I still remember the day clearly. It wasn’t what he had done that changed my mind at first. It wasn’t even the verdict. It was the moment of his actual death.. seeing & hearing about it on television.. that made me firmly re-think my own beliefs on the subject and endorse the death penalty for juveniles. On January 5, 1993, behind a wall where I imagine he may have heard the voices of people cheering outside, …showed first 75 words of 1248 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1248 total…terms .. death was wrong-- lengthy rehabilitation’s made sense.. All of the “ethical” hoopla that righteous anti-Capital punishment activists threw around made sense to me after only cursory examination. But Westley Allan Dodd’s hanging was a real “wake up call” -- one that made me really think the issue through and agree that the death penalty works .. serves a greater good .. and should not, by any means, be limited to the adult capital offender.