phrases of life without words

A petition submitted to the New Zealand parliament called for life in prison without parole for those who kill a police officer on duty. The petition had 39,000 signatures. The petition was organized by the mother of a murdered police officer.

A life sentence without parole has only been handed down once in New Zealand, for the Christchurch mosque shooter. It is a phrase that tells New Zealand that this is the worst of the worst crimes.

Once you start lowering the threshold for sentences of life without parole, you leave behind bars people who would normally lead law-abiding lives with maturity on their side with no hope for the future. It also reduces the seriousness of the worst criminal acts by imposing the same penalties on the less serious ones.

The enormous cost to the taxpayer of keeping people locked up is a factor that must be taken into account.

If the government has the funds to keep people locked up for life, then the question is: “What else could they do with the money?”

That’s assuming whoever’s inside is able to turn a corner and live a law-abiding life.

Here’s a suggestion: Reduce sentences and invest money saved in programs for vulnerable youth.

Law enforcement should prosecute those who take advantage of minors and incite them to commit crimes, particularly drugs.

There are examples of felons receiving life without parole in the United States after being involved in murders involving elderly people.

Florida’s Morgan Leppert is one of them; when she was fifteen, she and her twenty-one-year-old boyfriend were involved in the murder of a fifty-eight-year-old man before stealing his truck.

Now you have to ask yourself: “Who should bear most of the responsibility for this crime? The twenty-one-year-old or the fifteen-year-old?”

US law does not seem to take into account this factor, which is not a justification for their actions but rather explains them.

Instead, retribution appears to be a motivating factor in sentencing. Taking revenge on those who have wronged us may give the victim’s relative some satisfaction, but it does not pay them back. In fact, to be a victim or a victor is a choice that one makes and that is an attitude.

Are there any circumstances in which a sentence of life without parole is warranted?

When there is a risk to the public but that must be evaluated as it is already done when criminals apply for parole.

In the case of the Christchurch mosque shooter, there will be those who will treat him like a hero if he is released, therefore there is a risk that he will inspire others to commit a similar crime.

Sentences of life imprisonment without parole should be handed down only in exceptional cases and the attack on the mosque is one of those exceptional cases.