Sorry for your loss.
I have never been in that situation. I always thought it was preferable to have the killer executed so that the victim's family didn't have to live with the thought that the killer still gets to live and breathe while their loved one does not.
Thank you. My loss was small compared to others.
It was a long time ago, so perspectives change.
Initially I was very angry and wanted to see him die, horribly. I signed the petition to ask for the death penalty at the memorial.
The trial and conviction happen quickly, then the clock starts.
Years go by. Appeals. The occasional local news piece as they come up.
Your life moves on. College. Girlfriends. Marriage. Houses. Kids. Career.
Yet the killer is frozen in time. They do nothing else but age. The guy was young and fierce, but they get older and fatter. Begins balding. Prison life is hard and it shows.
They are no longer dangerous and scary, he just gets rather pathetic and beaten down.
I don't have much connection to the time and feelings I had. My life has moved on. Anger and hatred now just wanes between pity and apathy.
Seeing the killer executed after all this time gives me nothing. I don't know if I've forgiven the killer, but it doesn't bring anyone back.
IDK, it's hard to explain, but anymore my thoughts are more concerned about my own growth and enlightenment vs my response at the time. If I saw the killer executed, seeing the ruined state he's in and knowing I voted for this, IDK, feels more like a stain on my spirit rather than delivery of justice. I'm not religious
in any way, but I think I understand now what christian teaching means about forgiveness versus vengeance.
He's on a reprieve, so who knows if it would ever happen. Not everyone feels the same way, but for me, it just doesn't matter anymore. He's beaten, it's over either way, but I feel smaller for being involved in it.