Howard Tomb Brooklyn, Nov. 18, 2007 To the Editor: Even if we have no clue whether or not the death penalty actually deters, crime prevention is only one of a handful of reasons that a jurisdiction might consider when choosing to mete out the ultimate punishment.
I came to believe, at least, that an alliance of convenience between prosecutors, psychiatrists, death-penalty-prevention specialists, Kaczynski's own lawyers, and even the judge on the case, checkmated Kaczynski into a guilty plea and a sentence of life without parole.
Since the murders of her family members, Ms. Bishop has spoken nationally and internationally and written extensively advocating for abolition of the death penalty, gun violence prevention, exoneration of the innocent and the role of forgiveness and mercy in the criminal justice system.
He welcomed recent government announcements about tightening enforcement around drug-driving, but said the "planned changes focus too much on penalties rather than prevention".
Mr Hammond has dismantled the very specific human rights objectives – including freedom of expression, torture prevention, death penalty abolition and women's rights – that he inherited from Lord Hague.
She emphasized that the agency has stepped up enforcement actions, proposed new safety rules and issued advisories on damage prevention and increased penalties, as well as expanding the use of excess flow valves and replacing cast iron pipelines.
"The only practical solution to the racial disparity in cocaine sentencing, and to a failed but unending and costly drug war, is to lower the penalties … while investing in effective prevention and rehabilitation," Mitchell told her colleagues in arguing for SB 1010.
The death penalty is about retribution for past offenses, not prevention of future ones.
"The costs of prosecuting capital cases are enormous," she said, "diverting much-needed funds from other law enforcement and crime prevention programs in pursuit of a penalty that has never been shown to have a deterrent effect".
And it's not as if the people of the state are clamoring for more death penalty spending over other issues, like, education, crime prevention, health care, or social safety nets.
What is put at risk here – beyond the threat of the death penalty for HIV-positive homosexuals – is the entire apparatus of Aids treatment, prevention and care".
