thoughts on the death penalty

Taken from a journal entry during lunch break 06-04-09:
I've usually always been of the mindset that when it comes to the death penalty I would rather have someone sentenced to life in prison than sentenced to death. 1) I don't think we, as imperfect humans, should act as God and decide to kill someone and 2) unlike God, we as humans can make mistakes, which has been seen in the number of people that have been exonerated because of DNA evidence and 3) I don't like the idea of someone being put in the position to "legally" murder someone.
But I'm learning that an inmate being sentenced to life doesn't guarantee he/she will be in prison for life. Some inmates with life sentences (called "lifers" at the prison) may have a mandatory 10-25 years of prison with the possibility of parole.
So then I thought maybe the solution would be to sentence a prisoner to life without the possibility of parole. I asked my boss if he knew of anyone who had been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole who had still gotten out of prison. To my surprise, he said yes. It was the story of a man who had killed someone for setting him up during a drug deal. The man was in prison for a long time (I think about 20 years) and his daughters continued to persist in allowing him to have parole. Eventually they caught the ear of one of the influential state legislators and eventually their father was let out of prison, on parole. So, if someone has the money and the connections to influence he/she can still get out of prison even with a life sentence.
All of this doesn't make me think that re-instating the death penalty (in N.C.) is the right solution, though. But it does make me realize that life in prison isn't necessarily a guarantee of life in prison and that in order to provide life in prison as an effective alternative to capital punishment changes must be made in the law and policy. Or at least that's what I think right now.