Republican Del

Republican Del. Frank D. Hargrove Sr., (R-Hanover) recently stated his intent to introduce a death penalty abolition bill in the upcoming General Assembly. "One of the responsibilities of government is to protect the public. I have voted for the death penalty over the years numerous times." "But now that we have life without parole I believe that addresses the situation without a sentence that is irreversible." He said if you make a mistake in the death penalty, "you can't go back and reverse it." He said the death penalty cannot be shown to be a deterrent, that it probably costs no more to imprison an inmate for life than it does to pursue a death case through trial and appeals and that it's still an imperfect process even with DNA. "I know, politically, some folks will say they think I'm crazy, but I'm not interested in the politics of it," said Hargrove. "This eliminates the possibility of the awful mistake. It's not a political issue, it's not an economics issue."