A possible demise for Montana’s death penalty vanished today when Senate Bill 236 failed to make it past the state House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 10-8. Although it had narrowly passed the Republican controlled Senate, this failure makes it unlikely that the bill will return this year.
Proponents of SB 236 argued that executing a convicted criminal costs more than imprisoning him for life without parole. This, combined with the risk of executing an innocent man simply make the law too costly in all senses of the word.
Those arguing to keep the death penalty say that some crimes are so heinous that ending the convict’s life is the only appropriate response. Additionally, they claim the deterrent aspect of capital punishment serve an important purpose and should not be ignored.
Churchill once said something to the effect of democracy being the worst form of government, except all the others. The same could probably be said for our judicial system. For all the many benefits, it is all too fallible. Headlines abound announcing newly tested DNA evidence that has set free a man on death row. Personally, I simply find the risk too great.
