Incarceration is not always enough for some killers…
For instance, Frank Wetzel was the man behind one of the biggest manhunts in state history. Wetzel is serving two life terms for killing two Highway Patrol troopers (Trooper Wister L. Reece and James Brown) in 1958. Wetzel is also the third longest-serving inmate in North Carolina prisons, but he still wants out.
Former North Carolina State University professor Tom Regan says "Frank Wetzel is not a violent man". This obviously dismisses two (proven) murders which justify his initial sentence and the infractions he’s committed during his incarceration which include: WEAPON POSSESSION, ATTEMPT CLASS B OFFENSE, DISOBEY ORDER, FIGHTING, BRIBE STAFF, NEGLIGENTLY PERFORM DUTIES, and UNAUTHORIZED FUNDS.
Records show that Reece was fatally shot near Ellerbe. Brown was shot on U.S. Highway 1 near Sanford. Wetzel says he was wrongly convicted of killing both. His actions and words don’t indicate any remorse for the crimes which he was convicted of. Yet, this 81-year-old prisoner serving two consecutive life sentences for the murders of two N.C. state troopers, has asked Governor Mike Easley for clemency?
Wetzel shouldn’t be asking to be released back into society. He should be happy to be where he is. If the jury that sentenced him to life in prison knew that he’d have been asking for clemency this long, they might have decided the only proper sentence would have been an execution. Should Wetzel or prisoners like him be released? No, at least the Highway Patrol hopes it never will.
What this case demonstrates is that time works in the favor of the offender. That the memories of witnesses will fade and evidence is often sparse and perishable. Offenders often see a weaknesses in their cases and they have nothing but time on their hands, nothing to lose and will continue to ask for undeserved leniency to the dismay of the families of their victims for years and years after the commit their crimes.
News articles: http://www.wral.com/news/2818334/detail.html
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