I had concluded when I was the prosecutor that I would vote against the death penalty if I were in the legislature but that I could ask for it when I was satisfied as to guilt.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I was personally opposed to the death penalty, and yet I think I have probably asked for the death penalty more than most people in the United States.
I don't think I would want the responsibility for enforcing the death penalties. There's always the inevitable question of whether someone you gave the order to execute might truly have been innocent.
I have a moral position against the death penalty. But I took an oath of office to uphold it. Following an oath of office is also a moral obligation.
At the end of my trial, I was rather hoping the judge would send me to Australia for the rest of my life.
I started with the firm conviction that when I came to the end, I wanted to be regretting the things that I had done, not the things I hadn't.
I have, on several occasions, disagreed with decisions of Justice Souter.
My objection to the death penalty is based on the idea that this is a democracy, and in a democracy the government is me, and if the government kills somebody then I'm killing somebody.
I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that.
As a judge, I held people accountable when they did wrong. That's why I cracked down on violent criminals and stopped the big banks when they tried to kick families out of their homes.
I was a trial lawyer when I was elected to Congress.