Recently, various victims and relatives of victims have testified before state legislatures concerning the death penalty. In Connecticut, a woman who had been attacked by convicted murderer Michael Ross, testified that she nevertheless opposes his execution. And in North Carolina, the sister of a man who was murdered in 2003 urged state legislators to reconsider the death penalty.
Vivian Dobson, who was attacked by Ross in 1983, said that the death penalty re-traumatizes victims’ family members and wrongly focuses public attention on the guilty offender instead of the innocent victims. Dobson recently told members of the Connecticut House of Representatives that she does not want Ross executed, noting, “I don’t want to be a part of killing somebody else.… I can’t do it. That’s not me.” The Connecticut House, however, voted 89 – 60 against a bill to replace the state’s death penalty with life without parole. (Hartford Courant and Associated Press, March 30, 2005).
In North Carolina, Patricia Parker, whose brother was murdered by an unknown assailant, joined five other victims’ family members to urge lawmakers to pass a bill that would impose a two-year moratorium on executions while legislators review the current system. Parker noted that her brother’s death forced her to re-examine the judicial system and the death penalty, which she now believes is applied unfairly and risks innocent lives. Parker stated, “I do not want anything done that makes another mistake. I don’t want to ever have to think that the wrong person was punished for my brother’s death. It will only bring more heartache in the world.” (Associated Press, March 30, 2005).
See Victims and New Voices.
Victims' Families
Nov 26, 2024
