rockin'robin
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2007
- Messages
- 24,431
- Reaction score
- 549
A measure that would allow prosecutors to seek life without parole sentences in non-death penalty murder cases awaits Gov. Sonny Perdue's signature after the measure passed unanimously in the Georgia House and Senate.
Purdue hasn't commented publicly about the measure that passed last week, but lawyers on both side of murder cases have.
Georgia's district attorneys support the bill, but many defense lawyers oppose it.
"We backed the life without parole bill because some murderers never deserve to see the light of day ... This legislation gives us a way to see that a person never gets out of prison to kill someone else," said Rick Currie, district attorney of the Waycross Judicial Circuit and president of the District Attorney's Association of Georgia.
In Georgia, life without parole is now a sentencing option only in death penalty cases. Regardless of the evidence or wishes of the victim's family, prosecutors first have to seek the death penalty - a lengthy and expensive process - in order to get a sentence of life without parole.
The association asserts the change will allow prosecutors to put more killers in prison and keep them there. It also will save taxpayers' money because prosecutors no longer will have to mount a lengthy and expensive death penalty prosecution when life without parole is the sentence they want.
"District attorneys can't seek the death penalty in every case. It may be because of not enough evidence to prove the [legally mandated] aggravating circumstance or because of the input of the victim's family. Or it may be because some counties simply can't afford a death penalty trial," Currie said.
The measure is unconstitutional and will only create more problems than it purports to solve, said John Thigpen, a veteran Southeast Georgia criminal defense attorney.
"I'm absolutely opposed to it because it's cruel and unusual punishment to lock someone up for life with no hope," Thigpen said.
He said prosecutors will seek life without parole too often.
"It's going to lead to extreme overcrowding in our prisons," Thigpen said.
If Perdue signs the legislation on life without parole, it won't be until the legislative session is over, his spokesman Bert Brantley said.
And as the session is just days from its close, other death penalty legislation remains in limbo.
A proposal that would allow a jury to impose the death sentence by a non-unanimous verdict has hit a legislative brick wall. The bill would allow a judge to impose the death sentence if at least 10 of 12 jurors support it.
Georgia law states only a jury can impose the death penalty, and its verdict must be unanimous.
Prosecutors statewide have mixed opinions about the measure. Because of the diversity of opinions among its members, the association didn't take a position on the measure, Currie said.
District Attorney Stephen Kelley of the five-county Brunswick Judicial Circuit supports the non-unanimous verdict proposal.
Purdue hasn't commented publicly about the measure that passed last week, but lawyers on both side of murder cases have.
Georgia's district attorneys support the bill, but many defense lawyers oppose it.
"We backed the life without parole bill because some murderers never deserve to see the light of day ... This legislation gives us a way to see that a person never gets out of prison to kill someone else," said Rick Currie, district attorney of the Waycross Judicial Circuit and president of the District Attorney's Association of Georgia.
In Georgia, life without parole is now a sentencing option only in death penalty cases. Regardless of the evidence or wishes of the victim's family, prosecutors first have to seek the death penalty - a lengthy and expensive process - in order to get a sentence of life without parole.
The association asserts the change will allow prosecutors to put more killers in prison and keep them there. It also will save taxpayers' money because prosecutors no longer will have to mount a lengthy and expensive death penalty prosecution when life without parole is the sentence they want.
"District attorneys can't seek the death penalty in every case. It may be because of not enough evidence to prove the [legally mandated] aggravating circumstance or because of the input of the victim's family. Or it may be because some counties simply can't afford a death penalty trial," Currie said.
The measure is unconstitutional and will only create more problems than it purports to solve, said John Thigpen, a veteran Southeast Georgia criminal defense attorney.
"I'm absolutely opposed to it because it's cruel and unusual punishment to lock someone up for life with no hope," Thigpen said.
He said prosecutors will seek life without parole too often.
"It's going to lead to extreme overcrowding in our prisons," Thigpen said.
If Perdue signs the legislation on life without parole, it won't be until the legislative session is over, his spokesman Bert Brantley said.
And as the session is just days from its close, other death penalty legislation remains in limbo.
A proposal that would allow a jury to impose the death sentence by a non-unanimous verdict has hit a legislative brick wall. The bill would allow a judge to impose the death sentence if at least 10 of 12 jurors support it.
Georgia law states only a jury can impose the death penalty, and its verdict must be unanimous.
Prosecutors statewide have mixed opinions about the measure. Because of the diversity of opinions among its members, the association didn't take a position on the measure, Currie said.
District Attorney Stephen Kelley of the five-county Brunswick Judicial Circuit supports the non-unanimous verdict proposal.
Last edited:
