If you live in South Dakota you should know that there will be a bill introduced in this legislative session entitled "An Act to Repeal the Death Penalty as it Applies to All Prospective Homicides". It has not been introduced yet and all that is available is a draft copy. In this form it is a very simple bill - it reclassifies 1st Degree Murder as a Class B felony thereby taking the death penalty off the table of sentencing options.
This bill is being introduced by a man who was a strong supporter of the death penalty at one time, Rep. Steve Hickey. In a recent article with KELO TV he said that he changed his mind after realizing that the death penalty is not a deterrent, does not save the state money and does not increase public safety.
I would like to state my support for this action to repeal the death penalty. Besides the reasons that Rep. Hickey states I would add that we do not have the right to take life - that responsibility rests with God and with God alone. Certainly, state and local governments are responsible for public safety and need to do what they can to protect us from dangerous individuals. Fortunately, we have the means to do that in our state prison system. Killing an individual does nothing to enhance the state's ability to ensure the safety of the people. (There was an unfortunate incident in the Sioux Falls penitentiary recently where a guard was killed by men serving sentences for terrible crimes. If I understand what has been reported about that incident it seems that protocols and policies were not followed. If they had been these men would never have had the chance to kill this public servant.)
Naturally, I could go on and on with many other reasons of my own but I would rather hear from you. So...
Where do you stand? - and why? - please weigh in!
Dear Deacon John I have never believed in the death penalty. It always gives me the creeps when their is an announcement of a up coming execution. The other reason is the fact that so many have been murdered by the state, and later on it was found that they were innocent. If I was the prosecutor, judge or jury I do not think I could live with myself. We do not have a right to take a life unless it is in self defense to save our own, or those of our family. It is my prayer that South Dakota will repeal the death penalty. I think life in prison gives the individual plenty of time to think about what he has done.
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