Cable television news viewers watched in horror last week, details of two brutal murders, one in North Carolina, and the other in Alabama.

University of North Carolina Class President Eve Carson was found last Wednesday shot multiple times, lying on a street a mile from campus. She later died in the hospital of a gunshot wound to the temple.

Also last week, Auburn University freshman and Georgia native Lauren Burk was murdered in Alabama “allegedly” in cold blood. According to the AP: She was found shot on the side of an off-campus road Tuesday night and her car was found burning in a campus parking lot.

The AP also reports that: Courtney Lockhart was arrested Friday in Phenix City, about 30 miles from the campus where 18-year-old Lauren Burk was a freshman… Lockhart tried to flee Phenix City police after being pulled over Friday, Auburn Assistant Police Chief Thomas Dawson said.

“His car matched the description of a vehicle in a string of robberies,” Dawson said. When an officer approached the car at the traffic stop, Lockhart drove off, Dawson said.

In a short pursuit, Lockhart’s car broke down and he was captured by officers while trying to flee on foot, Dawson said.

Lockhart, 23, was charged with three capital counts accusing him of murder along with kidnapping, robbery and attempted rape, Dawson said.

In both instances, the authorities and the press were quick to make statements that there was no evidence of a hate crime being involved: That simple random robbery appears to have been the motive.

Chapel Hill, NC authorities released a photo of the “alleged” suspect in the Carson murder taking money out of an ATM right after the crime occured.

Where do Obama, Hillary and McCain stand on the Death Penalty?

While the deaths of these two beautiful young women should greatly sadden the Nation, one cannot escape the politics that these two incidents highlight.

According to OntheIssues.org:

John McCain is a staunch supporter of the Death Penalty for capital murder crimes

More death penalty; stricter sentencing. (Jan 2000)
More community policing; enough hate crime laws. (Jan 2000)
Pro-death penalty; more prisons; increased penalties. (Jul 1998)
Voted YES on limiting death penalty appeals. (Apr 1996)
Voted YES on rejecting racial statistics in death penalty appeals. (May 1994)

Barrack Obama is almost completely opposed:

Ban racial profiling & eliminate disparities in sentencing. (Feb 2008)
Have a civil rights division enforce laws fairly and justly. (Jan 2008)
GovWatch: No, more young black men in college than in prison. (Jan 2008)
Pushed Illinois bill to videotape all capital interrogations. (Oct 2007)
No extra penalty for gang association. (Oct 2007)
Need justice that is not just us, but is everybody. (Jun 2007)
Videotape all capital punishment interrogations. (Oct 2006)
Battles legislatively against the death penalty. (Jul 2004)
Supports alternative sentencing and rehabilitation. (Jul 1998)
Rated 75% by the NCJA, indicating a mixed record on criminal justice. (Dec 2005)

And Hillary Clinton?

Pushed to expand AMBER alerts & for stricter sex penalties. (Dec 2006)
Supports citizen patrols & 3-Strikes-You’re-Out. (Sep 1996)
Supports “Three Strikes” and more prison. (Aug 1994)
More funding and stricter sentencing for hate crimes. (Apr 2001)
Require DNA testing for all federal executions. (Mar 2001)
Rated 75% by the NCJA, indicating a mixed record on criminal justice. (Dec 2005)

So, McCain is solidly Pro-Death Penalty, Obama is solidly opposed, and Hillary Clinton’s record is less clear, but indicates mostly opposed.

Is it any wonder that the brutal deaths of these two Co-Eds has escaped the national headlines so quickly? Highlighting the Tough on Crime issue might not be beneficial to the Democrats in this election season.