The Death Penalty - My Point of View

It was 1956 when the Quebec Government hung Wilbert Coffin, I was in grade 5 at the time and remember the news casts and write ups in the paper. It so affected me at the time that I brought the newspaper clipping to school for our current affairs class. I knew the death penalty, particularly in this case, was wrong. How do you put a man to death based solely on circumstantial evidence?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Affair

The death penalty is not a deterrent to murder ,but worse than that, over zealous prosecution and police forces have sent innocent people to jail for life and many may have been executed. Execution is simply revenge and does not give one closure.

In the US a convicted murderer can file appeal after appeal delaying their execution for decades and in some cases may have their sentence commuted to life. During this period of uncertainty the relatives of the victim harbour hatred for the perpetrator. This again, in my opinion, is a waste of the survivors life. You don't have to forgive but you do have to stop hating, it will destroy you and prevent you from getting on with your life.

I lost my sister and brother-in-law to a fire set intentionally by a 16 year old young man. While I have not forgiven this young man for his thoughtless and callous act, I have come to understand why no charges were laid against him. What I do believe is that he has not forgiven himself, for decades after I have heard, through a friend, how this lost sole continued a life of crime. It makes one wonder, had he been punished for the death of Linda and John would he have come to terms with his act and lived a better life.


Lenny - I have always been one to treat people with mutual respect regardless of their station in life. After my dad filed for bankruptcy in 1965 we moved to Chateauguay, I was 20 and at an age where making new friends in a strange town was not easy.


Fortunately my auntie Vi and uncle Pat lived on the same street as us which helped in our becoming a part of the neighborhood. Jim, the young fellow across the street, and my age, invited me to join him and some friends at the local drinking and dancing establishments. One of his friends was Lenny. As it turned out Lenny had recently been released from Bordeaux Prison in Montreal's East end. Len became a good and loyal friend, if he continued in his life of crime, he never involved any of us. When my mom and dad wanted to put in a circular drive Len was there with shovel in hand helping like any good friend would.


When I started dating Pat I no longer hung around Chateauguay and lost contact with the friends I had met there. One evening Pat and I had stopped by the Steinbergs, at the corner of Sherbrooke and Cavendish in Montreal to pick up some groceries, as we exited the store we met Len waiting for a bus, he was sporting a cast on his leg. As I approached him he said "Don't come near me, stay back" I thought it strange but did what he wanted. As we talked from a distance he kept glancing around and seemed out of sorts.


Little did I know that my good friend was the subject of Montreal Matin's annual hit list of those to be killed that year as a "Settling of Accounts". It seems that my good friend was an informant for the police and the underworld had caught up to him. Len and his girlfriend died late that year. Nobody was arrested for their murder..... it seems that no one cared except their family and friends.


Charlie - Not his real name but the moniker he was given while doing hard time at Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick. I never asked what Charlies crime was but feel very strongly that if the laws of 1956 were applied that I would not have a granddaughter and soon to be 2 great grand children. Since Charlie has completed his sentence he has not re-offended. Has he been a productive part of society? No, not today, but it wasn't always that way.


When first released on parole he was assigned to work with the severely disabled in the greater Moncton area. Charlie did a great job, he enjoyed the people and on occasion would bring them home for supper and a social outing.


His mistake was pulling up roots and moving home, the place where everyone knew who he was and what he had done. He couldn't find work and started drinking again. One evening he came home rather obnoxious and threatening, our daughter called police and had his parole revoked.


They tried to make a go of their relationship and at Christmas that year we agreed to have him for dinner on day release, along with his guard. That in itself was an experience. We were interview separately, including our other children, by the guard. After the interviews we sat down to dinner. We had set a place for the guard but he did not come to the table when I said to him "are you coming to sit down with us " he looked at me rather surprised and said " In fifteen years of doing this job no one has invited me to sit down at the table with the family, thank you" and came and sat with us.