Capital Punishment

[JohnRich 4]

News:

White supremacist executed for Jasper dragging death

White supremacist gang member Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed Wednesday evening for the infamous dragging death slaying of James Byrd Jr., a black man from East Texas.

Byrd, 49, was chained to the back of a pickup truck and pulled whip-like to his death along a bumpy asphalt road in one of the most grisly hate crime murders in recent Texas history...

Full story: Houston Chronicle

Was this the correct punishment, or should he have been kept alive in prison in case it was proven in the future that he was innocent?

[CornishChris 5]

You pick a particularly gruesome crime to make your point.

Did the innocents killed by the government deserve to die just so you could get this guy?

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[normiss 906]

IMO - no death penalty ever. For anything.

It reduces our behavior to theirs.
Releasing them from their torment.
Easier than serving time.
More expensive.
Cruel.
Can't be corrected when innocents are killed.
Has had ZERO impact on murder reductions.

Admit it, it's revenge. Plain and simple.
Much like our drug war, it has proven to be a total waste.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Hey your poll questions are somewhat leading. I couldn't vote cause the option for Any White Man from Texas Deserves to be Executed wasn't available....

[normiss 906]

I got the impression it was to offset the guilt of legally lynching another black man in Georgia.

Abortion is murder, yet the death penalty is ok.
I think I missed the death penalty in the bibles I read.

[tkhayes 348]

When I was younger, I was much more in favor of the death penalty. As I get older, I am more reluctant to enforce it.

I do firmly believe that there are people out there that do not deserve to breath the same air as I do. Osama Bin Laden, Hilter, several mass murders I am sure,

but at the same time, I also firmly believe hat society cannot ever execute an innocent person, which I think was probably done last night in GA.

Even one is too many,

what to do , what to do.....

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

IMO - no death penalty ever. For anything.

It reduces our behavior to theirs.
Releasing them from their torment.
Easier than serving time.
More expensive.
Cruel.
Can't be corrected when innocents are killed.
Has had ZERO impact on murder reductions.

Admit it, it's revenge. Plain and simple.
Much like our drug war, it has proven to be a total waste.

Damn! There's something we agree on!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[jakee 1,611]

Why do you always use these push polls? Is it because you genuinely can't conceive any other opinions than the two you provide or is it because you have a sexual fetish for false dichotomies?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[normiss 906]

Or you could simply not vote in the poll, comment constructively here, and not attack others.

Oh sorry, this is SC. That IS the M.O. here.

[Andy9o8 3]

Quote

This execution is the correct punishment.
This man did not deserve to die.

Your poll is invalid because it is not neutrally phrased. The second question could have been phrased, for example, "This execution is NOT the correct punishment", which is NOT synonymous with whether the person "deserves to die".

No viable alternative to Choice #1 listed; thus, no vote.

The more neutrally phrased, the more valid any poll is. How about something like

Should he have been executed?
___ Yes
___ No

[jakee 1,611]

Quote

Or you could simply not vote in the poll, comment constructively here,

These juvenile poll options have been John's MO for years. It's been commented on constructively many times, and nothing has changed.

It's only logical to assume he's just taking the piss, and act accordingly.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[marks2065 0]

Quote

IMO - no death penalty ever. For anything.

It reduces our behavior to theirs.
Releasing them from their torment.
Easier than serving time.
More expensive.
Cruel.
Can't be corrected when innocents are killed.
Has had ZERO impact on murder reductions.

Admit it, it's revenge. Plain and simple.
Much like our drug war, it has proven to be a total waste.

more expensive? than what? keeping him in jail for up to 60 years?

[normiss 906]

Yes.

[kallend 2,183]

Quote

Quote

IMO - no death penalty ever. For anything.

It reduces our behavior to theirs.
Releasing them from their torment.
Easier than serving time.
More expensive.
Cruel.
Can't be corrected when innocents are killed.
Has had ZERO impact on murder reductions.

Admit it, it's revenge. Plain and simple.
Much like our drug war, it has proven to be a total waste.

more expensive? than what? keeping him in jail for up to 60 years?

From your favorite news network:
www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/27/just-cost-death-penalty-killer-state-budgets/

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[marks2065 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

IMO - no death penalty ever. For anything.

It reduces our behavior to theirs.
Releasing them from their torment.
Easier than serving time.
More expensive.
Cruel.
Can't be corrected when innocents are killed.
Has had ZERO impact on murder reductions.

Admit it, it's revenge. Plain and simple.
Much like our drug war, it has proven to be a total waste.

more expensive? than what? keeping him in jail for up to 60 years?

From your favorite news network:
www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/27/just-cost-death-penalty-killer-state-budgets/

They didn't look at the high profile of the case causing the costs to go up. they cost more because of all the media and oposition involved in the case not because they are looking for the death penalty. why house them in seperate cells? save money there also. They also did not add in the cost of housing them until natural death occurs.

[normiss 906]

Refute the truth. That helps with death penalty advocates.

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

Quote

This execution is the correct punishment.
This man did not deserve to die.

Your poll is invalid because it is not neutrally phrased. The second question could have been phrased, for example, "This execution is NOT the correct punishment", which is NOT synonymous with whether the person "deserves to die".

No viable alternative to Choice #1 listed; thus, no vote.

The more neutrally phrased, the more valid any poll is. How about something like

Should he have been executed?
___ Yes
___ No

How about this one:
___ White rednecks that murder blacks DESERVE to be executed.
___ Black gangsters who murder a cop do NOT deserve to be executed.

[normiss 906]

Keeping the white line strong!
Go Texas!
GO GEORGIA!!!!

KILL BLACKIE!!!!

[kallend 2,183]

Quote

Quote

Quote

Quote

IMO - no death penalty ever. For anything.

It reduces our behavior to theirs.
Releasing them from their torment.
Easier than serving time.
More expensive.
Cruel.
Can't be corrected when innocents are killed.
Has had ZERO impact on murder reductions.

Admit it, it's revenge. Plain and simple.
Much like our drug war, it has proven to be a total waste.

more expensive? than what? keeping him in jail for up to 60 years?

From your favorite news network:
www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/27/just-cost-death-penalty-killer-state-budgets/

They didn't look at the high profile of the case causing the costs to go up. they cost more because of all the media and oposition involved in the case not because they are looking for the death penalty. why house them in seperate cells? save money there also. They also did not add in the cost of housing them until natural death occurs.

Why don't you send your money saving suggestions to the state legislators in the "state sponsored killing" states like TX, AL, GA, VA, KS, etc. I'm sure they'd appreciate new ideas.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Andy9o8 3]

Quote

How about this one:
___ White rednecks that murder blacks DESERVE to be executed.
___ Black gangsters who murder a cop do NOT deserve to be executed.

Yeh that would work.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

Was this the correct punishment, or should he have been kept alive in prison in case it was proven in the future that he was innocent?

Government employees in this country have a long history of convicting the innocent which is exacerbated by a voir dire process that often screens more for people the lawyers can influence than those who make logical legal decisions which in turn means trials are as much about who's the better lawyer than guilt or innocence.

He should remain living in prison until he dies (naturally or by his own choice) or later has his conviction overturned.

[billvon 3,132]

>Is it because you genuinely can't conceive any other opinions than the two you
>provide or is it because you have a sexual fetish for false dichotomies?

Why does it have to be one or the other?

I think people often phrase their poll questions so that the answers they get will make them happy. Most of John's polls can be reworded as:

"Should X"

"Yes, X is a good idea because John is a reasonable thoughtful guy."
"No, X is a bad idea because I am an unreasonable idiot."

An example:

"Should this weapon be banned?"

"No, people should make their own decisions."
"Yes, and ban spoons too!"

[wmw999 2,602]

Death penalty is supposed to be about removing the person from society. However, LWOP does the same thing, without the high profile of protesters.

Yeah, this guy is guilty as sin, and evil. But the cost of executions as a whole doesn't justify them. The cost includes all those appeals, the cost of separate units for death row inmates, and the loss of humanity for those people who enjoy the thought.

No one should ever enjoy the thought of putting someone to death. That's not particularly different from the Romans watching gladiators fighting lions in the Coliseum.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[firemedic 7]

Quote

When I was younger, I was much more in favor of the death penalty. As I get older, I am more reluctant to enforce it.

I do firmly believe that there are people out there that do not deserve to breath the same air as I do. Osama Bin Laden, Hilter, several mass murders I am sure,

but at the same time, I also firmly believe hat society cannot ever execute an innocent person, which I think was probably done last night in GA.

Even one is too many,

what to do , what to do.....

________________________________________________

When I was younger I had the same opinion. There was another execution last night in GA. Troy Davis was put to death for the killing of Police Officer Mark McPhail in 1989. There is a lot of controversy over this one.

Here are a couple links to his case and some others including the innocence project that claims to have freed 17 people on death row who were not guilty.

Sorry I don't know how to do the clicky thing.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/218404/20110922/troy-davis-story-controversial-death-row-cases.htm

http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/The_Innocent_and_the_Death_Penalty.php

[Skyrad 0]

Usually i'd tick correct punishment in this case, but I heard something on the radio this morning that made me think twice. The DP is easier than a life sentence that means life, its not uncommon for lifers to commit suicide rather than face actual life. So is the DP really the ultimate penalty? I'm not sure it is anymore. That prick Richard Reed (the shoe bomber) is in a living hell in a Supermax, that is surely a fate worse than death.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca