Death Penalty Doesn’t Solve Anything
The Department of Justice will seek the death penalty of the alleged murderer in the Tree of Life massacre, and the Exponent (“Death Penalty for Synagogue Shooter Sparks Debate,” Jan. 16) did an excellent job explaining the pros and cons to this action from a legal and ethical point of view, but there are other considerations.
Who does the death penalty punish? The relatives and friends of the victim who must endure years of mandated state and federal appeals reliving the horrendous event, Pennsylvania taxpayers watching the expenditure of millions of dollars better spent or the prisoner who will have a needle painlessly inserted into a vein? Then there is the fact the sentence is rarely carried out. Pennsylvania has executed just three people in the last 57 years, and two of them requested death rather than life in prison with no parole.
There is an elephant in the room: The death penalty is presently suspended in Pennsylvania and Gov. Tom Wolf has stated he will never sign a death warrant, and prosecutors using the death penalty to bolster their careers are fully aware of this. Enough. This disgrace to humanity should not receive the notoriety he seeks and be quietly and inexpensively put into a maximum security prison for life.
Ralph D. Bloch | Jenkintown
