i read your post and feel compelled to comment. first, let me preface this by saying that i believe in strict criminal punishment and even corporal punishment in some cases. however, in the case of henry smolarski, i'm wondering if he told you that he is now nearly 50 years old and committed his crime when he was barely 16. he had been mugged and thought that he was going to fight his attacker. as it turns out, it was a case of mistaken identity and an innocent man's life was lost. keep in mind that he grew up in a tumultuous and abusive home with little to no positive guidance and when it came to his trial, there was no money for adequate defense of a minor. these are not excuses, just trying to paint the whole picture for your readers.

now, think about this in terms of yourself. this is all relative, obviously, but, what if you were held responsible for the mistakes you made when you were 16? then, after being imprisoned for almost 34 years have no chance at freedom, at a life. i'm not saying that each criminal deserves a second chance, but in this particular case that you have referenced, where the inmate has clearly gone through rehabilitation and bettered himself in the worst conditions possible, it's disheartening that you can write with such insensitivity. it's easy to label someone as a murderer and say that they should get the chair without knowing their story, but to meet someone like henry and hear what he had to say and still write something like that is quite different.

look, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. that's what makes this country so great. however, it would be nice if when communicating your opinion in a public forum, especially when it is in regard to the worth of someone's life, you showed some humanity, or at least some respect.

i happen to be henry's niece and know him to be one of the most resilient, supportive, loving and compassionate men i have ever met. and this is the man he made himself while he has been incarcerated. i met him when he was already in jail and he will likely die in jail. these are the realities that my family and i have to face and deal with daily. all i'm trying to say is that while you're enjoying college and the life that you've been afforded, please don't discount the lives of others, particularly my uncles' just so that you can get some points for a blog post.

and just as a side note regarding the money of the taxpayers, the costs to have inmates on death row and ultimately executed are often just as exorbitant as keeping them as a lifer or allocating money to proper counseling while they are incarcerated. this is particularly true in the state of pa.