Perdue to get life-without-parole bill
By Bill Rankin/brankin@ajc.com
Georgia prosecutors will have more leeway to put killers behind bars until they die under legislation approved Wednesday by the state House of Representatives.
The House voted 164-0 for the bill, which would allow DAs to seek a sentence of life in prison without parole without having to seek the death penalty to get it.
The Senate already approved S.B. 13 by a unanimous vote. The bill now goes to Gov. Sonny Perdue for his signature.
The legislation was the top priority of the state’s district attorneys and also supported by numerous criminal defense attorneys.
DAs say that the legislation would allow them to put more murderers away forever. It also will spare DAs from having to mount costly death-penalty prosecutions when a life-without-parole sentence is what they would have settled for in the first place.
Under Georgia law, once a DA seeks the death penalty, the sentencing options are life in prison with parole, life without parole or the death penalty.
By allowing the life-without-parole bill to be voted on Wednesday without amendment, House leaders made it highly likely that legislation to allow the death penalty without a non-unanimous jury verdict will not become law this year.
Last week, the life-without-parole bill was pulled off the House floor before a vote in an attempt to amend it with the non-unanimous jury provision.
Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome), sponsor of the life-without-parole bill, objected, saying the non-unanimous jury amendment would torpedo both pieces of legislation. Over the past week, House leaders agreed to let the life-without-parole bill be voted on without amendment.
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© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
7 comments Add your comment
Bob
March 25th, 2009
2:17 pm
Considering how much the average person in prison costs taxpayers I’d really like to see a bill that makes the death penalty easier to attain or mandatory sentencing.
Rapists, child molesters, and evil 1st degree murderers should all have speedy trials in cases with abundadant and irrefutable evidence. Take away or speed up the appeals process so these terrible worthless people waste as little time and money as possible. And this whole pleading insanity thing should be irrelevant. If a mentally ill person commits a terrible crime they’re a threat to society and should be dealth with accordingly. Stupidity is not an excuse.
Brian Nichols should have been executed years ago. How someone can commit such a heinous crime with hundreds of witnesses still costs this state more money than I’ll ever make in my life I’ll never know. This case was a disgrace. He should walk in, they show the video tape and listen to a couple of witnesses and then he’s executed. Simple and quick like.
TW
March 25th, 2009
2:23 pm
The most important people are the family of the victim – not some armchair blowhard. Those involved with the victims of families say they see very little healing when forgiveness is not given ample time to occur. Those who disregard the family of the victim for the sake of vengeance or money demean our society.
Bob
March 25th, 2009
3:26 pm
Those who disregard the importance of money in our judicial/penal system think more of themselves and criminals than of the good of society as a whole.
I thank the lord every day no one close to me has been a victim of violent crime, so thankfully I can’t speak from experience. But, I think it’d make me feel much better knowing no one would ever suffer under that person’s hand again. You can forgive someone at any time, regardless of whether they’re alive or dead.
You seriously enjoy that it takes 20 years to execute someone who rightfully deserves it? If someone murdered your significant other in a brutal and merciless way it’s odd to think you’d be comforted knowing you’re buying them a nice hot breakfast every morning, a place to sleep at night, and cable TV, until they had finally paid the price for their crime.
TW
March 25th, 2009
5:30 pm
Those who work with families who suffer from having had a loved one murdered say that they see more healing for the family when they are able to forgive the felon face to face. Anyone who thinks serving life in prison for murder is a tax funded holiday clearly listens to too much Bill O’Reilly. Anyone who claims to ‘thank the lord’ ought to be thanking the ‘Lord’ and giving the New Testament a read now and then. Sadly, those whose decisions are based on fear know the Lord not at all.
Bob
March 25th, 2009
8:25 pm
Thanks for the Grammar lesson.
I’ve got no problem with forgiveness. I’ve got a problem with the burdeon that’s put on the system by these people and the enormous cost associated with sorting out their criminal acts. Prison should not cost $40,000 a year and Nichols attorney fees should not have been in the millions of dollars for such a clear cut case.
If you think the New Testament leads us to always be merciful and caring and sweet and tolerant then perhaps it is you that should be reading the New Testament. Start with Mark. The Old Testament is very clear about crime and punishment and the New Testament did not supercede it to the extent you’re imagining. The bible does not instruct us to be fools and rely totally on him for everything including protection and our justice. Only he can see through the hardened heart of a criminal and only he can be the judge. I just want to make them stand before him a little faster than you. They’ll still have to answer to him one day.
For the record I despise Bill O’reily, it’s been at least 5 years since I’ve watched one of his shows.
I don’t think prison is a holiday either, just too expensive. I’d do anything to stay out.
TW
March 25th, 2009
9:25 pm
Read Matthew. In the mean time, please try not to confuse tolerance with being a fool. Though the rightwing has done a masterful job of redefining peace and love as weakness and stupidity, you seem a little too bright for that.
Does prison cost too much? Of course. However, nowhere does the Bible suggest execution as an answer to financial difficulty. Execution is revenge – plain and simple. And I believe the Bible does say something about revenge.
Bob
March 30th, 2009
9:17 pm
If someone murdered my child and I went and beat them to death with a club, that’s revenge. If a criminal is executed in a humane way after a fair trail and sentencing by their fellow citizens, that’s justice.