Four Seasons Landscaping said:
Am I legitimately the only one who feels like life without parole would be harder to go through than getting a needle?
1. Once they get there, maybe, but no one knows that going in. Even those that have been in the joint.
2. Regardless of what is best for THEM, the issue is what is best for SOCIETY. It is best for US to have due process and then justice. In almost all of these cases, there is no doubt the person arrested, charged and convicted actually did the crime. They were arrested at the scene. In cases where they were caught and charged later, and there is some doubt about their guilt, then you can go through the motions in a more deliberate way. But you can't treat both situations as equal.
3. You have to consider the victims. A fair number, though not all, still have fears (reasonable or not) that the perp is going to get out and "finish the job" on them or on their family. Those that testify against him might feel the same thing. ALL of the victims and their families need closure and there is no better way to do it than the death penalty. In 20-30 years, many family members and some victims will be deceased, not knowing what, if anything, happened. For all they know, an activist judge or court let him out on some wild "right" he/they created out of thin air from substantive due process or other supposed legal protections.