Comments on: The Slow Death of the Death Penalty?
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- Let's be clear: I?m in favor of capital punishment under certain very narrow circumstances.
The defendant needs to be proven very conclusively guilty. The evidence needs to be incontrovertible and overwhelming. People convicted under circumstantial or chancy evidence shouldn?t be condemned to death.
The crime needs to have been of a particularly gruesome and heinous nature. It should have been premeditated, in cold blood or committed in a particularly brutal state of rage. The crime must fit the punishment.
The defendant must have excellent representation. Too many people have been wrongfully found guilty because of incompetent defense lawyers.
It must be clear the choice of death was made without bias because of race, sex or some other irrelevant factor.
The choice must be made because the facts of the case warrant it, not because a judge or lawyer is trying to make political points by showing they are ?tough on crime.?
I could go on but you get the idea. The death penalty should be for the really hardened psychopaths; the John Wayne Gacys and Ted Bundys of the world. It?s for crimes like genocide, kidnapping resulting in death, sexual sadism, ect. Nonviolent criminals don?t belong on death row. - Reply to this comment
- I was a fervent supporter of the death penalty for most of my life. The big number of innocents sentenced to death who have been acquitted changed my mind.
Many are obviously convicted in error, and with the system itself being suspect, I can not support the ultimate punishment.
The only thing worse than not prosecuting the guilty is prosecuting the innocent. - Reply to this comment
- Two main problems with the penalty,it has been used politically to rid labor leaders & minorities & the poor-also to enhance police careers....
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- The only reason the death penalty isn't effective is because we're not using it effectively and don't use it as frequently as it should be used. Too many appeals and too many bleeding hearts who care more about the criminal than their victim(s). Let's limit the time a criminal is on death row and then get rid of them, just like they did with their victim(s).
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- I am an American born sp needs person..We are talking about dirt bags that willfully kill,rape..Not the genltlemen and ladies who do not do those crimes..There is a different . I have never been out of nation..People don't want to pay to house them..What is soceity to do.. It seems the prisoner has more rights than us..
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- DidHeSayThat: I've got one better!
What if the execution were decided by the jury and not the judge? What if everyone on the jury had to decide whether or not to press a button - whose calculated, cumulative majority decision decided whether to execute or not to execute?
Hmmm, I wonder what would happen? Would people think twice before making the decision? If the majority came out to execute, those who pressed the button would realize they participated in the eventual execution. Interesting, very interesting. - Reply to this comment
- pub17: I see you haave made numerous comments since I told you to prove with facts your statements about innocent inmates beng executed. It is noted that you do not know what you are talking about and just want to spout off.
No further comments are necessary to you, you have proven what you are. - Reply to this comment
- DidHeSayThat: My, my, oh how original you are!
Let me ask you this --
Which is better? To keep a killer imprisoned for the rest of their life, or to execute an innocent person?
Caution: your answer will tell you a lot about your self. - Reply to this comment
- Georgia executed a dirt bag the other day for murdering an 11 yr old girl and her mother simply because he was an evil person. Evil must be dealt with firmly in order to bring some sanity to the criminal justice system. For the State to clothe, feed, and house evil for life is the definition of insanity.
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- pub17: Well why don't we execute you? I'm sure you're not perfect.
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