Should North Carolina enact a two-year moratorium on the death penalty to make sure it is being used properly and equitably?Yes: 278 No: 133 Don't know: 8
Comments: Shirley Coker Mashburn, Highfalls - No. "My brother was brutally murdered by a person seeking money for drugs. He got 30-50 years in Guilford County, it took two years to convict him and has taken a great toll on his wife, sons and my family. This moratorum will only free more criminals up to do more harm." Chuck Mann, Greensboro - Yes. "It is better to be safe than sorry. If you are religious, thou shalt not kill is a commandment, not a suggestion." Ken Nix, Jasper, Ala. - No. "How can anyone feel that the death penalty is unjust? How many people that agree with the moratorium have actually lost a loved one or friend to a murderer? I personally have not, and I thank God that I haven't. I can ONLY imagine how a mother/father might feel when their child has been brutally murdered. We've recently had the 'luxury' of seeing just how brutal murder can be, with the video exposure of the beheading of Nick Berger. Did anyone actually see this video? Maybe they should have, maybe then people would remove the blinders and realize that although this horrific brutality was committed in another country, we have murders just as brutal and evil here in the U.S. and North Carolina! Once you've seen this kind of true evil, you tend to realize that some people honestly don't have a conscience, there is no chance of rehabilitation and the only justice to society as a whole is to remove the threat. I personally would not want to think that I'm out here in the real world, working paycheck to paycheck to feed and clothe my family, while someone like Ted Bundy (who brutally murdered possibly as many as 40 women, most of whom he killed after he escaped prison awaiting his execution. He was finally electrocuted in January, 1989.) was sitting in an air-conditioned prison (funded by me and other honest citizens), watching Jerry Springer and sipping his tea ... Where would the justice be in that?" Lorrie Stewart, Benson - Yes. "It is better to ensure that the death penalty is above reprisal legally than it is to allow it to go on unchecked. I believe that looking into it now would make appeals that question the legality of the death penalty obsolete and this would free up the court of appeals on this issue once and for all. Also, this would ensure the integrity of the judicial system. For or against the death penalty, everyone wants what is fair and just." Johnny Henson, Asheboro - No. "People need to remember we only end their life on this earth. As a society, I feel we have that right. If they believe in God and are born again, they have an eternal life ahead of them." Paul Micka, Asheboro - No. "Every convicted murderer already gets at least a seven-year moratorium because of our present-day, slow-moving judicial process. We just got back from Florida where I read of a convicted murderer who was sentenced to life and then murdered someone else in prison. Potential victims, wherever they may be, have a right to be protected from those among us who have shown no regard for the value of human life." Teresa Hyatt, Randleman - Yes. "When a life is at hand, we should take every precaution to find out if that person is actually quilty or not. If it takes two years, so be it!" Linda Ellsworth, Burlington - No. "Capital punishment is the law in N.C. No innocents are being executed. It's as simple as that. And we should continue executing the guilty as we have in the past." Rodney Waugh, Statesville - No. "Since the state took control over executions in 1910, there is no proof that any innocent person has been executed. Since 1981, there have been 31 people executed in the state. his breaks down to 1 Indian male, 1 white female, 9 black males and 20 white males. The race issue fails to state the fact that white males are being executed twice the times of black males. Gell is proof that the safeguards and appeals process in place at this time do work. Hunt was never on death row so the study of the death penalty and a moratorium would not have applied to his case. If the one holdout juror would have voted for a death sentence, then the appeals process would probably have seen Hunt free in 1994 instead of executed as he would try to get you to believe. The appeals process would have made it harder for the prosecutor to hide the evidence that kept Hunt in prison an additional 10 years. It worked for Gell and that is a strong indication that if Hunt had been on death row, it would have worked for him also. Rep. Culp states correctly that 'the wheel that squeaks gets the grease.' He seems to forget that sometimes the wheel can be lubed without having to stop it and remove it . Changes in the way evidence is treated during the discovery phase of trial are already being enforced and further changes can be studied and made without the need of a moratorium." Chet Hodgin, Jamestown - No. "If these groups want to make a study, that's fine. But we don't need a moratorium while they do it. They could have finished one by now. I do not believe that innocent people are on death row. Not with technology available today. I think that comments being used by these abolitionest groups are meaningless and without foundation. They are a slap in the face to innocent families who have lost loved ones to these monsters. Furthermore, these monsters remain a danger to society, in jail and out. I have lost two sons to murder in unrelated incidents. I am appalled at the total disregard of victims." Carl Hornig, Chapel Hill - No. "It's apparent to me that this forum has been infested by persons who advocate for the condemned for a living. Hunt and Gell were released as a result of a system that works. Many dedicated persons work on both sides of the courtroom. Maybe we should move a prison into Carrboro and the People of Faith Against the Death Penalty might have to find another home? If the death penalty was about revenge, the killers would be executed the same way they killed their victims. They have more rights and privileges and when executed merely step up on a gurney and take a nap. A moratorium is a step backwards, not forwards. Do something to stop violent crimes. Don't confuse an occasional questionable conviction with an actual execution. All who have been executed are guilty, period!" Wayne Uber, Chapel Hill - No. "A moratorium only benefits the killers. If moratorium supporters spent less time attacking a sentence and more effort preventing crimes that lead to murder, society would be a lot better off. Constructive suggestions on how to improve the judicial process should be considered by the Legislature and implemented where feasible. A moratorium or 'fake death penalty' would undermine the entire justice system." Tim Kelly, Pittsboro - No. "The only people asking for a moratorium are those who happen to be on the side of the killers. I don't trust defense attorneys and death penalty abolitionists to tell the truth. Innocents are not being executed." Ramona Stafford, Lewisville - No. "There are 10-plus years of reviews to determine guilt, court proceedings and proportionality reviews. Victims and their survivors must have justice for murder, and the criminals need to understand there is punishment for these heinous crimes." Charlie Woods, Gulf, N.C. - No. "Doesn't anyone else see the irony in a bunch of people who don't trust the state to convict only the guilty to keep these predators for the rest of their lives in a place where they won't hurt anyone else (or each other) or escape (ever)? This moratorium bill is being promoted by defense attorneys and death penalty abolitionists. Not persons interested in the truth or in justice. I say we execute as we have in the past. No innocent persons have been executed despite claims to the contrary by people who speak in half-truths and specious reports."
Chuck O'Connor, Asheboro - Yes. "What if Darryl Hunt had been executed? Oooops! It would be too late now to rectify the situation. And I'm sure he was not and is not the only wrongfuly convicted criminal in this state. I am a 45-year-old white male so the racial card doesn't come into play when I use Mr. Hunt as an example. I'm just stating facts." Brandon McNeill, Asheboro - Yes. "It is imperative for our justice system to recognize that the death penalty is flawed and to stop the death of any more innocent persons we must stop now before it's too late. Thank God the system worked for Darryl Hunt. Let's make sure it works for everyone involved." Bill Landau, Hamlet - Yes. "Consider how many people on death row have been exonerated recently after DNA tests did not place them at the scene of the crimes for which they were convicted. I wouldn't be surprised at all if at least one of the people executed in this state is later discovered to be innocent. That is, in fact, why I don't believe in the death penalty at all. Call me a bleeding-heart liberal if you like, but wrongfully convicted persons can always be set free if they're still alive, no matter how much time they've served. You can't bring them back to life if they've already been executed." Hugh Myers, Archdale - No. "I have just served on a jury in a first degree murder trial. We found the defendant guilty and gave the death penalty. There are so many safeguards built into our judicial system and so many rules that must be followed and so many steps in the process, I do not see that the penalty could be used improperly or inequitably." Bill Pelke, Anchorage, Alaska - Yes. "I am convinced that it can never be used properly and equitably. Even if it could, I believe it is morally wrong to kill." Lenny Simpson, Asheboro - Don't know. "If the evidence is overwhelming, there have been no mistakes in presenting the evidence and 12 of the defendants' peers hves sentenced him to die, then by all means he must die ASAP without wasting our tax dollars. If it is not an open and shut case, there should be some concessions made. Give time for appeals and make sure we have made the right decision and have the right assailant. Other than that, let's put killers out of our misery and give the victims closure as soon as we can." Scott Taylor, Gastonia - Yes. "Join the civilized world, folks." Gretchen M. Engel, Durham - Yes. "I hope our legislators will show leadership and allow this important issue to be voted on this session." Walter Giger, CH-7062 Passugg-Araschgen, Switzerland- Yes. "When will the United States finally accept the standards of civilized nations and abolish the death penalty?" Kathleen Hawk Norman, New Orleans - Yes. "We are seeing people exonerated nearly daily. Clearly our criminal justice system is subject to error. We simply cannot execute people given the proven error rate. Surely some innocent people have been exectued at the hands of the state. I've come to believe we need abolish the death penalty but, at the very least, we need to stop and examine what we are doing and why we are making mistakes." Stephen Dear, Carrboro - Yes. "It's not a moratorium on the death penalty. It's a moratorium on executions, a suspension of executions while the state for the first time studies the application of the death penalty. Given all the evidence of innocent people being condemned and other being sentences unfairly because of race or class or other factors, it's the least our state can do. We have moratoria on Space Shuttle lift-offs, on problem drugs and on anything that could involve the unintended deaths or harm of innocent people. We should do the same thing with a system that will take the lives of criminals." Russ Ward, Asheboro - Yes. "I would hate to think that we might execute an innocent person just because he had a poorly-prepared lawyer, so a temporary suspension makes sense while we take a thorough look at the system." Daniel Barber, Asheville - Yes. "This death penalty system is showing time and time again that it has systemic flaws that bring into serious question not only whether it is being reserved for the worst of the worst offenders, but even whether it is always getting the right one! And when we're talking about the death penalty, there is NO room for making mistakes of that magnitude." Fabian Hathorn, Sante Fe, N.C. - Yes. "Abolition will come, friends." Frank Wells, Asheboro - Yes. "The stakes are simply too high to risk that ONE person will be wrongly sentenced to die." Nancy Dartnall, Gastonia - Yes. "When the retired Supreme Court Justice Burley Mitchell, who knows well and supports the death penalty system, calls it 'a lottery' in support for a moratorium, it seems imperative that we, as citizens of conscience, look very closely at whether the death penalty system is operating the way the citizens want. Numerous inequities have been documented by several respectable studies in the past decade. Two men on death row have been found innocent just in the past six months. The evidence of their innocence did not come forward in their trials. Whether that occurred by direct intent to supress evidence or by accident or incompetence, these cases show the clear need for a study of the way the courts treat the cases of those accused of serious crimes. We cannot afford to be a society that treats human life lightly." David Kirkpatric, Dallas, Texas - Yes. "I know that North Carolina is nowhere near as bad as Texas as far as the death penalty is concerned. There have been several occasions in the past that the 'good' people of Texas have executed men known to be innocent. I hope that the state of North Caroline can set a good example for Texas and maybe even we will enact a moratorium to correct outrageous abuses that permeate the test criminal 'justice' system." Marina Vorlaender, Onalaska, Texas - Yes. "At first my sympathy belongs to the victim families and their friends. A homicide is impardonable. By the way execution is a kind of homicide, too. However, death penalty is inhuman and cruel and should be abolished since long. So it is just fair and moreover better to have a moratorium.There always could be innocent people behind the bars." George Sawyer, Charlotte - Yes. "The recent release of a man who was falsely jailed for 20 years and then found not guilty only points to the fact that under the current system there are too many chances for error. The House should follow the Senate in calling a timeout to study our system and make the necessary corrections." Rev. J.P. Weisenhorn, Gastonia - Yes. "Past releases from death row shows that it is not being applied equitably or properly tried." Nichola Glasse, Woodbridge, England - Yes. "Killing the killer never brings peace to the victim's family only more anger and heartache. If the person is wrongly convicted, it is too late to apologise when they are dead. It costs far more to kill people than to keep them alive." Bonnie Caraway, Hardin, Texas - Yes. "The death penalty is not being applied fairly in any of the states in the USA. Something must be done about this." Jim Binford, Charlotte - Yes. "Numerous mistakes have been uncovered on people charged with capital crimes. Some charges have been made incorrectly for some reason whether from bias or personal gain of some sort. What is the purpose of capital punishment? Is capital punishment working? Let's search for some solution that moves us forward. South Africa has a program that allows some prisoners to come back into society. There are other soultions if we wish to move out of the dark ages." Beth Wells, Charlotte - Yes. "There are so many reasons our state should have a moratorium on the death penalty including prosecutorial misconduct, inadequate defense lawyers (those who have been disciplined and those who are drunk or on drugs), racial bias of jurors and judges, which county the crime took place in, whether the victim or defendant was white or black, cost of prosecuting a capital case as opposed to other cases, and unreliable confessions as well as mistaken eyewitness identification. Our state needs to be more interested in executing justice than people." Alan Burns, Charlotte - Yes. "Too many innocent people are on death row, and the whole issue is biased against the poor and minorities. Afford a good lawyer you get lenience; poor, tough luck. That's not a justice system!" Piero Masarati, Milan, Italy - Yes. "Stop death penalty, please!" Aldo Tamponi, Genova, Italy - Yes. "Though one of my relatives was victim of killers many years ago, in my family we are all against the death penalty and never wished revenge, of course we wish justice, that we consider quite another thing." Beth Ann Pineda, Ohio - Yes. "Executions need to be halted! 'An eye for an eye' would cause the whole world to be blind." C.J. York, Asheboro - No. "We should follow the laws that are made and not see if we should change them just when we want to. There should not be a two-year study done. If we have a sentence of the death penalty, then it should be carried out as ordered by our court system." Stefano Campani, Reggio Emilia, Italy - Yes. "Death penalty is a shame. Life without parole is the strongest and fair punishment for inmates who have committed horrible crimes. Please end the death penalty system in the USA." Feather Jacobs, Tryon, N.C. - Yes. "Too many men and women across the country have been found to be innocent, due to misapplications of everything from mishandled DNA tests, lost evidence, forced/coerced or even coached witnesses, to misidenticication in lineups and racial profiling. If we are guilty of putting to death even ONE innocent person, we are no better than the criminals we profess to be punishing." Nancy Hirsch, Columbus, Ohio - Yes. "What do we lose by slowing down and being careful? Nothing! We lose much by plowing forward, unwilling to ask the difficult questions." Elizabeth Rider Soboeiro, Pinehurst - Yes. "The moratorium is an absolute necessity to make sure no more innocents are killed. The men and women on death row represent the least powerful members of our society. It is the duty of every taxpayer to keep the system from executing another innocent person." Nancy Jones Claar, Claysburg, Pa. - Yes. "Eradicate the death penalty entirely. No one should have the right to kill in the name of justice. Murder is murder. Only God has the right to take a life. Don't you people realize that life without parole is far more painful than a quiet death given by injection? Execution does not bring closure to anyone! It only causes more pain." Carl Miller, Columbus, Ohio - Yes. "More than a moratorium. It should be abolished as a penalty." Ruth Chitty, London - Yes. "It seems the only just and safe way to proceed. I feel the state owes Alan Gell and the other men who have been proven innocnet over the last few years to have a full and extensive period of reflection and investigation. You cannot proceed with executions of men if the procedure at which these convictions have been made is not 100 percent safe and just and if, as I believe, that is not possible, than the death penalty should be wiped form the statute book as a deeply flawed piece of legisaltion." Barry Richard Barber, Liberty - Yes. "As a citizen and father, I think we should enact a 'two strikes and it's lights out' policy for violent criminals. As an American, I question whether we should allow our government to take something away that it can't give back. As a Christian, I want to obey God's commandments. Good gracious, what a question." George Burazer, Gaston County Coalition for a Moratorium Now, Mount Holly - Yes. "I'm in favor of the state House bringing this bill to a vote during the upcoming short legislative session. I am confident that it will pass. To show support, please join hundreds of North Carolinians in Raleigh on May 18 for Lobby Day. Go to <www.ncmoratorium.org> for more details." Kristie Montford, Morehead City - Yes. "A moratorium is the only answer we have to this problem. The death penalty is not the answer for anything. There are innocent men and women on death row. Please, let's get this moratorium passed to give them a fighting chance." Shelia Bumgarner, Charlotte - Yes. "Is one innocent person's death worth the risk of not imposing a two-year moratorium?" Walter G. Currie, Candor - No. "It was done when enacted." Mark Luther, Asheboro - No. "There should be no moratorium on the death penalty. For our tax dollars are not collected and used properly and equitably, but yet there is no call for the state to give the citizens a two-year moratorium on tax collection. Abortions are also not handed out in an equitable fashion either, but I dare someone in state government to try to enact a moratorium on abortion." Jean Anne Feiler, Charlotte - Yes. "This is the time. The Senate has passed the bill. Now it is up to the House. May they move to bring justice into the judicial system in N.C." Ann Wood, Charlotte - Yes. "We know how to separate from the general populations those persons who are dangerous to themselves and others. We know that killing the wrongdoer does not deter potential criminals. We are aware that acts of violence diminish us all. How can we, in light of what we know, continue with such a barbaric practice?" Jim Coleman, Durham - Yes. "Any government program that results in major mistakes ought to be halted and reviewed. That is true for hospitals that experience repeated instances of malpractice, airlines that experience multiple crashes, railways that experience several derailments, etc. We would not tolerate officials who ran such entities using their control to prevent an examination of their operations. Yet, the public tolerates the elected DAs, the governor and the attorney general using their control of the death penalty system to prevent its examination. The Legislature declaring a moratorium is the only chance for the state to review whether our system of capital punishment is fatally flawed, it being only a matter of time before we execute an innocent person." Marge Ciardella, Wrightsville Beach - Yes. "Recent events show that the system is so flawed that the risk of executing an innocent person is great. We need time to study the system and determine what changes are needed to the justice system." Kay Stanley, Ramseur - Yes. "It is likely that more than a few innocent people end up on death row." Walter Cobb, Asheboro - Yes. "I believe that the death penalty should be abolished. It is wrong to comit murder and just because you do it in the name of justice doesn't make it right. Murder is murder. Life in prison is the best punishment. To know that freedom is something one will never have again is the worst of all punisments, so stop taking what you can't give back. Abolish the death penalty." B. Elizabeth Welch, Gastonia - Yes. "There are too many innocent lives being lost because of the lack of qualified and dedicated legal representation. And our legal justice system is terribly flawed, so much so that a fair trial is obsolete (especially for the economic and racially deprived). We need time to critically examine our justice system in North Carolina, indeed all over the world. We need time to weed out the unqualified and predjudiced attorneys and judges." Rodney Lemonds, Troy - Yes. "I believe they should have them in the electric chair for at least two years; that way they'll be good and crisp and mix them with some cow manure and then probably for once in their lives they will be of some good use. I remember being in Florida several years ago when they put someone in the electric chair, their head caught on fire (man I wish they would have shown that on the news - talk about reality. Wow!). Anyway, the governor of Florida said, 'It looks like we'll have to give good Ol' Sparky (the real name of the electric chair there) a tune up.' Now tell me that sounds a lot better than 'boo hoo hoo, did you see how that poor convict died.' We should take it as a celebration, not politicize, it condem it, chastize it." No, enjoy should be the feeling of the day. I'll even go you one better. Charge admission and have a lottery to see who gets to flip the switch. Man, I'd plunk down a 5 spot on that action. Hey, it's better than raising taxes." John Griffin, Liberty - No. "We need to do like Texas, put in an express lane." Shirley G. Moore, Asheboro - Yes. "There's no telling how many innocent people have been convicted and put to death over the years. I am still in favor of the death penalty, especially in heinous crimes if they have been absolutely and without doubt been proven guilty, or have pleaded guilty. And even then there should be a time period before execution is carried out. I would rather see a guilty person go free than to have an innocent put to death." Susan Routh, Franklinville - No. "This is ridiculous! The deaht penalty has and should have no equitability. The courts give them 10 years or more of appeals, and if they are proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, it should be carried out. Does the person that is murdered have a "proper death," beaing brutally murdered, or even a choice? Some are raped and murdered, some beaten to death for monetary gain, most of which are cruel and planned out motives, carried out in murder. Was the victim's death carried our properly? Did they have a choice at all? What has happened to our country and our constitutional rights that we no longer have? Sodomy is against the law, yet gays and lesbians are now being married, by false preachers or, as the Bible calls them, false prophets. Romans, Chapter 1 and starting in verse 18 will tell you how God feels about that, too. We have had our right to freedom of religion taken away, almost completely. We can't pray in schools because it might offend someone when all they have to do is not participate or close up their ears if they do not want to hear it and they are not made to take part in it or they were not made to take part in it when it was allowed. Our country was founded on Godly principles and God-fearing men who based it on the King James Bible. Yet now, it is all being changed and taken from us. God has blessed America and we are a very spoiled nation that does not appreciate what we have or had. What would happen to America if God completely moved his hand away and stopped blessing us? Have all of these people thought about that?" Steve Brisson, Charlotte - Yes. "There seems to be too big of a chance for mistakes in the system, and death is too big of a price to pay for the mistake." Nancy Garner, Candor - No. "Take a look at the people on death row at this time. We currently have 191 people on death row and some of these people have been there many years. We are so concerned about their rights and whether they are really guilty. What about the victims and their families? How many people like Hunt do you really think are there? Our justice system is messed up when the convicted have more rights then their victims." Mark Lineberry, Liberty - No. "I see 191 offenders on North Carolina's death row as of May 14, 2004. By looking at the dates they (offenders) were received on death row, it doesn't appear that North Carolina is rushing these killers to the chamber. If you look at those recently executed, you will not find any rush jobs. Leave it be and carry on with the business of JUSTICE and CLOSURE." Jake Miller, Asheboro - Yes. "One of the most common arguments in favor of having the death penalty is that the specter of execution is a deterrent against violent crime. However, in comparison to the five most statistically violent countries that do not execute its criminals, the five most violent countries who do execute average twice the number of murders. When comparing non-executing states versus executing states here in America, the same ratio holds true. Furthermore, nearly all death row cases involve a white victim (nearly 80 percent) and a murderer of lower socioeconomic standing. Despite only comprising 12 percent of the United States population, African-Americans constitute over 40 percent of death row inmates. The fact that several inmates have recently been released with the advent of DNA evidence into a case should be enough for our state to halt executions. The practice as a whole, as well as the cases in which it is implemented, should be reviewed and reconsidered. Food for thought: 'An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.' Gandhi." John Allred, Siler City - No. "Think of the times the courts are right! We have always lived by the jury and the law. Why not continue this sound thinking." Chris Gordon, Asheboro - No. "What punishment are we going to use? From the growing number of prisoners, it's clear people are not agraid to go to jail. Most people have a better life inside than they did outside. We need to make prison tougher and start executing people within a year after being found guilty, the you would see the crime numbers drop." Philip Myers, Oak Ridge - No. "Our judicial system is
not administered equally at any level. Never has been and never will be.
That does not mean we start abandoning it and taking decision-making away
from juries and judges. I just wish all evidence about the crime and information
about the charactor of individuals involved be admissable in trials. What
we are after is the truth. Why do we wory so much about biasing the jury
when that is part of the everyday life we lead? We should have faith in
the jury being able to weigh what they hear and consider the source. Let's
not keep juries in the dark."
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