That's the title of Bob Autobee's OpEd in Colorado's Pueblo Chieftain.
I am a veteran corrections officer. No one would ever call me soft on crime. For nearly all of my life, I supported the death penalty.
When my son, corrections officer Eric Autobee, was murdered, I still supported the death penalty and it seemed proper justice that they would seek the ultimate punishment for his offender.
That was the old me, before I learned and experienced how the system really doesn’t work. It has been a nightmare. Given what I know now, I can no longer support Colorado’s broken death penalty system. What’s more, I will work to end it to ensure that our resources are better used and no family ever has to go through what my wife and I have endured.
Justice should be swift. This simply isn’t possible with the death penalty.
Our case is the poster child for this. It has been more than 10 years since Eric was murdered and the case is still being fought. Thousands of hours, millions of dollars, and an unspeakable emotional toll on my family has been poured into the fight for a death sentence.
And:
As a victim’s father who has been trapped in the labyrinth of the death penalty, and after seeing the real misuse of resources, I am begging our elected officials to do away with our broken death penalty system.
Colorado can do better by our corrections officials, and we can do much better by victims.
Earlier coverage of Bob Autobee's change of heart begins at the link. Also available, the most recent coverage from Colorado.
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