I choose Life not Death

I first became interested in politics at a young age, probably around 7th or 8th grade. I was very interested in American history, political policies and debating culture issues, a quality I inherited from my dad. My dad is very much a republican and I was raised very much a republican. Up until recently I always sided with the Republican Party on every issue. Now that my mind is not so influential I have the opportunity to look at what I really believe and make determinations myself about if I think something is right or wrong. I still side with most of the republican policies, but not all.

I used to be very much for the death penalty, always feeling that those bastards don't deserve to live for what they did. But in the case of the death penalty, my opinion has very much changed. There are several reasons why I am against the death penalty now but this and this and this and this are the biggest reasons why.

We can never know 100% for sure if someone is guilty of a crime or not. Even if a jury finds someone guilty there is ALWAYS a possibility that they didn't actually commit the crime. Evidence may surface years and years later that could finally prove their innocence. Imagine if your family member was found guilty of a murder you know he/she didn't commit but they was found guilty of it anyway and put to death only to have information surface after the death that shows their innocence.

Now I must tell you that there has been a time recently that I supported the death penalty 100% and that was the death of Suddam Hussein. Perhaps my supporting the death of him is a little hypocritical but it’s mostly an emotional feeling of relief knowing he's dead and can no longer kill thousands upon thousands of people.

I wish there were some way we could know with out any doubt and with 100% certainty when someone is guilty, but we can't and therefore I cannot support the death penalty.

Read the story below. The lawyer prosecuting this guy wanted him sentenced to the death penalty. The crowds following the trial were all upset when he did not receive it. Now, nearly 20 years later evidence surfaces that shows he's innocent. He never deserved to be in jail in the first place.


DNA Clears Man of Two Child Murders
By JEFFREY GOLD
AP
ELIZABETH, N.J. (May 16 2007) -- A man who served more than two decades in prison for the rape and murder of two children had his convictions thrown out Tuesday after an advanced DNA test showed that a neighbor may have been responsible for the crimes.

Superior Court Judge Stuart L. Peim vacated the verdict and granted a new trial because the new evidence "would probably change the verdict" against Byron Halsey.

Union County prosecutors and lawyers for Halsey together requested that the convictions be overturned. Peim scheduled a July 9 hearing for prosecutors to announce whether they would pursue a new trial or drop the charges.

A spokeswoman for the Union County prosecutor's office, Eileen Walsh, said the office would not comment before then on how it would proceed.

During a five-minute hearing, Peim set bail at $55,000 and required Halsey to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet when he is released. Attorneys for Halsey said he could leave jail within a few hours depending on how long it takes to process paperwork.

Wearing a white shirt, dark pants, and handcuffs as tears streamed down his face, Halsey did not speak during his court appearance.

Nearly four hours after the ruling, the paperwork for bail and electronic monitoring was completed, and Halsey stepped outside the Union County jail.

After a quick embrace with one of his lawyers, Halsey joined his mother and brother for long hug.

Minutes later, he was in front of television cameras at the steps of a nearby courthouse. "I wasn't going to let anybody take my life," Halsey said. "I wasn't going to give up."

Halsey , 46, was convicted in 1988 of murdering and sexually assaulting Tyrone and Tina Urquhart, the children of his girlfriend, with whom he lived at a Plainfield rooming house.

The bodies of Tyrone, 8, and Tina, 7, were found in the home's basement in November 1985.

"The DNA shows that a neighbor in the rooming house is the source of the semen," said Eric Ferrero, a spokesman for the Innocence Project, which is representing Halsey.

That neighbor, Clifton Hall, 49, is now in prison for three sex crimes in early 1990s, Ferrero said. Hall testified against Halsey at trial.

"Today, we can say with scientific certainty that Byron Halsey is innocent. Every piece of physical evidence connects Cliff Hall, not Byron Halsey , to these murders," said Vanessa Potkin, a lawyer with the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. "It has taken more than two decades, but DNA has finally revealed the truth in this case."

Potkin said Halsey can apply for compensation of $25,000 for each year he was in custody.

Innocence Project got involved 2004 after Halsey wrote them.

"They tried DNA testing at the time of the trial on one piece of evidence, on the girl's underwear that was found stuffed in her mouth," Ferrero said. But it was inconclusive, since more sophisticated testing was several years away. So they tested the semen for blood type, which matched Halsey - but also matched Hall, Ferrero said.

The new DNA test matches Hall, whose DNA was on record since he is an offender, Ferrero said.

Margaret Urquhart, the mother of the victims, said in a statement issued through the Innocence Project that she always doubted that Halsey committed the crime.

"I knew Byron loved Tyrone and Tina," Urquhart said. "It didn't make sense to me that he could have done this. I always had my doubts, but I didn't know what to do about them. I'm thankful that the DNA testing has identified who really did this to my children and that Byron is being released today. I want justice done in this case."

At trial, Halsey faced the death penalty, but the jury opted for life in prison, prompting jeering in the courtroom, Ferrero said. Halsey was sentenced to two life terms, plus 20 years. He is being held at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.

Hall is at a prison for sex offenders in Avenel.

Halsey had made a confession before trial, but Innocence Project co-director Barry Scheck said the statement followed 30 hours of interrogation over a 40-hour period.

"It would be a stretch to say that Byron Halsey even confessed to this crime given the state of mind he was in, the length of the interrogation, the tactics police used, and the words he actually said," Scheck said.

Scheck said that Halsey, who has been in prison since 1985, would be getting therapy and job training.


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2007-05-15 23:21:19