Is Life Without Parole an unjust punishment? Can it ever be just?
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LWOP is definitely an unjust punishment, and I don’t believe it can ever be just, due to the fact that people change, life changes, and LWOP is just The Other Death Penalty, so why have two?
Is slavery ever justified?
There must be ways for people to redeem themselves in any real civilized country. No form of killing is proper or justifiable. I know it’s hard to be civilized sometimes especially after horrible crime has been committed.
I admire Norway. The case where this sick evil bastard killed 60 or 70 people on that island, yet Norway being civilized did not allow that one incident to change their society and civilization and their true and real system of justice.
They did not bring into existence endless laws to give people LWOP or the Death Penalty. They decided to stay a true civilized society.
California would have brought in a horde of ridiculous laws based on nothing but hate.
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Back in 1990 I actually went to the Board of Prison Terms and was told by the board that my commutation hearing would be run like any other Lifer hearing even though I was a LWOP.
The Deputy Commissioner of the Board commented on my great ‘in custody behavior’ and the fact that I was a writer, but he said I did not have enough time in yet for the Board to recommend commutation or parole. He told me to come back to the Board in 1993.
He also discussed Oscar Wilde with me and said perhaps I should write my way out of prison. He said the atmosphere in the California government was not ready to commute (LWOP) sentences.
Now over 20 years later, why hasn’t my sentence been commuted? Commuted based on my accomplishments, good in custody behavior and the love, peace, growth, and reform I have lived and shown through my work.
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Photo: fabiorenzetti/Flickr
There does not seem to be any enlightened minds creating a true justice system based on true values.