Baltimore County Judge Dana M. Levitz recent­ly sen­tenced a man con­vict­ed of mur­der to two life terms with­out parole, in part because of its pos­si­ble effects on the vic­tims’ fam­i­lies. Levitz said, ​“The dev­as­tat­ing effect that this unend­ing lit­i­ga­tion has on the inno­cent fam­i­lies of the vic­tims is incal­cu­la­ble. By impos­ing a death sen­tence, I ensure that the vic­tim’s fam­i­lies will be sub­ject­ed to many more years of appeals.” Family mem­bers also not­ed that the deci­sion gave them the peace of mind they have been search­ing for. A sis­ter of the vic­tim not­ed, ​“I’m pleased with the sen­tence because I think I might get some clo­sure from this. I did­n’t want him out on the street any­more, but killing him was­n’t the answer either.” (Baltimore Sun, July 26, 2003). See Victims and Life Without Parole.

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