No Coment
There is an execution scheduled in my state that will have happened before I get up in the morning. The crimes took place years before I set foot in Idaho. I will have no participation in the event. Here are some news stories about it.
http://www.ktvb.com/news/crime/Execution-of-Paul-Rhoades-set-for-Friday-morning-134078818.html
http://www.ktvb.com/news/Brother-of-victim-dealing-with-pain-again-on-eve-of-execution-134095798.html
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/11/18/1883435/rhoades-last-hours.html
This movie made me not like the death sentence, you'd have to watch the entire thing to get it.
I'm just commenting on the idea of a death sentence, it just happens to be one of two carried out during my lifetime. Here is the other one I am aware of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy.
http://www.ktvb.com/news/crime/Execution-of-Paul-Rhoades-set-for-Friday-morning-134078818.html
http://www.ktvb.com/news/Brother-of-victim-dealing-with-pain-again-on-eve-of-execution-134095798.html
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/11/18/1883435/rhoades-last-hours.html
This movie made me not like the death sentence, you'd have to watch the entire thing to get it.
I'm just commenting on the idea of a death sentence, it just happens to be one of two carried out during my lifetime. Here is the other one I am aware of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy.
I used to be all gung ho on the death sentence but since then have rethought my position since it didn't agree with my religious beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen where the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime or how the legal system can end a person's life and see itself as just. Maybe I'll change my mind one day, maybe not.
We had this discussion a lot in law school, as you can imagine. The thing that I always come back to from those discussions is the sentencing guidelines for rape. In our efforts to punish rape in this society, we have made the punishments so harsh (in some cases) that a perp might as well kill their victim as the punishment is either the same for both crimes or the likelihood of being caught decreases enough to "justify" the murder in their warped criminal mind. I always found it an interesting perspective that we needed to take other crimes into account when setting sentencing guidelines for one crime. This is the only argument I ever heard where the deterrent factor actually came into effect. Economically, I believe it costs more to deal with the appeals of a death penalty case than to house an inmate. Morality is a personal issue, of course.
ReplyDeleteBut I do not support the death penalty and I live in Washington, where even the Green River Killer who is believed to have murdered at least 71 women got life without parole. So my opinions may be tainted.
Thanks for this post, Feral. I love getting things like this out of the blue. Forces me to think about the really important stuff.
Just figured I'd take the other side of this discussion and (probably not unsurprisingly) say I'm fully supportive of the death sentence. Some people have proven by their actions that not only do they not deserve to live in a civilized society, but they don't deserve to live period.
ReplyDeleteI have no qualms at all about carrying out the requisite punishment, and though fully aware that some innocent people have undoubtedly been executed, does not mean that everyone should be excused from their actions and be allowed to live out their lives at taxpayer expense.
I'm one of those who thinks the death penalty has not been used enough in this country, particularly for heinous crimes, you know, like driving too slow in the left hand lane.
Rich
Ghoulish Cop- Okay. I didn't think about the people who park in the fast lane. I'm willing to make an exception for them, but only if I get to carry out the sentence on the spot. : )
ReplyDelete