Former Connecticut state prosecutor and legal analyst Susan Filan recently stated that the death penalty is not an appropriate sentence, particularly when the crime appears to be a heinous violation of the sanctity of life . In her commentary posted on MSNBC.com, Filan wrote:
As a former prosecutor I believe I understand the emotion involved in a murder case. I have seen firsthand the rage and fury and grief that families of murder victims express. The pain is indescribable. But I have never understood how killing the killer in return achieves justice or relieves pain. Why isn’t life in prison without parole punishment enough? If we punish killers, because killing is wrong, why is it right to kill a killer?
(MSNBC.com, February 5, 2007). See New Voices.
- Death Penalty Information Center (2025, March 14). NEW VOICES: Former State Prosecutor Questions Value of Capital Punishment. Retrieved October 4, 2026, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-voices-former-state-prosecutor-questions-value-of-capital-punishment
- Death Penalty Information Center. “NEW VOICES: Former State Prosecutor Questions Value of Capital Punishment.” Last modified March 14, 2025. Accessed October 4, 2026. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-voices-former-state-prosecutor-questions-value-of-capital-punishment.
- Death Penalty Information Center. “NEW VOICES: Former State Prosecutor Questions Value of Capital Punishment.” Death Penalty Information Center, 14 Mar. 2025, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-voices-former-state-prosecutor-questions-value-of-capital-punishment. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.
