Because a child is raised in a stable environment, given love daily and provided a solid education and upstanding moral role models doesn’t guarantee he will never kick a puppy, set his back yard on fire or pick on the smaller boy with glasses.

As for “fevolous appeals”, that’s just the opinion of a group of prosecutors that support the death penality. If the judge thinks it is fevolous, he could aways dismiss the appeal. Most judges will not throw out an appeal because they don’t want to rush to judgement and kill innocent people, like we see in Texas and other states.

Finally, there are other nations that have shown rehablitation can work. Some nations actually work to lower their recidivism rates by proven techniques like providing criminals with education and helping them get jobs after they complete their sentences. However, the U.S. is a violant nation and prefers to punish criminals over rehablitating them. That’s why our prision system has turn into university for criminality.

Touching on a point you mentioned, though, perhaps a better route to take would be to fine and somehow penalize attorneys who file frivolous appeals. There should be (if there is not) legal jargon stating that if you’re convicted you can appeal IF you were NOT convicted by an overwhelming preponderance of evidence.

As an aside, in a prison housing convicted killers/rapists, etc, the felons that go in with lesser crimes are more likely to learn new (BAD) “tricks” to dazzle us with upon their release. That should bear some thought and comment in this debate as well.