NEW VOICES: Prosecutor Criticizes Federal Government’s Decision to Seek Death Penalty

After U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft authorized a federal death penalty prosecution against two Massachusetts men accused of a gang murder, the local Suffolk County District Attorney, Daniel F. Conley, objected to using capital punishment to end urban violence, stating, “I do not believe the death penalty is a deterrent or appropriate punishment for inner-city homicide. The death penalty runs counter to the strategies for preventing and prosecuting urban crime — which include sensitivity to the neighborhoods we serve — that have proven successful in Boston over the last decade.” Conley plans to personally appeal to Attorney General Ashcroft to drop the death penalty prosecution against the defendants. Carrie Gethers, the victim’s grandmother, has also announced that she does not support the federal government’s decision to seek the death penalty. She stated, “It won’t do anybody any good… I don’t see any use for that anymore. I’m not a murderer. Not me. I won’t say yes to that. He’s gone. It hurts, but this won’t bring him back.” (Boston Globe, September 19, 2003). See New Voices and Federal Death Penalty.