Photo via @above_96th.
The family of Bubacarr Camara, the 26-year-old man who was killed at BNC Merchandise on 104th street and Amsterdam Avenue during a robbery last June, posted a letter on the front of the shop to let people know a trial is beginning in the case.
Brothers Michael and Stephen Adams have pleaded guilty to killing Camara during the robbery on June 18, and they each face the possibility of life in prison. The U.S. Attorney’s office announced Michael’s guilty plea last week. A third man, Zubearu Bettis, still faces charges.
with all the DNA and all other scientific knowledge that is now known in crime fighting,there is no reason why the death penalty cant be brought back.
Except the obvious moral one.
Aside from the moral reasons to not execute criminals there is also a financial reason.
It costs ten times more to keep an inmate on death row than it is to have the same inmate on a life sentence with no parole. The reason is due to all the appeals and all the legal fees incurred over the years.
It also takes a huge emotional toll on the victim’s family as they have to face their relatives killer multiple times during the appeals process in court.
It’s really just better for all to simply incarcerate for life than it is to execute.
“UWS-er” alluded-to an “obvious” moral argument against capital punishment.
I would contend that there is no such “obvious” argument.
There are certain crimes for which the one who commits them forfeits the right to live. When an individual has been duly found to be guilty of such a crime, for the state to execute him is not only entirely moral but imperative. If nothing else*, to completely and permanently remove such miscreants from society ensures –at the very least– that they can do no further harm.
(*And I don’t believe that is all. For one thing, I believe that capital punishment– when actually carried-out— does have a deterrent effect. But even if not…see above.)
Of course, given the inherent irreversibility of capital punishment, the potential for error in applying it will always be of special concern. Saul’s point, though (at least as I understood it), was that with technological advances such as DNA evidence, we should, at least in many cases, be able to prove the guilt of a defendant at least as convincingly as said evidence has been used to vindicate defendants and even convicts.
Assuming of course that all DA’s and other prosecutors are honest and always hand over all of the possible exculpatory evidence brought forth by this modern technology.
@ “UWS Wally”: There are mechanisms– some already in place and others that could be implemented– to account for the risks that you cite. Checks and balances.
Also, prosecutorial advantage and abuse of the type that you cite, while no doubt a legitimate concern, is by no means the only threat to justice in this area. Politically-, ideologically- and emotionally-driven activists and rabble-rousers have repeatedly prevailed over facts and reason. The power of slickly-produced, shrewdly deceptive agitprop, often masquerading as documentary journalism, is not to be underestimated in its ability to corrupt and pervert justice.
We saw a prime example of this with the case of the “Central Five Park” and Ken Burns’ “documentary”. (Never mind what you may think of the authors and source of the linked pieces, deal with the substantive, cogent, extensively-documented content of the articles themselves. Information does not become invalidated just because the one delivering it may be flawed.)
If the moral argument isn’t obvious how about the financial one.
It costs 10x more to keep an inmate on death row than to have the same person on a life sentence with no parole.
And there is also an emotional argument. The one for the victim’s family which are dragged through court on every appeal that it’s made. Having to relieve the nightmare that your loved one went through during their last moments is not easy. And this could go on for years.
Many families would rather forgo the death penalty in such cases.
@ zulu: I acknowledge the concerns you raised as legitimate and serious. I maintain, however, that they are outweighed by the benefits of and arguments in favor of the death penalty– those that I enumerated in my post as well as additional ones. Of course, the longer the delay between sentencing and execution, the more said pros diminish. This is a real and quite difficult problem. There is much to be said on this topic but we are getting far afield from the story that is the topic of this thread.
I meant to write re-live not relieve on my post above.
From a pure financial point of view, the death penalty is the wrong way to go. It costs 10 times more to have an inmate on death row than it costs to have the same person on a life sentence with no opportunity for parole.
The numerous appeals and the court dates and the court appointed attorneys and all the salaries associated to the process are paid with tax dollars. To make matters worse the victim’s families when brought back to court for the appeals have to relieve the ordeal over and over again. Death row can go on for years and years causing much angst and agony to the victim’s family while the costs just keep piling on.
As counterintuitive as it might me, it’s better for everybody to just throw them in jail and not execute.
They might be prosecuted under federal statutes: https://www.nypress.com/local-news/20150721/feds-mull-death-penalty-in-uws-murder
Not surprisingly, these 3 miscreants had long rap sheets: “Police said Stephen Adams has seven prior arrests, including for felony assault. He was being sought on strangulation charges for an early June incident; Michael Adams was on parole through May 2017 following a conviction on attempted robbery charges; and Bettis, also known as Michael Bettis, had served time on grand larceny, weapons charges and other crimes.”
I don’t understand why these people are released. Shouldn’t they still be in jail???
Stupidity on whose part? The judges? Can anyone tell me? Thanks.
Where does it say they where released?
DeBlasio
BTW, if you’re going to blame Deblasio you have to start the blame with Dinkins and continue with Giuliani and follow through with Bloomberg. Because at least for Zubearu Bettis his criminal career started in 1991.
It is being prosecuted by the feds. We broke that story here: https://www.westsiderag.com/2015/07/09/breaking-3-arrested-for-murder-of-uws-shop-worker