June 15
MASSACHUSETTS:
Reinstate death penalty in Mass.
There has been so much debate recently about the death penalty in
Massachusetts.
In my opinion, Massachusetts should reinstate the death penalty for one simple
reason: Some criminals can't be rehabilitated and will always remain a serious
threat to society.
Contrary to the liberal mantra, there is a small but significant population of
individuals that cannot, and will not conform to the rules of society and are
committed to the most heinous and violent acts against humanity, such as the
individual suspected in the gruesome slaughter of the Savopoulous family in
Washington, D.C., or the much-remembered murder of young Jeffrey Curley in
Cambridge.
Inmates sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole can still
be a danger to society. They pose a significant threat to correctional
officers, social workers, medical staff, other inmates and in the event they
escape -- to the public at large.
The citizens of the commonwealth must only remember that we have a penal
facility, the "Souza-Baranowski" Correctional Center, in Shirley, named after a
corrections officer and social worker brutally killed by an inmate serving a
life sentence.
There are literally hundreds of people incarcerated for murder across this
nation that have previous homicide convictions. In other words, hundreds of
innocent victims would be alive today if capital punishment had been carried
out for their first offenses.
Would the anti-death penalty proponents have opposed the death sentence for
Hitler, Nazi war criminals, Osama bin Laden or ISIS?
Sometimes executing the most extreme criminals is the only "reasonable" and
"effective" way to fight evil, deter violence and protect the innocent.
In addition, public opinion supports the reinstatement of the death penalty
here in Massachusetts. The last time the death penalty was on the ballot in a
statewide constitutional amendment it passed by a wide margin of 54 % to 35 %.
Similarly a recent Pew Research Center poll shows consistent national support
for the death penalty by a wide 56 % to 38 % margin in support of the death
penalty.
There is no doubt capital punishment deters premeditated murder. There are many
well-documented cases of criminals sparing an innocent victim to avoid the
death penalty.
I would be the first to concur that there should be strict limits on its use.
However, it is clear to most "common sense" citizens that the death penalty
would bring closure to victim's families and "save lives." There is nothing
inhumane or unjust about a law that would require a guilty person be punished
proportionally to the severity of their crime.
GUY W. GLODIS
Former Worcester County sheriff, former chairman of the Joint Legislative
Committee on Public Safety
Auburn
(source: Letter to the Editor, Sentinel & Enterprise)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Survey: Most Pa. crime victims support death penalty
An overwhelming majority of Pennsylvania crime victims support the death
penalty and oppose any attempts to abolish it, according to a survey released
Monday by the state Office of the Victim Advocate.
The survey found 91 % of crime victims whose offenders are serving death
sentences support capital punishment. Nearly 94 % said when a death sentence is
imposed by a court it should be carried out.
63 % said they do not support abolishing the death penalty and replacing death
sentences with life in prison, even if the offender would remain separate from
the general prison population.
The survey of 389 registered crime victims, all family members of someone who
was murdered in Pennsylvania, was conducted to obtain their opinions after
Governor Tom Wolf's moratorium on the death penalty.
Wolf announced in February that he would grant a reprieve each time an
execution is scheduled until he has reviewed a task force report on the
effectiveness of capital punishment in Pennsylvania.
(source: WHTM news)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Winston-Salem man accused of fatally stabbing girlfriend faces death penalty
A Forsyth County judge approved a request for Forsyth County prosecutors to
seek the death penalty against a Winston-Salem man accused of stabbing his
girlfriend 39 times outside her house last year.
Ferjus Bernard Moore, 53, is charged with 1st-degree murder in the death of
Cheryl Annise Bethea, 43, on Aug. 25, 2014. Authorities said that Bethea and
Moore had dated for about 3 years and had been living together in her house at
305 Upton St., near Stratford Road.
Judge Edwin Wilson of Forsyth Superior Court approved the request during what
is called a Rule 24 hearing. Assistant District Attorneys Jennifer Martin and
Matt Breeding made the request in front of Wilson.
Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill said after the hearing that
prosecutors sought the death penalty based on 2 aggravating circumstances -
that Moore had previously been convicted of a violent felony and that the
alleged murder was "especially heinous, atrocious and cruel." O'Neill said
Bethea was stabbed 39 times. Moore served 4 years in prison on a 1999 armed
robbery conviction. He was released in 2003.
According to Winston-Salem police, Bethea and Moore were arguing outside
Bethea's house when Moore stabbed her. Bethea's daughter and grandson were
inside the house at the time of the incident.
According to a search warrant, Moore was found outside on top of Bethea. Moore
was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for lacerations. Police seized
a knife at the scene, according to the search warrant.
Moore has been convicted four times on charges of misdemeanor assault on a
female - once in 1989, twice in 1995 and once again in 2007.
None of those assaults involved Bethea, who worked as an operations clerk at
Wells Fargo and was an active member of Mount Calvary Holy Church.
No trial date has been set.
(source: Winston-Salem Journal)
NEBRASKA:
Nebraska Death Penalty Repeal Still Under Scrutiny
Some Nebraskans believe the minimum wage issue was placed on the ballot to
drive a certain block of voters to the polls that would in turn impact the
results of other issues on the ballot. Now some believe that is the goal of
Nebraskans for the Death Penalty is to bring out the conservative vote.
Spokesperson Chris Peterson says that couldn???t be farther from the truth.
Lawmakers voted to repeal the death penalty earlier this year. Peterson says
their effort isn't a jab back for repealing the law.
They need signatures from 5% of all registered voters by August 27th to
accomplish that goal and 10% to suspend the bill that repealed the death
penalty earlier this year.
They have offices in Omaha and Lincoln and plan to open a 3rd in Grand Island
soon.
(source: WNAX news)
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