Many people keep telling me that I wouldn't feel as sympathetic towards lifers if that inmate killed someone I loved or cared about. That's probably true...I dont know. I know my sisters and I would discuss what we would do if anyone harmed our daughters or sons, and the things I said.....it embarrasses me now because I am engaged to someone who is serving a life term for first degree murder at the age of 18. He is now 42. I asked my fiancee the same question that was asked of me...what would you do if it were your son or daughter? mother? and it was so sad...he said, "I would hate them for the rest of my life"....then I asked him if he would want to seek justice for it...and he couldn't answer me. He put his head down for a long time, then said, "I would want to...desperately I would want revenge. The pain would be so great I'd be tempted. But then I would think of all the things I'd have to lose, and all the people I would be leaving behind by doing something foolish, and that would make me accept whatever decision a judge/jury render". Its hard loving someone who is doing a life term in Prison. Its even more hard when someone asks "what if it were someone you loved"....Does anyone have an easy answer for a question such as this?

how can that be simple yasmeen.....i love my son without any doubt....i have told him a number of times there is no way i could ever not love him.....except.....if he hurt(killed) some one i loved as much as him.....mom dad....brother sister...etc....could i still love him knowing he killed someone else....yeah...i think so....death penalty...coming into play here.....if my loved one killed someone would i believe in it???someone killed my loved one.????until it happens i couldn't even begin to guess....vengence....revenge....accident....how can any of us decided unless we have walked a mile in their shoes...

IF SOMEONE KILLED MY LOVED ONE I WOULD RATHER SEE THEM IN PRISON FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIFE THAN MURDERED.THE DEATH PENALTY IS A SORE SUBJECT WITH ME AS MANT OF YOU KNOW TERRANCE IS ON DEATH ROW INNOCENT OF THE CHARGES HE WAS CONVICTED OF.

Any one of us has the potential to kill, given the right circumstances. If we did kill, chances are 99% in our favor that we'd never do it again. That's the case with most people who have a life sentence, whether with or without parole. If it one of my loved ones were murdered, it would depend on the circumstances how I'd feel and whether or not I could find forgiveness and compassion. But no matter what the circumstances, I'd do everything in my power to see that the person NOT get the death penalty.

Never underestimate the power of the Life Penalty... If someone gets it over a dead body... the victim's family is well paid in whatever vengence they'd seek, whatever suffering they'd like to impart.

There are enough people on Record stating that they'd prefer to see a perpetrator do life rather than get a death sentence BECAUSE it is a protracted penance.

That doesn't necessarily answer the question about how or if one person or another is ever sated by anything that comes the way of anyone who has harmed a loved one. Whether that person is charged with murder or assault, or walking off with someone's foodstamps.

Universal themes... (from the victim's point of view.)
Prison beats probation,
More prison beats less prison,
Jury trials beat any plea to a lesser offense,

I add to that one simple well worn truth. Any or all of the remedies available through the system are notorious for being unsatisfying to at least one person in the courtroom. Most are unsatisfying to more than one person.

People don't get quite so hacked to discover that a dead body results in a Life sentence as they are to discover that you can actually be given nothing for it.

Like a lot of folks here, I've been on both sides of it. As luck had it, I had a brush with one of the most malicious prosecutions in (KY) state history, and an upclose view of one of the most inept prosecutions in Florida. When a member of my sister's husband's family was killed by an oncoming airborne beemer driven by a suspended driver with 19 different kinds of drugs out of their original containers IN the wreck with her,.... short story... All homicide/manslaughter/vehicular things were dropped. She went for 18 months, the consecutive misdemeanor sentences for possession of controlled substances/ prescriptions (not hers) out of original container. Judge could have actually run them concurrent for 10 months. She got the long version of this nonsense... The family was dumbfounded. The prosecutor should be disbarred,... My sister suggested that maybe they could at least add to the sentencing order that during that time the chick be made to write a 2000 word essay entitled, "Why I shouldn't Kill Liz."

People will be had by crime and had by the system at times. They'll be had on either side of the jury box. They'll be had from the gallery or the defendants table at points in time.

Not every lifer has a dead body. Not every dead body makes someone a lifer.

I'm going to answer this question from both sides of the fence...My brother was killed, and I am engaged to a man doing LWOP for 1st degree murder....SO...in the case of my fiance...Ronnie was not in his right mind, he was strung out on dope and allcohol, not that that is a justification for what he did, but he would not have done it had he not been. He is not a violent person. I have known him for many years, and have loved him since the very first time I ever saw him. Nothing could ever change that. I also knew the son of the lady he killed, I went to High School with him and am horribly sorry for what happened to his mother, but no amount of apologies is going to bring her back and I can say that knowing how true it is, because, no amount of apologies is going to bring back my brother either. I miss my brother very badly, he was my best friend, but, I don't hate the man that killed him. It will take a long time for me to forgive him for what he did, but I have began to forgive.
The thing that bothers me the most, my brother was killed and the man that did it was sentenced to Two years of Home Confinement on work release, and now is done with his sentence. Ronnie on the other hand was sentenced to LWOP. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???? the Justice system really sucks! So, the answer the question "how would you feel if it was your loved one?" I used to believe that I would want the death penalty, but now I realize because of my brother's situation, two wrongs don't make a right, and if God can forgive so can I.

How would I feel? I agree with everyone else, you can't know till you're actually there, having to accept the loss of your loved one at the hands of another. I was never against the death penalty, but not exactly a staunch supporter either. When the option of capital punishment was still open in my son's sentencing, it made me examine more closely just how I felt. I couldn't bear the thought of my son being put to death but also could not bear the thought that he took another mother's son's life. How do you gauge the value of one life over another? You can't. I can't in good conscience support the death penalty for someone else when I couldn't support it for my son. I think that for the majority of offenders, having to live with their own conscience is more punishment than any court can give them. I know it is for my son. He will never forgive himself for what happened, and out of respect for the victim's family's grief would not ask them to forgive him, either. As Worleysgirl said, two wrongs don't make a right. For those offenders who kill without conscience, genuinely have no remorse and are more likely than not to kill again, I have no answer. That would be a situation I am totally unfamiliar with and cannot imagine encountering. I hope I never do.

my love is doing 25 to life. he made a bad call shooting someone (a cop) i wasn't there and i hate defendending him after 31 yeas in prison, but i still do becase i love him to dam much.
if he killed me he would be out 20 yrs ago.

and thats the truth stormi....

I saw an interesting show on Oprah last year dealing with forgiveness. They had families of murder victims on, and they were discussing how they came to terms with their agony over losing their loved ones too soon.
The one segment that affected me the most deeply involved a woman whose son had been murdered.
Her way of healing was to meet with her son's killer and have her say and ask what questions she had regarding the whole tragedy. Upon meeting her son's killer and seeing the true remorse in his eyes and the way he took full responsibility for his actions ( totally strung out on dope at the time of the murder), she began a relationship with him in letters following her first visit. Apparently, this woman is now like a Mother to her own son's killer; she has totally forgiven him in her heart and mind and feels he is now the recipient of all the love she has inside her that she can no longer give to her son. He stated that if he would have had love like that in his formative years, he would have never made the fatal mistake he made the night he killed her only son.
Now, I don't know if I could ever be THAT forgiving if it was one of my own sons, but I truly believe that when we harbor anger and hate inside of us, we only hurt ourselves in the end.

Last year, a very close friend was murdered by her husband. She had left NYC to go and live with him in NC (he had begged her to). And something in me told me it was the wrong choice, I tried to talk her against it, but she told me everything would be ok. She was very close to me. The last time I talked to her, she had called me, and I was on my way out to the movies with my b/f, I told her I'd call her the next day. She said, "Enjoy your movie, we'll talk later". It tried her cell countless times after that, only to find out that her husband had killed her and wrapped her in a plastic bag and let her rot in the living room for a week before they arrested him. I had nightmares for weeks, I couldn't function for 2 days when I heard the news.
I came to the realization that NEVER EVER will I hear her voice again, never. She was 30 (he killed her on her birthday), a beautiful woman full of life and love.

Now I have always been against the death penalty, and still am. But I was surprised at myself for feeling the way I felt when I found out he "only" got life. Why would he have the right to live when he took her away from us? After coming to my senses, I do realize now that his life sentence is harsh and I am working on forgiving him.
Her name was Louisa, I will never forget her.

This is a very difficult question but the difference in who your sone was at 18 yrs old and when it happened I am sure is quite different then who he is today. There is nothing more terrible then loosing someone to a murder I am sure but you have to imagine the regret, shame, and pain the person who took someones life may be feeling. It is no ones place to plot revenge it is up to the one who took the other persons life to answer the to the power above. I know if it was my son who was murdered sure I would be furious. What else could you possibly feel but anger? Obviously your son has had to live in total solitude of the prison system thinking everyday of what brought him there. Reliving that terrible tragedy over and over. I can never say for sure if there is enough punishment for a crime such as this but I couldnt even begin to imgine how to live with myself if those were my actions for the rest of my life. I am sure anyone who has commited a murder no matter what the circumstances are have a tough life ahead of them. I think there are so many sides to that one question it is hard to find the one answer you may be looking for. But I think it is good when someone can find away to educate others on their experiences and try to find away to give back alittle, even though a life is not replacable life still goes on and some good can still come out of something so horrific. You just have to find it and share it will others. My heart goes out to you. Sorry to ramble. Angie

My son's father is serving life for murder and I sat in the courtroom the day of his sentencing and the victim's loved ones (as well as our loved ones) got the opportunity to stand up and express how they felt. I cannot explain to you how it felt to sit there and listen to them. One side of me cried for them and how they felt and sympathized with them, yet on the other hand, the other side of me was angry at them for the horrible things they were saying about my son's father, the best friend I had in the world. He did what he did in self defense because in his mind he honestly felt his life was in danger. The incident was racially induced and he felt threatened. He is the type of person that you meet one time and he stays with you forever. So when it was my turn to stand up and say something, I turned to the victim's family and tried my best to tell them what type of person he really was, but I know that nothing I said meant anything to them. My point is: had the tables been turned, yes I would be enraged and want revenge and justice...but after standing in the shoes that I stood in that day, I would have to remind myself that every situation has it's own special circumstances and I would have to remind myself that both of the parties involved have people that love them and they are loved for a reason. It's hard to turn the tables and try to imagine what you would do. I had my heart broken twice in that courtroom that day...once by the family of the victim expressing their pain and second by the judge telling us that our Patrick would never come home.

My best friend was killed in a DUI incident and I was so please with the judge sentence - the maximum. I wrote that I don't believe he should be released because he's a menace to society (he had struck three other people, two different places/situations prior to vehicular manslaughter).

I have a cousin who I know killed someone, and believe me I love my cousin with all my heart, but he planned this and he took someone's son (brother, friend, uncle, cousin) away. His sentence is 25 to life. As we communicate I feel the prison is not rehabilitating him, he is becoming angrier and talks about vengeance to OUR OWN family, becasue certain people no longer support him financially or emotionally. While I continue writing him, send him money and accept his calls, I know I would not write a letter of support when the time comes unless he changes his thinking and accept his actions.

I have a friend who is in for life, that did not do the crime but choose to keep quiet thinking the evidence (or rather lack of) would set him loose. He was protecting a friend. I don't believe he should've received the sentence.

For me it depends on the circumstances.

Hard question to answer! depends on the circumstances for sure.

Well, i am engaged to a lifer, for 2 years now. Written and befriended for 6 years. i have really been through all of the emotional realities of the situation and "how would I feel if..." The answer i came up was this... I am not in that position with this situation. I also dont believe in the death penalty...this is the WORSE kind of pre-meditation in my book. Quite a few years ago i came to the realization that "everyone needs to be loved...if only by one person...and if that one person is me" And i am often left standing alone in this belief. My sister in law was killed by her husband. I have nearly been on the ther side of the story, BUT that was that story, and this is a different one. Its real hard to come to terms with, like to get it straight in your head. One act does not make a man....

and here i am today!

Dawn

This could never be an easy answer, but after much soul searching I have came to the conclusion that if someone were to take the life of my child or a loved one of mine and me to want to see them dead, would make me NO different than they were. I think that LWOP is an appropriate sentence IF they state is POSITIVE that the person is guilty and especially if it was a heinous crime.

There is a man(A)that I met while visiting DJ several years ago. He went into a bar, late night with another man(B) and the other man decided to rob everyone. He pulled out gun, and before it was over with had killed 6 people. Both were tried and convicted of Capital murder. Both were sentenced to the Death Penalty. B testified at A's trial telling the jury and everyone else that A did NOT kill anyone and was not even armed. B got his sentence overturned due to a technicality and was given LWOP. A is still on death row and is going to die for something someone else did while the someone else is going to serve his life behind bars. Makes no sense to me at all.

My thoughts are exactly like those of samiam158, above. Word for word.

Teri

How can any of us say how we would react?

It is not for us to judge these people, procecutor or defendant including their families. The corruption is in the way society as a whole sees it. Government started before any of us were alive. Its in the bible. God says let him handle it. I believe that to be the truth. The burden is on the person who commited the crime and his/her God. People go through EMOTIONS all the time regarding who and what happened. The bottom line is that it is not up to US to make those decisions. It is Gods will. We are on this earth to love and cherish every moment that he gives to us. The government has taken this natural process and worked it to their benifit as they see fit. The government is why we ask "what if" If more people would just trust in God and raise their families to do the same we wouldnt even have to ask this question in the first place. It will be done. Peace...

There is no easy answer. I would be enraged if someone harmed my loved ones and I would pray that I would frind a way to make it through and somehow come to terms with it. I would pray to forgive the killer and that they would find redemption. I am sure this is a horrible thing to have to face and one only know what they would do once they are in the situation.

Well, this is an easy and difficult question at the same time. I have been on both sides of the fence. My Mother was murdered by her husband, although it was premeditated, he recieved the charge of manslaughter, and served only four years. I was outraged, and full of hate. It wasn't until my friend at 17, (that was almost 20 years ago) messed up on dope and booze killed one of our classmates. He now is serving LWOP. Talk about angry, why could the man that shot and killed my mother only get manslaughter when a messed up kid could get LWOP? But what I found was God, which in turn taught me love and forgiveness. I have forgiven my ex-stepfather for killing my mother, and I forgive my friend for his childish ignorance, which cost another kids life. I love my friend, and will stay by his side forever. Death/murder has a way of changing other peoples lives no matter who it takes or leaves behind. I believe both my stepfather and my friend deserved to be punished for what they did. Do I think one should be given a LWOP and the other a mere slap on the hand, or worst the death penelty,NO. Do, I believe in revenge on the person that comitted the crime? No, God has a plan. It is not for us to judge, but we must forgive. I loved my mother (still do), and it hurt(s). I forgave and in return God gave me another love, a friend that also murdered someones son, the other side of the coin. I've been on both fences, neither fence was easy to handle, but with God, Forgiveness and understanding with unconditional love was a gift given to me. I thank God everyday for having the ability to see both sides, otherwise how would I know to forgive and show someone else that we are human and we make mistakes, but God doesn't?

already answered this one.

What people don't realize is that we don't control who we fall in love with. You could see Mr. Perfect on the street in his nice suit and fancy car and he possesses the personality of a cucumber. Who else can judge who is for us but us. I've had people ask me why I'm with a man who was accused of murdering a woman. I asked her why she tolerates a man that hits her and the kids. Maybe it's not something we plan, but it's our lives and it happens.

but I truly believe that when we harbor anger and hate inside of us, we only hurt ourselves in the end. Couldn't have said this better myself. We are human beings. It is ONLY natural to be angry when a loved one dies. And if that death is unecassary, at the hands of another human being, that anger lasts a very long time. It's ONLY natural to want the worst coming to them. Does that make us evil? NO! It makes us HUMAN. When we find someone we can share our lives with and it feels good, it's only NATURAL to believe in them and trust in them. NO MATTER WHAT THEY'VE DONE. We see them for WHO THEY ARE. Not for the act committed. Forgiveness is NOT for the "criminal" but for OURSELVES.

Stacy

You said it perfectly... "forgiveness is for OURSELVES." Forgiving is not about letting another "off the hook" -- it's about keeping our own hearts and souls healthy.

This could never be an easy answer, but after much soul searching I have came to the conclusion that if someone were to take the life of my child or a loved one of mine and me to want to see them dead, would make me NO different than they were. I think that LWOP is an appropriate sentence IF they state is POSITIVE that the person is guilty and especially if it was a heinous crime.

There is a man(A)that I met while visiting DJ several years ago. He went into a bar, late night with another man(B) and the other man decided to rob everyone. He pulled out gun, and before it was over with had killed 6 people. Both were tried and convicted of Capital murder. Both were sentenced to the Death Penalty. B testified at A's trial telling the jury and everyone else that A did NOT kill anyone and was not even armed. B got his sentence overturned due to a technicality and was given LWOP. A is still on death row and is going to die for something someone else did while the someone else is going to serve his life behind bars. Makes no sense to me at all.





No matter all the things my loved one was accused of murder is not one of them. In some states you do not have to commit the crime to be punished for it. You can be taken down by the actions of others. This is WRONG! Punish for the crimes & only the crimes someone themselves have commited. So I chose this response because the member made a good point of illustrating how someone can be severely & unjustly punished for the acts of others. I am still very bitter about an unjust conviction........

As for my family well we live with an unjust conviction everyday. But if such a crime happened to us I would not want them to face the DP. Do not murder in my name. I would be hurt. I never want a family or an inmate to go through what my family endures everyday. We live knowing he is not guilty, But nonetheless is being punished over what others did. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

I have loved this man for all my life, weird because I have only known him a short while. I have found my soul mate and found it in a man serving LWOP. I heard his story long before I fell in love with him and believed he was wrongfully sentenced from the minute I heard. I became his friend and told him that I believed in him. I told him I knew in my heart that he did not deserve life without parole, he did not kill anyone (he was sentenced under the accessory rule in Michigan, that carries the same sentence as the shooter). I said I would write any letter, talk to any person, shout it from the roof tops if I had to, he does not belong there. Recently he released his court transcripts to me, in those transcripts were victim inpact statements. I cried...HARD and for a long time. I went to the library and looked up 10 year old newspaper articles, and my heart was breaking for the victim, the victims family and for my man. He was 17, a boy, she was innocent, an only child and a new wife. I felt so guilty that day. Why? Because at that time, and still to this day, I don't know if I could face that family. I don't know if I could stand in front of that mother and tell her that although I feel horrible for what happened to her daughter, that my man was scared of this other man and he couldn't have stopped him and shouldn't be in prison for the rest of his life. HOW can I stand in front of this mother? I feel horrible about this, and I can't bring myself to talk to Greg about this, I feel terribly guilty like I have betrayed him for feeling this way. Is it possible to love him with all of my heart and soul, and still not be able to face the victims family?

Honey, I don't think I answered your question, they will probably move this posting, but this is the posting that most resembled what I needed to vent, to get off my chest. I don't know the answer. I am a mom, as a mom, if you hurt my daughters, you had better pray that the police find you first and you better pray that don't ever let you out, because I will be there, waiting to make your life a living H***. I don't know if I have that sort of divine forgiveness in me. I don't know if could do it. I don't now if I have it in me. I heard someone say once, "Forgiveness isn't about the person that you are forgiving, it's about you moving on." My heart aches because I feel like a hypocrite and I love him SOO much.

Thanks for listening, sorry to ramble.
Stay strong..... :(

Betrayed...this post will stay right were its at! Its fitting and well...awesome i might add. We are women, we are emotional, and I have personally been there/done that. I feel in situations like this that wera re talking bout two different sides of the coin. And one cannot put them together. I think i would be rather...no very disturbed to have a lifer supporter come in there and say that a victim DESERVED what they got. But the reality is that we are living in the aftermath of the horrible realities of this life. if it were my child, i would indeed be on the other side of the coin, but its not and i am here. I have read the news papers, i have read the transcripts, i have felt great sorrow and i have prayed for victims families. You are not a hypocrite, you are jsut trying to mix oil and water, or two sides of the coin, it cant be done...and its confusing and hard to live with ambigious feelings. Just because we love someone that has commited a crime, dosent mean we agree with that crime. And just because we love someone that has hurt another, dosent mean we support that act. A single act does not make a man.

I hope that this helps. Just know, that i KNOW how you feel. Continue to share and vent.

Dawn

It's odd that this thread came up again because just last night I was watching the show The First 48 and it was about a guy who was put on the ground and executed by three shots to the head in front of people looking out their windows. I was thinking to myself that many of the people I've written to over the years were people who murdered someone else and I was asking myself how I could befriend people who could do something like that.

It didn't take me long to come up with the answer because I'm old enough to know my heart and know myself. I can befriend these people because they're my fellow human beings. I haven't killed someone, but many times have felt like killing. Haven't we all? If we're real honest? These people did kill, but they're paying the price for it. They've gotten life in prison and the ones I write to have usually been there a long time. Long enough to have changed and gotten past whatever part of themselves allowed them to think that killing was the answer.

Also, in befriending them, I'm not ignoring the fact that they killed or denying that they deserve to be in prison for it. I'm not saying that what they've done is right. It's horrible that they killed. I'm not saying I even think they should ever be free. But what I am doing is acknowledging that they're still worth something. Every human being is worth something no matter what they've done. These people are paying for their crimes by never being free again. A judge and jury deemed that this was their punishment. I just extend the hand of friendship because I believe it's the right thing to do for me personally. Because for me, I can't do anything else but what I'm doing. I feel it's something I was called to do. I don't care what others think of me for doing it. I just choose who knows.

Such a hard question to answer and I have thought of it often. I believe that if my family member was murdered by someone I WOULD HATE THEM AND think of all sorts of ways to torture them. But then again my man is doing life for murder and Im sticking by him. I question that all the time. I dont know the answer. I do believe that he has changed his life because of this and that he would not do it again. Also it was a self defense issue but I dont want to use it as an excuse. My heart goes out to all of those who have lost a loved one to violent crime. Im so conflicted with this issue.

I was born and raised in Jasper County Texas, where the Byrd dragging death took place. I was taught racism, hatred and intolerance of every sort. That was the way of life in our area, once. When the media settled upon this area they found not a completely changed Southeast Texas, but a place where the older generations have learned tolerance of a new way of life, those middle aged have learned acceptance and where the younger among us are instigating true change. There were those wonderful guys with thier jokes and remarks intended to instigate trouble. However, for the first time these people met a solidly united racially diverse wall that stood against them. The media circus that resulted in this area was not at the request of anyone residing in our county, not even the victim's family. In fact, when the marches and speeches began the voices of compassion that were most heard where the perpetrators of the crime were concerned were the voices of the Byrd family. By thier faith in God and the people around them of all colors, they stood bravely against a capital sentence despite the opinions of others, feeling the loss of another life would not restore the life taken from them. I saw in thier action one of the greatest acts of compassion I will ever witness in my lifetime and though once I would have called for the death penalty myself, I have been shown by thier act and acts of others such as these, by forgiveness offered me for grievous past mistakes and by coming to know a death row inmate who does not deserve the fate he has been dealt that within me lies the compassion to forgive should that time arrive. It has taken 25 years of paying attention to life's lessons for me to realize this, but I know God has provided me a unique look into this question for a reason And there is one face that comes most to mind,when I consider the many men I have known who have cost the life of another. That face is a kindly soul who used to come in from work and sit on his front porch in silence and just watch the world. He was the adopted Father of a close friend. I would not know for years, that the reason she was an only child by adoption was that he and his wife had lost the chance at a family of thier own to his incarceration for murder. After his release he was never a threat to society, at any point, because he gave up the liquor that had instigated the fight that left another man dead.With treatment for addiction within the system this question and others like it would be asked alot less. I believe there should be punishment, but it should be obvious to all in this country by now that prison as is does not provide an answer.The answer lies within the hearts of the American people. Once our society promoted compassion and giving.Today, we expect to teach our children to look only to self, provide them drugs by the rampant abuse of prescription meds and a drug war that deters nothing,but only makes trafficing a far more lucrative business and then act surprised when a 17 year old boy kills a convience store clerk in a robbery.The clerk's life is lost and nothing can bring them back. Then the great state of Texas sentences a kid to death row, not because it is just, but because a prosecutor earns another notch in his belt. Could I find forgiveness. I might not want to in the beginning, but in the end Iknow I would do the right thing for myself and everyone else. So, yes I could.And I am the mother of 5 and God forbid someone should take one of thier lives, but I have loved murders all my life and despite thier past mistakes the few given a second chance did not not kill again. The vast majority of inmates are under the influence and too many are just messed up kids.What is gained other than vengenance by the taking of another life, whether to death or incarceration. Is it not the Holy Bible that states,"vengenance is mine saith the Lord."

I have been an anti-death penalty advocate for over 30 years. I love my children and my husband. I would be angry as all hell and grieving and wanting to hurt the person that hurt me. That is the truth...but I will have no part of murder, not by me, not by the state for me. Two deaths just spills more blood. It does not bring back my loved one, it does not deter. It is state sanctioned revenge and nothing more. There is no justice in murder by the state. Closer for me is LWOP. The other option is 25 prior to parole no deals. My husband got that. We live with it every day. He's not the only one doing life.. my children and I are doing it with him. ShiningDrum