issues with the microscope at the time

Hinton also had a poorly funded team, unexperienced to defend him

"They took half my life and it's like they didn't care. They were willing to kill an innocent man," Hinton said.

"Thirty years ago, I had a judge that stood up proudly and sentenced me to death. I had a prosecutor who couldn't wait to get in front of a camera and say that they had took the worst killer off the streets of Birmingham. But come April 3, no judge was willing to say Mr. Hinton we apologize for the mistake that was done. No D.A. was there to say we apologize.

This shows that the law favours those who are white and don't believe that black/Hispanic lies matter as much.

Yes, I found this link too. This is cruel and unusual punishment because this would basically be inflicting PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.) upon the accused. Times have changed, it isn't 1947 anymore, if it were to happen in modern day then I have no doubt in my mind that it would not be allowed

Source: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/

The families of the victims agree that this money could be used for counselling etc. “The death penalty focuses an incredible amount of attention on the killers, which makes victims’ families relive the painful details of a murder over and over again. At one time I believed that the death penalty would benefit people like my mother and me, but in reality nothing could be further from the truth. What would help us is not to continue to pour money into the death penalty, but dedicating those funds to law enforcement, rehabilitation programs for non-violent offenders, and juvenile programs, to prevent other families from having to suffer a loss like ours.”

Source: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/

Views of the murdered victim’s family

“The death penalty focuses an incredible amount of attention on the killers, which makes victims’ families relive the painful details of a murder over and over again. At one time I believed that the death penalty would benefit people like my mother and me, but in reality nothing could be further from the truth. What would help us is not to continue to pour money into the death penalty, but dedicating those funds to law enforcement, rehabilitation programs for non-violent offenders, and juvenile programs, to prevent other families from having to suffer a loss like ours.”

"The death penalty keeps families stuck in the legal process, delaying when they can put difficult legal proceedings behind them and begin to heal...Kansas has hung on to its costly and broken death penalty for too long. It’s time that we as a state eliminate this harmful policy."

First Clifford O’ Sullivan wanted the man who murdered his mother at age 6 to suffer the death penalty and now 20 years later he says "It certainly doesn't do the two things it's supposed to do. Offer retribution and deterrence." and after talking to the man who killed his mother for 5 hours he said "If they put him up for a date I would stop it, just like I started it," O'Sullivan says. "It wouldn't happen. Over my dead body."

SOurce:

From the families of the murdered victims:

First Clifford O’ Sullivan wanted the man who murdered his mother at age 6 to suffer the death penalty and now 20 years later he says "It certainly doesn't do the two things it's supposed to do. Offer retribution and deterrence." and after talking to the man who killed his mother for 5 hours he said "If they put him up for a date I would stop it, just like I started it," O'Sullivan says. "It wouldn't happen. Over my dead body."

Source: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-representation

In 2009, in another case, the Supreme Court ruled against the death penalty for Porter, a prisoner, as his right to effective counsel had been broken as his lawyer failed to present mitigating evidence in the penalty phase.

Source: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-representation

Often the accused cannot afford their own attorney so they are appointed one and these attorneys are often underpaid and overworked or lacking experience especially for one case as serious as the death penalty. Some of these attorneys show up drunk or sleep though some of the trial

Just because you are appointed an attorney doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be a good one, this is a person LIFE at stake and people are showing up drunk to these trials. An accused man named White, before trial, prosecutor offered life without parole sentence. White’s lawyer misunderstood that he could not be convicted of capital murder. The jury recommended a life sentence but the judge got the last say and so he was executed

After 2 lawyers, White got Benoit who practiced transactional tax and corporate law and had never been in a courtroom for a day in his life. He no longer practices law. Then when the next lawyer came around, White had no idea that the execution date was approaching as he assumed he was still in the appeals process and his former lawyer had never told him of the missed appeal.

How would you know who of these people could be innocent? Are you willing to throw away someone else's life away when you may not have all the facts for the sake of overpopulation. Also each death penalty costs approx. $1 million in Washington according to Seattle University according to http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty so that money could be used to make more prisons because once a life is gone you can't take it back.