NEW VOICES: Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit Ponders Worth of the Death Penalty

In a recent speech to law stu­dents from Furman University, William W. Wilkins, the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, expressed doubts about the val­ue of the death penal­ty giv­en its high costs and prob­a­ble lack of deter­rence. He also not­ed that the exis­tence of the death penal­ty in the U.S. makes it very dif­fi­cult to extra­dite sus­pects from for­eign coun­tries who oppose cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment.

With respect to the extra costs attibutable to cap­i­tal cas­es, Wilkins not­ed, ​“I’m not say­ing it costs too much. But I am say­ing it’s a legit­i­mate ques­tion to ask.” He also chal­lenged the stu­dents to con­sid­er which was the worst pun­ish­ment, death or life in prison with no parole, espe­cial­ly for ter­ror­ists who want to be a mar­tyr for their cause.
(The Greenville News, Oct. 12, 2006). See New Voices.