After watching ‘The Laramie Project’ (film version) last night I was struck by the courtroom scene during the trial and, in particular, the moving statement given by the victim’s father concerning the death penalty and the plea for leniency by the defendant’s mother during the trial and it got me thinking…
- Is it common for the parents of victims and defendants to make statements like this during trials for serious crimes (after the jury has arrived at a verdict) in order to influence a judges sentence?
- Are there examples where a judge has overruled the wishes of the parents of a murder victim to spare the life of the defendant and gone ahead with a death penalty regardless?