12 thoughts on “Fitzgerald for AG Campaign releases video on Death Penalty”

  2. Simple mistakes lead to interesting issues. Notice the word “Penaly” at the first portion of the presentation and how it is spelled. Yes a simple mistake. But can we afford a mistake that we do not get to go back on. Just something for everyone to chew on.

  3. Everything is about prosecuting only for Fitz the career politician, both of the other candidates get the job is more than that…no policy depth, no ideas, no money, did you see how he failed to answer the questions on policy differences with your opponents…he talked about judicial activism, WTF! I am still trying to figure that one out…when did Russell and Ravnsborg become judges?

    I thought Russell and Ravnsborg clearly separated themselves at the forum…Fitz is in last by a mile, I don’t know anyone supporting him.

  4. The “powers that be out there” who decide what I should be looking at online have blocked this video from viewing in the UK. Had to find it on his Facebook page. And, I left this little screed…

    Nope to all of that. We don’t want a Govt big enough to kill us, it’s not limited Govt , and it’s not fiscal conservatism, and it’s not a consistent pro-life ethic any way you spin it. It’s about what we do, not what they’ve done. It is immoral to kill a person once they are rendered defenceless, POW or otherwise. The death penalty delays this mythical closure for years and years; it is not justice in the sense that it brings anyone back; it ignores entirely what causes people to kill people; it doesn’t make prisons safer; it is institutionalized vengeance and we ought to be better than that. If we are going down the life for a life road, we should start raping rapists. South Dakota has executed an innocent man already, as happens all over America – for every ten we execute, one is found innocent and is let free, if it is not too late. If our judges and juries are so certain of guilt deserving death, they should have to issue the judgment on the condition that if the person is ever exonerated, those who gave the death verdict will be executed as well.

    And I’l add this for here:

    We are watching high level, outrageous things going on in our Dept of “Justice.” We are fools to give these people power over life and death. And, we should teach our kids killing is always wrong, and that the redemptive road even for our worst offenders is better for all of humanity.

    I weary of the tough-on-crime bravado. Are these macho prosecutor guys going to pay for another $300,000,000 prison in Sioux Falls? A native friend who is free of Meth told me that harsher punishments for Meth do nothing- the people simply want to feel good. Life sucks for them anyway, might as well feel good to escape. A bigger hammer in the drug war is foolishness. We should let a bunch of people go.

    Instead of posting the Ten Commandments in the court room, we should post placards that say “blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.” Laugh if you want. Or, try it sometime and you’ll see it do marvels.

      1. Life, no parole. For those who insist on a pound of flesh (not me) life without parole is far more excruciating than getting put down peacefully like a beloved dog.

        Ask around, the DP guys aren’t the really dangerous ones in the pen. If prison safety was a legit reason, we’d need to kill many other people to accomplish that goal.

        As is, the DP puts a target on the back of prison guards. If a inmate decided they wanted out, one way or another, which is what Roberts and Berget said, they jump a guard. If SD did not have a death penalty, Roberts/Berget would possibly have just tied up Officer Johnson and escaped. But Officer Johnson was their back-up plan if they got caught. They knew the state would put them out of their misery if the escape failed. This was all argued in court.

        Time to have a total shift in criminal justice in America. When a person commits a crime, we need to put them somewhere and teach them – some for the very first time – their dignity as a human being. Doing something inhumane doesn’t mean you forfeit your humanity. Redemption stories with victims families are far more powerful and beneficial for the good of society than killing someone else’s son because of what they did to yours.

  6. Fitzgerald needs to do something more than just release ads on his prosecuting ability, that is a small part of the overall AG’s responsibility. I don’t think this video helps Fitzgerald’s campaign at all and just highlights again his lack of experience in leadership and management.

    He needs to show us something else to him, unfortunately I don’t there is anything more than being a prosecutor. It seems more and more apparent that he would do better to drop out and stay as a prosecutor. He is more passionate about being a prosecutor than becoming an AG.

    1. I agree… his whole campaign theme is based off of “experience’ but he doesn’t have any experience leading, talking about vision or ideas, management, civil law and then lately he has been making condescending to all the part-time states attorneys as he is a “working states attorney” he buddy so are the rest of us! what are we “non-working states attorneys” in your eyes? You know some of us part timers actually have to juggle a private practice also…which includes a lot of other areas of the law which is actually better aligned for the office of Attorney General. A in prosecuting and an F in most of the other categories in my opinion.

      Just shows the rift in the states attorneys association that has been there for years and we have an attorney that is championing it…no thanks!

  7. Comments here are confusing, Janklow beat Sande with the motto “A Trial Lawyer, Not A Politician. The AG is the chief law enforcement officer of the state, and his/her primary focus must be the criminal law. To deride Fitzgerald’s experience as a prosecutor just doesn’t make any sense.

    1. There is a split in the SA association and he is making it wider with his comments….”he is a working states attorney”…..so what is a non-working states attorney? He like many others in the association look down on non-full time prosecutors and other attorneys. They are not as pure in their eyes…

      I think that is insulting….as do many other attorneys….

    2. @ Anonymous. The issue is he is lacking in so many other areas that are needed to be an AG, being a prosecutor is not enough and should not be an automatic “he deserves to be AG”. It feels like the old presidential raise with Bob Dole with “it was his turn to run”. Doesn’t mean he was the best fit for the job just but it was his turn.

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