Case for Capital Punishment

The recent horror uncovered in California regarding the evil couple—one an already convicted sex offender—who kidnapped, and held for years, a young girl, is the sort of tragic criminal justice result which underlies the reason why our organization's criminal justice principles calls for increasing the use of capital punishment for pedophiles and rapists, a sanction some states already use.

The New York Times reports on this case and how it may impact pending legislation to reduce the prison population as a budget saving measure.

An excerpt.

“SAN FRANCISCO — The case of Phillip Garrido, a parolee and registered sex offender accused of abducting an 11-year-old girl and holding her hostage for 18 years, has become embroiled in the debate over legislation intended to reduce California’s inmate population.

“The State Assembly is scheduled to vote on Monday on its version of a bill to help cut the budget deficit by $1.2 billion by reducing the state prison population by 27,000 through an early parole program. The State Senate passed its version of the legislation this month. But now, some corrections reform advocates in Sacramento, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, fear the fallout from the case of Mr. Garrido could affect or even derail action on the Assembly bill.

“This demonstrates the problems that we’re going to have if we release thousands of prisoners into our local communities,” State Senator Tom Harman, a Republican from Huntington Beach, told The Sacramento Bee.

“Mr. Harman’s concerns echoed fears that many of his colleagues had expressed even before Mr. Garrido and his wife were arrested and charged last Wednesday in the abduction and rape of Jaycee Dugard, who was taken as an 11-year-old in 1991 and has two daughters, ages 11 and 15….

“Mr. Garrido, 58, and his wife, Nancy, 55, were charged with 29 counts of kidnapping and rape; Mr. Garrido is accused of fathering Ms. Dugard’s two children.

“In 1976, Mr. Garrido was arrested after an interstate kidnapping and the rape a 25-year-old woman. He received a federal prison sentence of 50 years to life. But he was convicted before Congress passed “truth in sentencing” laws that prohibited early release programs until inmates had served most of their sentences, so Mr. Garrido was released from federal prison after serving only 11 years.

“He was granted federal parole in 1988, and was still under federal supervision when Ms. Dugard was kidnapped from a bus stop near her home in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. She remained missing until last week.”