Here's one:
St. Paul, Minn. — Saying that he is "fed up" with stories of sexual assault, kidnapping, and repeat sex offenders, Pawlenty vowed to fight next year for a new Minnesota death penalty. The governor says he's long supported a state death penalty, and that the apparent abduction of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin has only rekindled that conviction.
"When you have somebody who is raping or attempting to rape a woman and trying to kill them or killing them, in my view that's the type of individual that's probably not curable and shouldn't be out on the streets in a free society. So I'd like to see -- I support the death penalty. And I would support the death penalty in a case where we have a sexual assault and a murder or attempted murder," he said.
The governor's comments come one day after the arrest of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., in connection with Sjodin's disppearance. Rodriguez is a convicted Minnesota sex offender who was released from custody last May after serving a 23-year sentence for first degree assault and kidnapping.
In addition to the death penalty, Pawlenty says he'll seek tougher sentences for sex offenders; more stringent reviews of those nearing the ends of their prison terms; and increased monitoring of released convicts, including irremovable bracelets that can be tracked by satellite.
Sandra Babcock, a nationally recognized death penalty defense attorney, says she understands the shocked reactions that many have to news of abductions and abuse. But she says Pawlenty's proposal runs counter to a recent national trend away from capital punishment.
"He's swimming against the tide; he's swimming against reason. He wants to take the state back to a time in its history in which, I think the state has rejected the death penalty for many decades. There's absolutely no reason to bring it back," says Babcock
Here's one: