ervatives | About the
ncerned| Death Penalty
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The Closure Myth
How the death penalty fails victims’ families
To be meaningful, justice should be swift and sure. The death penalty is neither. It
prolongs pain for victims’ families, dragging them through an agonizing and lengthy
process that promises an execution at the beginning but often results in a different
sentence in the end. The death penalty showers resources and attention on a few
cherry-picked cases, telling families that some lives are more important than others.
Justice neither swift nor sure
“ When my brother was murdered I thought I was supposed to support
the death penalty... Little did me and my family know then that
when Michael Ryan was sentenced to death, we were sentenced too.
Our sentence has been going on for 20 years and there has been no
execution. For 20 years it has been all about Michael Ryan. He is all
my family and I ever hear about. Jim is never mentioned... Having
seen what the death penalty has done to my family, I have since
changed my mind and now think it should be abolished.”
— Miriam Thimm Kelle, whose brother, Jim, was tortured to death
“ A serial killer ripped Deirdre away from us in 1982. My family had
no idea, then, that our ordeal was just beginning... From 1982 until
1990 I lived day to day, appeal to appeal, decision to decision. We
woke up every day wondering what might happen that day. Will
there be another appeal?... I learned the hard way that the death
penalty is an albatross over the heads of victims’ families”.
—Jim O’Brien, whose daughter, Deirdre, was murdered
“ In my 15 years as a victims rights lawyer, I have represented many
murder victim families in death penalty cases, and the additional
anguish caused by the justice process is overwhelming. When I
first see a client, I silently pray the prosecutor will decide against
pursuing the death penalty, but not because I am against that form of
punishment. My prayers are for the victims and the hope they will
be spared the pain, isolation and despair the death penalty process
will inevitably bring.”
— Richard Pompelio, whose son, Tony, was murdered and who became the
founder of the New Jersey Victims Law Center
“I'm here to tell you,
as the mother of a
homicide victim, that
the death penalty brings
as much pain as it does
relief, that it creates an
entirely new layer of
pain...”
— Janice Greishaber, whose
daughter, Jenna, was
murdered
“[The death penalty
means victims’ families
are] putting their lives
on hold for years,
sometimes decades,
as they attend new
hearings and appeals
and relive the murder.”
— Gail Rice, whose brother,
Bruce, was murdered
Can we make the system faster? “The death penalty is
not given out equally.
It's about saying
certain cases are more
important than others,
certain crimes are more
heinous than others...and
for families it’s a real
¢ The death penalty is irreversible. The process is longer because a life
is on the line. Many of the extra procedures are legally required to
reduce the risk of mistakes. And even these are not enough — over
140 people have been exonerated from death row after waiting years
or decades for the truth to come out. Streamlining the process would
virtually guarantee the execution of an innocent person.
¢ Even states with the fewest protections and a faster process take years slap in our face.”
or decades to carry out an execution. In Texas, for example, there are - Khalilah Brown-Dean,
people on death row who have been there for over two decades. whose cousin was
murdered
The death penalty divides surviving families
¢ The death penalty is supposed to be reserved for the “most heinous”
murders, but that implies that most murders are ordinary. There is
no such thing as an “ordinary” murder for the grieving family left
behind. Many families feel these kinds of distinctions are a slap in
the face.
¢ The death penalty has split families apart, forcing relatives with
different views on the issue to engage in a polarizing debate at the
time when they need each other most.
« When the defendant and victim are related, families are even further
torn apart. In a number of cases, for example, children must first cope
with the murder of one parent and then suffer a new layer of trauma
and grief when the other parent is executed for the crime.
CASE IN POINT
Felicia Floyd was 11 when her father murdered her mother in a drunken rage.
Felicia's father was on death row in Georgia for 21 years, during which time the family
was able to find some reconciliation. Felicia and her brother pleaded with the state
not to execute their father, but were ignored. The execution left them orphans.
We have learned a lot about the death penalty in the last 30 years - and those
lessons have meant pain and suffering for the families whose loved ones have been
murdered. What was supposed to provide comfort to victims has become a colossal
failure that has prolonged their pain. Isn't it time to say enough is enough?
Conservatives | About the A project of Equal Justice USA
Concerned | Death Penalty www.conservativesconcerned.org _info@conservativesconcerned.org
A failure for victims’ families
In their own words: Stories of a broken system
“ Nearly eight years since the jury delivered the verdict of death, I am still forced to focus on my mother’s
killer. If the killer were given life without parole, and I mean a true life sentence, I would not be here. I
would not be forced to discuss the killer and the verdict and the ways in which my life has been affected.
Each court date, each appeal, each write-up in the newspaper, revisiting and revisiting the pain, each
event keeping me that much further from the curative process I and my family so greatly deserve.”
— Sandra Place, whose mother, Mildred, was murdered
“ The death penalty offers a false promise of closure to victims’ families, who are led to believe that an
execution will bring relief. While families wait through the lengthy, roller-coaster appeals process,
reliving our original pain again and again, the focus remains on the murderer rather that on the victims
or on our own anguish as surviving family members. ‘The death penalty is a distraction from victims’
real needs, not a solution.”
— Renny Cushing, whose father, Robert, was murdered
“ Capital appeals go on for decades after the initial trial. Most cases are reversed at some point, placing
victims’ families in limbo. With each court decision, the murderer’s name is splashed across the
headlines while the family waits helplessly for the next ruling, wondering when the sentence will finally
be carried out... The pain of this emotional roller coaster can be astonishing in its magnitude. Where
are the victims in this process? How are they served?”
— Vicki Schieber, whose daughter, Shannon, was murdered
“ ‘The sad reality is that the death penalty handcuffs the surviving families of homicide victims to decades
of legal procedures. In the end, the vast majority are re-sentenced to life without parole, which could
have been sought at trial.”
— Vivian Penda, whose son, Dennis, was murdered
“ The criminal justice system is hard enough on survivors. When the death penalty is added to the
process, the survivor's connection to the system becomes a long-term and often multi-decade nightmare
that almost never ends in the promised result. I have watched too many families go through this over
the years to believe that there is any way to make the system work better.”
— Kathy Garcia, trauma expert , victims’ advocate, and aunt of a murder victim
Conservatives |About the A project of Equal Justice USA
Concerned | Death Penalty www.conservativesconcerned.org _info@conservativesconcerned.org
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