Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 20, 2006 8:35:37 GMT -5
Attorney General candidate calls for adoption of death penalty
Minnesota should institute the death penalty for sexual predators who murder children, Republican attorney general candidate Jeff Johnson said Tuesday, setting off a debate about capital punishment in the race to be the state's top lawyer.
Johnson, a state representative, made the proposal as part of a broader crackdown on sex offenders. His plan would apply to a small number of cases, but he said he is open to a broader death penalty. Johnson is running against Democrat Lori Swanson, Independence Party candidate John James and the Green Party's Papa John Kolstad.
"I'm a strong believer in second chances, and in some case third and fourth chances, but not if you rape and kill a kid," Johnson said at a Capitol news conference.
Minnesota is one of a dozen states without the death penalty. Attention here is focused on a federal court jury in Fargo, N.D., which will start deliberations this week on whether Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. will die for killing college student Dru Sjodin in a notorious 2003 case.
Swanson, the top litigator under current Attorney General Mike Hatch, said life in prison was too good for some criminals. But she said she would support the death penalty only with safeguards against unjust executions.
"It would be a travesty to have an innocent person wrongfully put to death," she said.
James, a former state revenue commissioner, said he would oppose the death penalty even in the scenario described by Johnson. He said it isn't a deterrent because people who commit such heinous crimes are twisted to begin with and the death penalty can be expensive as well.
"It's quite a punishment for someone to sit there the rest of his life to ponder what he did," James said.
Kolstad has also come out against the death penalty.
Johnson's proposal would be limited to cases where a child was killed during a sex crime, and he said a confession or DNA evidence should be in hand before an execution could go forward.
Enacting the death penalty would require approval of the Legislature and the governor.
Johnson also called for geographic positioning devices to track the movements of released sexual criminals and more efforts to catch those who solicit sex from children online.
Swanson said if she's elected, she would push for more statewide law enforcement coordination in investigating gangs and broader authority for the attorney general's office to prosecute gang cases.
By Martiga Lohn, Associated Press Writer
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Minnesota should institute the death penalty for sexual predators who murder children, Republican attorney general candidate Jeff Johnson said Tuesday, setting off a debate about capital punishment in the race to be the state's top lawyer.
Johnson, a state representative, made the proposal as part of a broader crackdown on sex offenders. His plan would apply to a small number of cases, but he said he is open to a broader death penalty. Johnson is running against Democrat Lori Swanson, Independence Party candidate John James and the Green Party's Papa John Kolstad.
"I'm a strong believer in second chances, and in some case third and fourth chances, but not if you rape and kill a kid," Johnson said at a Capitol news conference.
Minnesota is one of a dozen states without the death penalty. Attention here is focused on a federal court jury in Fargo, N.D., which will start deliberations this week on whether Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. will die for killing college student Dru Sjodin in a notorious 2003 case.
Swanson, the top litigator under current Attorney General Mike Hatch, said life in prison was too good for some criminals. But she said she would support the death penalty only with safeguards against unjust executions.
"It would be a travesty to have an innocent person wrongfully put to death," she said.
James, a former state revenue commissioner, said he would oppose the death penalty even in the scenario described by Johnson. He said it isn't a deterrent because people who commit such heinous crimes are twisted to begin with and the death penalty can be expensive as well.
"It's quite a punishment for someone to sit there the rest of his life to ponder what he did," James said.
Kolstad has also come out against the death penalty.
Johnson's proposal would be limited to cases where a child was killed during a sex crime, and he said a confession or DNA evidence should be in hand before an execution could go forward.
Enacting the death penalty would require approval of the Legislature and the governor.
Johnson also called for geographic positioning devices to track the movements of released sexual criminals and more efforts to catch those who solicit sex from children online.
Swanson said if she's elected, she would push for more statewide law enforcement coordination in investigating gangs and broader authority for the attorney general's office to prosecute gang cases.
By Martiga Lohn, Associated Press Writer
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)