1778 Why I don't support the death penalty

First, I'm pro-life, and I believe I'm being consistent. But, second, our system of justice is extremely uneven, and I don't think we should condemn one guy to death for murder because he planned it, and another to eight years because he was stupid drunk by his own choice and plan. There are just too many ways to weasel out of it, so let's not play games and buy into another killing and have the blood on our hands.

Damian Hayes shot and killed 16 year old Angela Hughes, a freshman in high school, and seriously wounded her mother, Phyllis Sanders during a drunken New Year's "celebration" here in Columbus. He got eight years. Five for killing her and 3 for using a gun to do it. His sentence was lenient because he turned himself in. Of course, she's still dead; her mother is still recovering from her injuries and grieving.

If he'd been white, we'd probably had race riots in Columbus. But this was black on black, and when a black man kills a black woman, hardly anyone raises an eyebrow. It was the same thing on my husband's jury trial case in October. Jesse Jackson didn't show up. Fox News didn't bring cameras to town with Greta and Geraldo. This story didn't even make the front page--it was in the "Metro" section of the Columbus Dispatch.

Tell me again why choosing to get drunk as a skunk and killing someone is worth only 5 years (+ 3 years for using a gun) and choosing to shoot someone deliberately is worth a lethal injection.