Source: Helena Independent Record
A recent Associated Press article that was published in this paper and others across the state mentioned House Bill 370, a bill that replaces Montana’s death penalty with life without parole. As someone who has experienced the devastating murder of a loved one first hand, I know that the issue of capital punishment in Montana — especially in terms of how it affects murder victims’ families — is more complicated than most people think.
My daughter, Donna, was brutally murdered at my son’s place of business in Montana City. The murder was cold, heartless, pointless and devastating. Losing Donna in such an appalling way was devastating to me and my family. Our grief was only compounded by the senselessness of the act, the complete innocence of my daughter, and the lack of concern or remorse demonstrated by the perpetrators.
Donna’s murder shocked and hurt not just my family, but our entire community. Our friends gathered around to support us, and many of them told us that they hoped “they kill the bastards.” While I appreciated the support of my friends, they just didn’t understand. Aside from the fact that killing the murderers would not bring Donna back, executing them would be too easy! I want the perpetrators to live every day with their terrible acts. I want them to live out the rest of their days in prison while the rest of us enjoy our freedom.
Because I have always felt strongly that the death penalty is a bad deal—it lets murderers off the hook, draws attention to those who break the law and does nothing to bring loved ones back—I joined up with a group of other murder victims’ family members here in Montana who also oppose the death penalty. Through my time with this group, I have learned that we all oppose the death penalty for different reasons—some believe it violates their religion, others believe the money spent on executions should go to support their families instead. Some worry about the problem of innocent people being sentenced to death, while others, like me, want the murderers to live every day remembering what they have done.
It may surprise you to know that there are a lot of murder victims’ family members here in Montana who are working very hard to make sure that we replace our death penalty with life without parole. Last session, I joined over 50 other murder victims’ family members in Montana in adding my name to a sign-on letter to our legislators, encouraging them to support the bill to replace Montana’s death penalty. And I meet more and more people like me all the time.
To those of you who support the death penalty “because of the victims,” I would encourage you to support things that actually take care of us — increased funeral benefits (those funerals are expensive, and no one plans for a homicide), better access to counseling, improved notification systems to let us know ahead of time when appeals take place or when the perpetrator in our case is being transferred, etc. The death penalty doesn’t help us. It doesn’t bring our loved one back. It doesn’t help us get our lives back on track. It doesn’t bring us closure — the guys on Montana’s death row have been there for decades. Thank goodness my family is not holding our breaths for an execution that probably won’t happen anyway.
Montana’s death penalty is expensive — much more so than life without parole. Wouldn’t you rather spend money preventing crimes from happening, financing police stations, education systems and victim services? I certainly would, and so would all of the other murder victims’ family members in Montana who support replacing the death penalty with life without parole.
As some of you may know, I recently lost my son in a tragic automobile accident here in Helena. The grief of losing two children is more than I think I can sometimes bear. But speaking from my heart and about what I know is right is the best possible way for me to honor the memory of my loved ones, and that is why I am writing this today.
Montana’s legislators will be deciding how to cast their votes. If you care, please contact your legislator to tell him/her to vote yes on the House Bill 370 to replace Montana’s death penalty with life without parole.
Donna’s murder shocked and hurt not just my family, but our entire community. Our friends gathered around to support us, and many of them told us that they hoped “they kill the bastards.” While I appreciated the support of my friends, they just didn’t understand. Aside from the fact that killing the murderers would not bring Donna back, executing them would be too easy! I want the perpetrators to live every day with their terrible acts. I want them to live out the rest of their days in prison while the rest of us enjoy our freedom.
Because I have always felt strongly that the death penalty is a bad deal—it lets murderers off the hook, draws attention to those who break the law and does nothing to bring loved ones back—I joined up with a group of other murder victims’ family members here in Montana who also oppose the death penalty. Through my time with this group, I have learned that we all oppose the death penalty for different reasons—some believe it violates their religion, others believe the money spent on executions should go to support their families instead. Some worry about the problem of innocent people being sentenced to death, while others, like me, want the murderers to live every day remembering what they have done.
It may surprise you to know that there are a lot of murder victims’ family members here in Montana who are working very hard to make sure that we replace our death penalty with life without parole. Last session, I joined over 50 other murder victims’ family members in Montana in adding my name to a sign-on letter to our legislators, encouraging them to support the bill to replace Montana’s death penalty. And I meet more and more people like me all the time.
To those of you who support the death penalty “because of the victims,” I would encourage you to support things that actually take care of us — increased funeral benefits (those funerals are expensive, and no one plans for a homicide), better access to counseling, improved notification systems to let us know ahead of time when appeals take place or when the perpetrator in our case is being transferred, etc. The death penalty doesn’t help us. It doesn’t bring our loved one back. It doesn’t help us get our lives back on track. It doesn’t bring us closure — the guys on Montana’s death row have been there for decades. Thank goodness my family is not holding our breaths for an execution that probably won’t happen anyway.
Montana’s death penalty is expensive — much more so than life without parole. Wouldn’t you rather spend money preventing crimes from happening, financing police stations, education systems and victim services? I certainly would, and so would all of the other murder victims’ family members in Montana who support replacing the death penalty with life without parole.
As some of you may know, I recently lost my son in a tragic automobile accident here in Helena. The grief of losing two children is more than I think I can sometimes bear. But speaking from my heart and about what I know is right is the best possible way for me to honor the memory of my loved ones, and that is why I am writing this today.
Montana’s legislators will be deciding how to cast their votes. If you care, please contact your legislator to tell him/her to vote yes on the House Bill 370 to replace Montana’s death penalty with life without parole.
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