Needing to clear his conscience before departing this world, the man confessed that it was he who had raped and killed the innkeeper's daughter in 1828 . In Detroit, Fitzpatrick's hometown, people were enraged that an innocent man had been executed. The sentence can only be commuted by the governor. The very, very few, and none in recent years, life sentences which have been commuted, occurred only after an average of 29 years have been served. There are many reasons to support alternatives to the death penalty.
Mistakes are one.
No matter what one believes about the concept of the death penalty, the way in which it is practiced is morally, socially and economically bad public policy.