Abolish the Death Penalty: Mission Accomplished

[NeverAgain]

It's up in the House now. Let's get this done!

[NeverAgain]

I ask again, since most involved are running away from my question.

Do you support life in prison, without parole, ever, for first degree murderers?

I don't think anyone is 'running away from your question', just confused on who it is for.

For me personally, I am fringe on this. I do not believe anyone, no matter what they have done should not have the ability to be looked at by a parole board. We also need to revamp our parole boards. We need a whole bunch of Criminal Justice Reform stuff done. And Abolishing the Death Penalty is Stage One for me in a goal of reforming a broken system.

[NeverAgain]

I ask again, since most involved are running away from my question.

Do you support life in prison, without parole, ever, for first degree murderers?

I don't think anyone is 'running away from your question', just confused on who it is for.

For me personally, I am fringe on this. I do not believe anyone, no matter what they have done should not have the ability to be looked at by a parole board. We also need to revamp our parole boards. We need a whole bunch of Criminal Justice Reform stuff done. And Abolishing the Death Penalty is Stage One for me in a goal of reforming a broken system.

So we have a brutal killer commit a planned cold blooded first degree murder of a pregnant woman and her two year old and her four year and of her husband, shooting them execution style through the head so he could rob them of $200.00 cash and wanted no witnesses.

You advocate parole for such an individual.

How very noble of you. 

Let's first remember that advocating for parole is not the same as being reviewed by a parole board, and does not necessarily mean receiving parole. In these horrific circumstances we as a society need to strive for justice for all, which means representing all sides and giving them the opportunity for redemption. And that is indeed noble.

[NeverAgain]

I ask again, since most involved are running away from my question.

Do you support life in prison, without parole, ever, for first degree murderers?

I don't think anyone is 'running away from your question', just confused on who it is for.

For me personally, I am fringe on this. I do not believe anyone, no matter what they have done should not have the ability to be looked at by a parole board. We also need to revamp our parole boards. We need a whole bunch of Criminal Justice Reform stuff done. And Abolishing the Death Penalty is Stage One for me in a goal of reforming a broken system.

So we have a brutal killer commit a planned cold blooded first degree murder of a pregnant woman and her two year old and her four year and of her husband, shooting them execution style through the head so he could rob them of $200.00 cash and wanted no witnesses.

You advocate parole for such an individual.

How very noble of you. 

Let's first remember that advocating for parole is not the same as being reviewed by a parole board, and does not necessarily mean receiving parole. In these horrific circumstances we as a society need to strive for justice for all, which means representing all sides and giving them the opportunity for redemption. And that is indeed noble.

Then I can only conclude from your remarks that the person in the example I have given is worthy of parole or at least a chance of parole, and that you do not see the need for some criminals to be sentenced to life in prison without parole ever, regardless of the heinous crimes they have committed, and that you see as noble such an individual receiving parole should the parole board deem parole.

As I stated, I believe that everyone is worthy of parole and being looked at by a parole board. Whether they have been rehabilitated and are able to be reintegrated into society is up to these parole boards, which again must be revamped. I think the idea of redemption is noble and that is what I want all people who have been put in prisons to achieve, whether they choose to strive for rehabilitation is their goal. But ours should be letting those who have proven themselves worthy of being released be reviewed by a parole board.

But I will say that with the (hopeful) passing in all 3 regions gives me hope that this is only the beginning of advanced criminal justice reform, and in my term, as Representative I plan to build on this with new reforms in our broken system.

[NeverAgain]

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A couple of things wrong with that situation. You seem to be framing parole boards as the furlough program with Willie Horton who on release from prison raped a woman and brutally assaulted her fiancee. There are many things that parole boards take into account when looking at possibly paroling an individual. There is their conduct during incarceration, mental stability (as studied by a prison psychiatrist), remorse, rehabilitative efforts/progress, and much more.

There was a study done that showed that "Of 368 convicted murderers granted parole in New York between 1999 and 2003, six, or 1.6 percent,were returned to prison within three years for a new felony conviction – none of them a violent offense." and John Caher, a spokesman for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services said: "Individuals who are released on parole after serving sentences for murder consistently have the lowest recidivism rate of any offenders."

That is not to say that parole boards do not have their problems, I still do get antagonized that there are still 1.6% that do turn back to crime and I'm sure that would probably be higher if we repealed life without parole entirely (though not too much). That is why as one of the things I will be looking for as a member of the Congressional Committee on Criminal Justice Reform, is to find ways to make sure that these prisoners have been fully rehabilitated and can be reintegrated into society.

Life with the possibility of parole is my goal for all prisoners, but I am completely data driven and want to strive for the best possible solution for our citizens, whether they are inside or outside of jail. I will be looking at parole boards, sentencing, rehabilitation, and drug use in my position on the Committee.

So I and others can be clear on where our Senators stand, our elected representatives, are there any other Senators who would support life in prison without parole for first degree murder?

Winfield, I am working with NeverAgain to establish a congressional committee for criminal justice reform. Once it is up and running, I would really appreciate your insight and ideas in it. Hopefully these committees can start creating a stronger dialogue between legislators and their constituents.

I second this, even with some of your less than helpful comments about my positions. I look forward to your thoughts and opinions there.