NEWS FEED

Victim’s family supports death penalty

Written by Jacob Ashba, Staff Writer

When Americans are polled about their support for the death penalty, almost two thirds  agree that capital punishment should be legal. That number increases when the relatives of murder victims are asked.

“Why should someone who purposely takes the life of an innocent human be allowed to keep his own? Is that just? No, it is not,” Joyce Corn, the widow of Oscar “Poochie” Corn said.

In the early morning hours of April 10, 2009, three men entered the Corns’ home, armed with a pistol and looking for money. The trio first robbed the couple, then beat them, leaving Oscar “Poochie” Corn dead.

Poochie Corn was an assistant baseball coach at West from 1990 to 1996. Joyce, the school’s bookkeeper for 22 years, is now a supporter of the death penalty.

“A basic understanding of justice is that people ought to receive punishment for the crimes and that the punishment ought to be proportional to the nature of the crime. Does incarceration fit the crime of murder? No, it does not,” Corn said. “Incarceration only robs an individual of his liberty, not his life. I, our children, our grandchildren, family and friends will never be able to see, speak or interact with my late husband again. Is it fair for the murderer to be allowed these privileges?”

The United States Supreme Court ruled in 2005 in the case of Roper v. Simmons that the Eighth and 14th Amendments forbid the execution of offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed. That means two of the suspects in the Corn case, Mykel Waters and Terry Landrum, who were under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, cannot face the death penalty in their upcoming trial set for April. The third suspect, Steven R. Ramirez, could face the death penalty if the district attorney decides to pursue it.

“There is a clear distinction between killing and murder. Killing can be just, but murder is always unjust. It is factually incorrect to say capital punishment is the killing of those who kill others. Capital punishment is the killing of those who murder others,” Corn said.
Capital punishment is viewed by supporters as a protection of society from those who threaten to harm it.

“What would you do if you and your family were attacked by an individual who intended to kill you?” Corn asked. “Every honest individual would admit that given the chance, they would take the life of the attacker before the attacker had the chance to take their own. Such an act is self-defense, and as such is morally justified.”