Advocates have even tried to remove some of the most brutal sides to the death penalty. Executions have come from publically open to behind closed doors. Methods have gone from traditional hangings to the electric chair, gas chamber, and lethal injection.
"To fight and deter crime effectively, individuals must have every tool government can afford them, including the death penalty," says George E. Pataki (2003), Republican governor of New York. After only two months in office, governor Pataki "signed the death penalty into law for the most heinous and ruthless killers"(Pataki, 2003, para. 2) in New York. Since 1995, when Patacki took office, "violent crime has dropped 23%, assaults are down 22% and murders have dropped by nearly one third."(Pataki, 2003, para. 9) Anti-capital punishment views are based on the fact that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. But, what about the victims families? Peter Bronson's article, A cruel penalty for victims, argues, "Death penalty opponents who twist the truth to protect killers are also torturing victim's families" (Bronson,2003). His article was based on the brutal death of Sherry Byrne. Nine law students fought to get her murderer off death row. Some opponents to the death penalty do not realize the pain caused by murders. Those law students must have overlooked the fact that Sherry Byrne was "tortured for ten hours-raped, beaten, and stuffed in the trunk of a car" (Bronson,2003). Pataki said this in his article:.
Shortly before the death penalty went into effect, I listened to the families of 20 murder victims as they told of their pain. No loved ones should have to go through such a wrenching experience. I will never forget the words of Janice Hunter, whose 27-year-old daughter, Adrien, was stabbed 47 times by serial killer Nathaniel White in 1992. Mrs. Hunter spoke for every family member when she said, "It's a heartache that all parents suffer.