I am not a big fan of the death penalty, either, however, in some cases, it is warranted,IMHO. This is probably one of them. In situatons where the person is convicted on mostly circumstantial evidence, or maintains his innocence when there is any chance that someone else COULD have committed the crime, I am not so much in favor of it. For the simple reason that the person is being asked to trust his life to a lawyer that probably can’t be trusted with 25 cents. I do believe that my own state, Texas, is a bit too generous with the death penalty at times, as well as other states don’t pass it out often enough. I believe Manson should have gotten the death penalty.JMO...
“I believe Manson should have gotten the death penalty.”
He did get the death penalty but it was commuted to life:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_Charles_Manson_on_death_row
“No, Charles Manson is not on death row. His death sentence was changed to life imprisonment after the Supreme Court of the State of California acted to abolish the death penalty. His next scheduled parole hearing is in 2012.”
These two perps were arrested while fleeing in a vehicle from the immediate scene of the crime. No doubt they did it.