Richard Long: Death Penalty Needs To Remain In Place

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Executive Director of Pennsylvania's District Attorneys Association, Richard Long, spoke out against Governor Tom Wolf's moratorium on the death penalty, claiming it is an effective tool that law enforcement needs to be able to access.

Long, in an interview with Dom Giordano on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, stood by the position that certain criminals are worthy of being put to death.

"We feel that in a certain subset of murder cases, pre-meditated, First Degree Murder with aggravating circumstances, which are just facts that make it an even more egregious crime than it already is, that this is the appropriate punishment for someone that takes another person's life intentionally and leaves behind survivors that, for the rest of their lives and their families lives going down through the generations, have been irreparably damaged by this person's brazen act."

He also made the case that prosecutors work very hard to ensure the proper use of the death penalty.

"Over time, the system has been sensitive to some of the objections or concerns [to] oversight. Prosecutors are going to be very deliberate and make sure when they are pursuing this ultimate penalty, it's going through a very thoughtful process and deliberate process."