SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
An Alabama inmate was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday after a deadlocked Supreme Court refused to stay his execution, The Associated Press reported. The inmate, Ronald B. Smith, had been sentenced to death by a judge despite a jury's recommendation of life without parole.
Mr. Smith was convicted in 1995 of murdering Casey Wilson, a convenience store clerk, the previous year. By a vote of 7 to 5, the jury rejected the death penalty and recommended a sentence of life without parole. The judge overrode that recommendation, sentencing Mr. Smith to death.
[...] In January, the Supreme Court struck down Florida's capital sentencing system, which also allowed judicial overrides of jury recommendations of life sentences. "The Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death,"
Should judges be allowed to overrule a jury's decision for sentencing?
(Score: 1) by Francis on Sunday December 11 2016, @11:09PM
It's not just about lying, some people genuinely believe that they could impose it, but when push comes to shove it's different when it's real.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Monday December 12 2016, @01:34AM
Sure, that can happen too. But given the number of people who have been sentenced to death row and were later exonerated, I think any safeguard in the system is necessary. If you can't get 12 death-qualified folks to look at the defendant and say "he deserves to die," then I don't think their opinions (whatever their reasons) should be overruled by a judge.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Monday December 12 2016, @03:36AM
I completely agree. While I think it's unrealistic to ever make it 100% mistake free, other than by removing the possibility completely, it seems like the process is far more error prone than it ought to be. Not just the people on trial, but the color of the victim plays an unreasonable role in the decision.
And to make matters worse, if you kill enough people, they'll often times let you off with life in prison, just so that they can find the bodies. If serial killers aren't sentenced to death, then the whole concept is rather meaningless.
There's also the issue of there being no evidence that the death penalty actually deters crime. People don't commit crimes assuming that they'll be caught, there's few that do that. So, what's the point of getting blood on society's hands unnecessarily?