An Iowa State Senator believes the time has come to reinstate capital punishment in Iowa... saying the state gives a criminal a perverse incentive to murder a victim, to cover up his crime by eliminating the witness.
Republican Jerry Behn from Boone says Iowa's system is an injustice to the victim.
"I always say, the victim himself is never going to see their family again, never going to have another birthday, never going to get a second chance." Behn says. "Meanwhie the perpetrator is living another day."
Behn was interviewed by Jeff Angelo on Newsradio 1040 WHO.
He says the death penalty reduces the number of murders.
"I do believe it is a deterrent. There is anecdotal evidence all over. There was a study that was done that showed that each state execution deterred 14 murders annually."
Behn calls his bill a limited death penalty in that a combination of felonies would have to be involved for the execution to take place.
Democratic State Representative Mary Wolfe of Clinton is against the death penalty. She tells WHO Radio News that life in prison avoids years of appeals that make the criminal the center of attention.
"I don't like the idea of giving criminal defendants who have been found guilty of these horrible crimes the opportunity to attain rock-star status among their fellow prison inmates, and often in the outside world." Wolfe says.
Wolfe says the death penalty appeals process goes on for years, and forces families of murder victims to relive the pain and loss over and over. She would know. Wolfe's two sisters were murdered by a neighbor in Pennsylvania in 2014.
She says Iowans want state lawmakers to take care of basics, like fixing the budget, and funding education.
"Instead of spending a lot of time, energy, and emotion on something that I don't think the people of Iowa want to see." Wolfe says. "... and, also, as far as I can see, that doesn't have a chance in hell of making it through the house."