From the AJC…
Gary DeToma, the Decatur man accused of suffocating one of his young sons and trying to kill the other, was indicted on murder charges Tuesday, and prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty.
…Police have offered no motive, but DeToma and his wife, Melanie, were going through a contentious divorce. His anger toward his wife possibly led to the domestic tragedy, Melanie DeToma’s lawyer told the AJC.
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I am against the death penalty as a matter of principle and belief. I would like to see Gary DeToma put into a small locked room decorated floor to ceiling with pictures of his sons, and a big flat screen TV that runs only videos of his children. And never let him out.
I’m with you, Fats — he deserves something worse.
A death penalty trial will cost a mint. He’s not worth it. Plus if he’s on death row, he gets special treatment. Save the cash and just give him a couple of years in the general population. He’d last no longer than a few weeks – general pop. does not like pervs and child murderers.
Bingo! MrFixit, a little hometown justice is in order here.
I’m not certain but I recall hearing that in order to pursue life without parole the death penalty must be sought. It’s one of the many quirks of the justice system (if I’m recalling correctly).
Since the death penalty is the worst, most final punishment society has, it ought to be reserved for the worst of the wors– but only in those cases cases where it’s known beyond a reasonable doubt who did it, and that the perp did it for no other reason than that s/he had a depraved heart/mind. Unless Detoma’s lawyers establish that he was insane at the time he committed the crime, I’d say he fits these narrow parameters pretty much perfectly. While I can’t say I’m across-the-board in favor of the death penalty, there are some people I’d rather my tax dollars didn’t go to help keep them alive.
Alas, it may cost more of those dollars to end his life than to sustain it. Insanity may be his only hope for an acquittal, but at the setencing phase, they can trot out endless experts — likely at taxpayer expense — to tell the jury his mother was mean to him, his IQ is low, he had a difficult childhood, or anything else one can think of along those lines. And even if sentenced to death, we’ll have years of appeals, most focusing on how his trial lawyer could have done a better job.
Right, it costs much more to put someone to death than to keep them in prison for the rest of their life. Plus every morning they get to wake up, look around, and lividly remember why they are where they are.