Slog Comments
ACLU Wants to Smother the Death Penalty in Its Sleep with a Pillow (Shhhh.)
2
The merits of the death penalty should not rest on the cost. Cost is irrelevant. It is either wrong, or it is not wrong.
It is wrong.
(1) You cannot undo the death penalty if you later discover they were innocent. The Innocence Project has proved many times over that innocent people have been convicted of murder in the past, and it will happen in the future.
(2) It is not uniformly applied. If you are poor or a minority, you are far more likely to face the death penalty than a wealthy white person accused of the same crime.
The justice system is imperfect. We all know that. It is wrong to use an imperfect system to put people to death. Period.
It is wrong.
(1) You cannot undo the death penalty if you later discover they were innocent. The Innocence Project has proved many times over that innocent people have been convicted of murder in the past, and it will happen in the future.
(2) It is not uniformly applied. If you are poor or a minority, you are far more likely to face the death penalty than a wealthy white person accused of the same crime.
The justice system is imperfect. We all know that. It is wrong to use an imperfect system to put people to death. Period.
3
The cost thing is a dumb argument to make. For one thing what's @1 is the obvious argument to make. Then what, looking at life expectancy someone will decide that someone over 25 gets life and for someone under its cheaper to execute? Let's face it, while some of these people on death row shouldn't be there most are not model citizens. When one kills a guard do you say to the guard's family, "well we would have executed them but it was cheaper to let you wife/husband be killed by them." Its not getting by anybody that the Lockerbee bomber was put in prison for life and is now at large in Libya.
I'm opposed to the death penalty but once you start making arguments on a subject like that by what's cheaper you're asking for trouble.
I'm opposed to the death penalty but once you start making arguments on a subject like that by what's cheaper you're asking for trouble.
4
@3: That is one of the most bullshit arguments I have ever heard. Should we execute people because they COULD commit crimes in the future? Even Minority Report wasn't that nuts.
5
If we hanged bankers for white collar crimes, then maybe, just maybe, I'd want to keep the death penalty. But we don't, so chuck the medieval horror show.
6
Of course there is no single argument for or against the death penalty that will carry the day. It will take a coalition. Even though the cost/benefit argument is amoral, I'll gladly welcome the people for whom this works into the big tent of anti-capital punishment along with "murder is immoral," "Jesus wouldn't do it," "no system is perfect," "revenge is wrong," "sit there and think about what you did," and "the system is racist" (among others).
8
While I find the cost/benefit argument a weak one. I oppose the death penalty for the reasons Reverse Polarity stated.
10
@9: First you said that the death penalty would alleviate prison overcrowding, now you say that it will relieve overpopulation.
Lord have mercy, child.
Lord have mercy, child.
11
@6 If someone is in prison for life without possibility for parole and the kill someone what should be their punishment if not death?
13
the death penalty is more merciful than life with no possibility of parole. and at the same time inexcusably immoral.
15
@ 11, do you know of such a case? Would you cite it for us if you do? And... will you admit to us that you DON'T know of such a case, if there isn't one you know about?
16
How a chickenshit coward like Adam Kline ever became a state senator is beyond me. Seriously, if a blue state like Washington can't abolish the death penalty, what hope do the rest of us have?
17
I think the ACLU has much--much--bigger fish to fry. Washington has had five executions since 1976, and there are only eight people on death row. All were convicted of aggravated murder. There isn't a strong argument to be made that any of these killers are innocent or that they are victims of discrimination. This isn't Texas.
And if the argument now being made is that the death penalty should be abolished because it's too expensive, then you can virtually guarantee that after it's abolished, the next argument that will be made is that life without parole is cruel and unusual and--you got it--too expensive.
Just sayin'.
And if the argument now being made is that the death penalty should be abolished because it's too expensive, then you can virtually guarantee that after it's abolished, the next argument that will be made is that life without parole is cruel and unusual and--you got it--too expensive.
Just sayin'.
18
@10 I don't normally feed trolling much, but meh, I'm bored tonight so here we go:
1. I didn't make any such claims.
2. Would you prefer a violent killer be set loose to live as your neighbor?
3. My last comment was a "meh", as in, why should I care that humans are killing humans at all?
last but not least ....
4. If you for once actually read something instead of reading into something that isn't there, you may be able to one day stop trolling.
1. I didn't make any such claims.
2. Would you prefer a violent killer be set loose to live as your neighbor?
3. My last comment was a "meh", as in, why should I care that humans are killing humans at all?
last but not least ....
4. If you for once actually read something instead of reading into something that isn't there, you may be able to one day stop trolling.
19
The ACLU had no problem with the death penalty for accused domestic violence victim Terry Schiavo.
Just sayin'.
Just sayin'.
21
@18: Now why would I want to stop trolling?
But seriously, I'm not trolling any more than necessary here. You said that because of the Earth's high population, the death penalty is less of a problem than it would otherwise be. Either you're suggesting the death penalty will help us relieve overpopulation, or you don't know what the fuck you're writing.
KittenKoder is hereby confirmed for the new Will in Seattle.
@19: trolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololo
But seriously, I'm not trolling any more than necessary here. You said that because of the Earth's high population, the death penalty is less of a problem than it would otherwise be. Either you're suggesting the death penalty will help us relieve overpopulation, or you don't know what the fuck you're writing.
KittenKoder is hereby confirmed for the new Will in Seattle.
@19: trolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololo
23
And stupid autocorrect @20. Her name is Jayme Biendl. She was a corrections officer at Monroe who was murdered by an inmate serving a life sentence. But don't worry, I'm sure if we wag our finger at him and give him another life sentence, he won't do it again.
25
@23: I'm anti-death penalty, but I'm fine with it being applied to people who commit murder while serving life sentences.
26
About the whole what if someone already serving a life sentence kills a guard or another inmate: I think your forgetting that being in prison can mean many different things. Some prisons are little different from college dormitories, complete with a pool table in the lounge and a volley ball net in the court yard. In other prisons inmates sit alone in sound proof rooms 23 hours a day and are trussed up in leg, arm, and mouth restraints whenever they are allowed out. There plenty of ways to punish a prison inmate other than execution.
27
Venomlash .... binary thought patterns such as "Either you're suggesting the death penalty will help us relieve overpopulation, or you don't know what the fuck you're writing" only demonstrate your inability to understand simple English dialogue.
28
Ken, if not caring about the species that's "ruining the world" is being an idiot, then I'm proud to be an idiot.
Comments (28) RSS