Place the hood on the prisoner.
I was on Death Row for sixteen and a half years.
The state of Georgia spent one million and a half dollars
trying to kill me.
The reason I think we have a majority in this country now is because
the great majority of our population
doesn't remember when we had the death penalty anymore.
I was in prison on Death Row
for sixteen and a half years in the state of Georgia
for a murder that I committed and pled guilty to.
With the victim's family and the aid of a phone call from Mother Teresa,
the parole board commuted my sentence from death to life.
Between two and eight thousand people were executed in 2006.
If we take the higher figure that means 20 people were executed today,
20 people tomorrow and 20 people the next day.
No, you shouldn't be scared of me.
The person who committed that murder has definitely been changed.
The question of whether you could justify the death penalty
is a really difficult one and obvious cases spring to mind.
Saddam Hussein is one example that springs to mind.
The state has a right to use lethal force
to protect itself and its citizens from attack.
But, that's only when they need to protect themselves from attack.
Saddam Hussein was in prison.
He was no longer a threat to anybody.
I believe that there is an opportunity and a chance
for every person to change.
God changes people.
He puts before them the choice to change.
They see the benefits in that.
That's what makes change, prisons don't.
I don't believe that people who go into prison dangerous
come out of prison substantially less dangerous than they were before.
Which means actually in my opinion, if you have somebody who is dangerous
the only option is to keep them in prison the rest of their lives,
but we can do that and we do do that.
The court system is constantly pushing the idea
that you will not be at peace until this person who killed your loved one
is executed or given a death sentence.
These emotions of hatred that are being built up,
and bitterness and resentment, is killing the family members
and really the state doesn't care.
To me, that's just as bad
as the murder that happened in their family.
Now they are being victimised by the state.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about what a life sentence means.
People say, "Oh, it mean five years and you get parole."
Nonsense, completely untrue!
A life sentence means you have a minimum.
You minimum is set by the judge.
Until you have served that minimum you cannot possibly be released.
Once you have, you're considered for parole.
You're not released unless you can convince everybody you're safe.
If our country spent that money
that they are wasting on the death penalty,
and put it on the beginning end when children come into this world,
and helped them in their communities,
you won't have to spend millions and billions of dollars
trying to kill them on this end when they are adults.