"Life without parole a better choice for many families of victims," is the editorial published in today's Casper Star-Tribune.
When the two young Cody men who gunned down three members of a family in Clark received sentences of life without parole instead of the death penalty, some questioned if that was a just sentence for such a cold-blooded crime.
But it may be a surprise that many families of murder victims prefer the life without parole sentence, simply because it puts the killer away forever without the decades-long court appeals that can accompany a death sentence.
The life without parole sentences mean that Tanner Vanpelt and Stephen Hammer will not be able to get out of prison – ever. The two, both 19 when the murders were committed, pleaded guilty to killing Ildiko Freitas, 40, and her parents, 70-year-old Janos Volgyesi and 69-year-old HIldegard Volgyesi on March 2. Prosecutors said that the teens had stolen guns from a Cody pawn shop and came to the home of their victims to steal a car.
The Powell Tribune reported that Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric agreed to seek life sentences instead of the death penalty, with the agreement of law enforcement and Freitas' family. The sentences for Vanpelt and Hammer, imposed by District Court Judge Steven Cranfill were the result of a plea agreement. Skoric could have chosen to pursue the death penalty, but agreed to life sentences with the support of the family of the three victims.
Related posts are in the editorial and sentencing category indexes. Earlier coverage from Wyoming begins at the link.
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