The Death Penalty in action - issues updates and the ongoing debate

[Ron_NYC]

That's what I meant. A death that resulted from a robbery.

When people get killed over $5 it gets me a special kind of angry. Like, if someone got killed during an actual heist? It's not as bad to me for some reason. It might sound nuts, but I can understand shooting someone when you're trying to get away with $800,000, not $8.

[trailerparktrash]

I am against the death penalty for lots of reasons.

Killing someone is the absolute worst thing you can do, no-one should have the right to do it.
I think it's wrong to say killing is bad, we are going to kill you for killing. You're not allowed to murder, but we are.
Justice systems and governments are flawed and easily corrupted, they shouldn't have the power to end someone's life.
Laws should not be based on emotions, emotions are illogical and hard to reason with, ie- I'm against the death penalty unless it was someone I loved.

If someone can't participate by society's rules (do not kill!) then they can no longer participate in society. Put them in jail for life.

[White trash bitchy blonde]

Before anyone really goes into detail about Aileen Wuernos, that movie made about her with Charlize Theron was completely full of lies. In then interview with Aileen she admitted that she wasn't raped at all and that she didn't kill in self defense. She kept changing her stories and then when it came down to her execution date, she wouldn't even address it anymore. She felt as tho the police knew she was killing and that they were basically allowing her to 'clean the streets' for them.

I was fascinated by that movie Monster but was super pissed when I found out just how way off course it really was.

Im not positive on where I stand on DP. One part of me says that if they did in fact do what they were accused and sentenced for, they should pay the price. BUT the other side of me always wonders about the wrongly convicted people who are executed.

The act of execution is really fascinating to me. They die with no pain, and if there are family members of a victim there I wonder how that affects them? If the victim died in pain, why does the killer deserve to just slip off into a deep slumber and into death? But then we also have to be humane about it.
I think the electric chair is terrible but I don't think that lethal injection is harsh enough.

I too am fascinated with what an inmate on death row is thinking when they know their time is coming. One show I was watching said that inmates at some prison can have whatever they want to eat. Another prison said they have a $40 budget for their food. Like, how do you decide what you want to eat that day? Would you even want to?
I think I would go crazy leading up to the actual execution date.

I like to know all the little details.

[Rockabillychick]

I am one of the people on the fence with the DP. I think that it should be reserved for the worst of the worst. Like this guy... (warning: this thread will ruin your night) http://mydeathspace.com/vb/showthrea...oked+on+condom

[Angiebla]

I am one of the people on the fence with the DP. I think that it should be reserved for the worst of the worst. Like this guy... (warning: this thread will ruin your night) http://mydeathspace.com/vb/showthrea...oked+on+condom

That guy deserves the death penalty. That baby was completely defenseless.

[animosity]

not on the fence at all here. killing people is wrong. especially all the innocent people who have been wrongfully convicted.

[Sarahric13]

My family unfortunately has knowledge on this...the DP is almost too humane.

http://www.crimeandconsequences.com/...-harrison.html

Hey, but both guys are sorry.

[Angiebla]

not on the fence at all here. killing people is wrong. especially all the innocent people who have been wrongfully convicted.

I am for the death penalty in some cases, not all. I can respect people that have a differing opinion than I do though. I will admit those Paradise Lost documentaries really opened my eyes to innocent people being convicted on no evidence.

[Ron_NYC]

That guy deserves the death penalty. That baby was completely defenseless.

Babies are scrappy. Maybe it was self-defense.

"FREE HAT!"

[holly]

not on the fence at all here. killing people is wrong. especially all the innocent people who have been wrongfully convicted.

This.


There's basically no way we haven't executed an innocent person in the hundreds we've carried out. Even 1 is too many for it to be worth it.

[Nomad]

I'm on the fence about the DP, too. It has to be a clear cut, no room for doubt situation that the person is guilty. For example, I'd love to see someone shove a rifle up Paul Bernardo's ass and fire. Then there are cases like the West Memphis 3 that worry me. I was afraid Damien Echols would be put to death for something he didn't do but many people believed he did.

[animosity]

This.


There's basically no way we haven't executed an innocent person in the hundreds we've carried out. Even 1 is too many for it to be worth it.

i know there have been a few people who mentioned that they're ok with killing a few innocent people to make sure that the guilty ones receive the sentence. i believe one person even said that they would be ok with it if they were that innocent being put to death so that the death penalty may live... i don't remember who said that though. i disagree.

a few people go to the most logical reason for being against the DP - the cost to go through the original trial and the appeals, house the inmate for years and years and finally put them to death is often higher than just housing the person for life. the bulk of the cost is in the trials not the housing. you're committing a whole lot of money just to try the person with the DP on the table.

a huge issue i have with the death penalty lately, only because i haven't given it much thought until recently is the whole systemic racism thing. it should come as no surprise to anyone that people of color are convicted of crimes wrongfully more often than whites and receive much harsher penalties. i truly do think that our system doles out the death penalty unfairly based on color. it's not cool to be ok with killing black killers who kill during the commission of a crime but not white killers who kill for no rational reason.

and fuck... if anyone needs sources on this, you'll have to give me a while 'cause i'm working off of memory here.

[holly]

i know there have been a few people who mentioned that they're ok with killing a few innocent people to make sure that the guilty ones receive the sentence. i believe one person even said that they would be ok with it if they were that innocent being put to death so that the death penalty may live... i don't remember who said that though. i disagree.

a few people go to the most logical reason for being against the DP - the cost to go through the original trial and the appeals, house the inmate for years and years and finally put them to death is often higher than just housing the person for life. the bulk of the cost is in the trials not the housing. you're committing a whole lot of money just to try the person with the DP on the table.

a huge issue i have with the death penalty lately, only because i haven't given it much thought until recently is the whole systemic racism thing. it should come as no surprise to anyone that people of color are convicted of crimes wrongfully more often than whites and receive much harsher penalties. i truly do think that our system doles out the death penalty unfairly based on color. it's not cool to be ok with killing black killers who kill during the commission of a crime but not white killers who kill for no rational reason.

and fuck... if anyone needs sources on this, you'll have to give me a while 'cause i'm working off of memory here.

I've heard that too and it literally blows my mind. Those innocent people have families - how would one feel if that was their innocent father, brother, etc. being put to death? Would they say their father's death was worth it so that the guilty can still be put to death?

[animosity]

I've heard that too and it literally blows my mind. Those innocent people have families - how would one feel if that was their innocent father, brother, etc. being put to death? Would they say their father's death was worth it so that the guilty can still be put to death?

why, it probably feels just as bad to the innocent person's family as it does for the family of the person who was killed in the first place! it may sound extreme, and one could say that the chances are rare... but the work being done by the advocacy groups is proving that it's not as rare as we want to believe.

anyways: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_...ent_by_country



Legend
BLUE - Abolished for all crimes (100)
GREEN - Abolished for all crimes except under exceptional/special circumstances (such as crimes committed in wartime) (7)
ORANGE - Abolished in practice (under a moratorium or haven't used capital punishment in at least 10 years) (48)
PINK - Retainers of the death penalty (40)

we sure do keep some great company!

[Angiebla]

I just wanted to say, I do not advocate the death of innocent individuals. Sorry if I was not clear about that in my post. It is never okay for an innocent person to be put to death.

That is all.

[animosity]

boy! i just had a big fight with my dad about this... had to look it up. he was thinking that the last execution was mcveigh! it's actually more like 50 - 100 per year. also - i looked at the innocence project and this is what they state:

DNA Exoneree Case Profiles

There have been 310 post-conviction DNA exonerations in United States history. These stories are becoming more familiar as more innocent people gain their freedom through postconviction testing. They are not proof, however, that our system is righting itself.

The common themes that run through these cases ? from global problems like poverty and racial issues to criminal justice issues like eyewitness misidentification, invalid or improper forensic science, overzealous police and prosecutors and inept defense counsel ? cannot be ignored and continue to plague our criminal justice system.

Eighteen people had been sentenced to death before DNA proved their innocence and led to their release.

The average sentence served by DNA exonerees has been 13.6 years.

About 70 percent of those exonerated by DNA testing are people of color.

In almost 50 percent of DNA exoneration cases, the actual perpetrator has been identified by DNA testing.

Exonerations have been won in 35 states and Washington, D.C.

The Innocence Project was involved in 171 of the 310 DNA exonerations. Others were helped by Innocence Network organizations, private attorneys and by pro se defendants in a few instances.


Please take a moment to review the profiles of these unique cases:

Browse profiles

Search for a profile by defendant name, crime, location, year, conviction or contributing cause

View a national map of exoneration cases to get a geographical perspective of the issues

[Monter]

Looking at the sites that follow executions - it is amazing how often people still get executed. Haunting, actually, I think.

[White trash bitchy blonde]

Isnt there some kind of site out there that tells you about what most inmates go thru before execution? Like they talk about if they showered, if they ordered something in particular for their last meal, a religious figure, any meetings with victim's families?

That's a big one. I wonder if any inmate ever wanted to meet their victims's families and are the victim's families always allowed to be in the room to view the execution?

[neenerneener]

for cases where the person is 100%, without a doubt, guilty...i'm all for the death penalty. and i don't think it should be as humane as lethal injection is, either. bring back the electric chair or hanging.

[White trash bitchy blonde]

I don't like the electric chair more because of the people who have to view it. I don't know that I could handle watching that. Hanging seems super old school. I was watching the hanging of Amon Goeth (I think that was his name, the german dude that killed lots of jews). They tried to hang him three times, it was only on the 3rd time that it worked. I think it was something to do with the executioner not measuring out the rope correctly.

An article I was just reading said that Missouri was trying to bring the gas chamber back because they can't get enough propofol for their executions. How does Michael Jackson get it, but our prisons cant? Also, it was saying that prisoners were saying it wasn't fair because the propofol would be painful. I am confused tho because I thought propofol knocked your ass out and in Missouri they use 15X the normal dosage.

I wanna know if the gas chamber is painful. One person took 18 minutes to die. What about firing squads?

[neenerneener]

I don't like the electric chair more because of the people who have to view it. I don't know that I could handle watching that. Hanging seems super old school. I was watching the hanging of Amon Goeth (I think that was his name, the german dude that killed lots of jews). They tried to hang him three times, it was only on the 3rd time that it worked. I think it was something to do with the executioner not measuring out the rope correctly.

An article I was just reading said that Missouri was trying to bring the gas chamber back because they can't get enough propofol for their executions. How does Michael Jackson get it, but our prisons cant? Also, it was saying that prisoners were saying it wasn't fair because the propofol would be painful. I am confused tho because I thought propofol knocked your ass out and in Missouri they use 15X the normal dosage.

I wanna know if the gas chamber is painful. One person took 18 minutes to die. What about firing squads?

if people want to watch the executions, then they have to deal with how gory they are. BRING BACK THE CHAIR.

as far as the propofol thing goes, i think they're talking about the potassium, not propofol. potassium burns like a motherfucker when it hits your veins. and i have no sympathy for that shit. they should feel some pain on their way out.

firing squads? meh. i mean, one shot at the head or heart, and they're done. its not enough.

[animosity]

for cases where the person is 100%, without a doubt, guilty...i'm all for the death penalty. and i don't think it should be as humane as lethal injection is, either. bring back the electric chair or hanging.

girl, you cray.

i did come to the halfway point with him. i agreed that people involved in massive terror type attacks should get it (like oklahoma/aroura/boston) and he agreed that maybe the DP for individuals isn't what it should be. i mean - the numbers! for every 9 executions carried out, one is exonerated. that is like 10 people innocent of the crime per one hundred would have potentially been put to death. (i don't know how to do math...)

also disturbing: 70% are people of color, while blacks make up only 11% of the population? holy shit!

[Ron_NYC]

I've heard that too and it literally blows my mind. Those innocent people have families - how would one feel if that was their innocent father, brother, etc. being put to death? Would they say their father's death was worth it so that the guilty can still be put to death?

I bet 99% of the people who say this shit haven't even been arrested never mind incarcerated.

boy! i just had a big fight with my dad about this... had to look it up. he was thinking that the last execution was mcveigh! it's actually more like 50 - 100 per year. also - i looked at the innocence project and this is what they state:

Whaaaaaa? It's amazing how many people have a strong uninformed opinion. Saying "I don't really know" is one thing, but hanging your hat on bullshit happens way too often.

Texas has executed more retards since McVeigh than like the rest of the country has executed people of average intelligence.

Tookie Williams!?!? That was HUGE news, and since it was California, Schwarzenegger was involved! Hell, Austria took his name off of stuff there and Williams was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THIS SHIT!?!?!

[Ron_NYC]

for cases where the person is 100%, without a doubt, guilty...i'm all for the death penalty. and i don't think it should be as humane as lethal injection is, either. bring back the electric chair or hanging.

If it's the gallows, it's still pretty easy. You aren't asphyxiated, your neck breaks when they drop your weight. Anticipation is the wprst part of that shit. And it was done publicly.

The electric chair is a bitch.

[Ron_NYC]

girl, you cray.

i did come to the halfway point with him. i agreed that people involved in massive terror type attacks should get it (like oklahoma/aroura/boston) and he agreed that maybe the DP for individuals isn't what it should be. i mean - the numbers! for every 9 executions carried out, one is exonerated. that is like 10 people innocent of the crime per one hundred would have potentially been put to death. (i don't know how to do math...)

also disturbing: 70% are people of color, while blacks make up only 11% of the population? holy shit!

Racists (aka right-wingers) use this as their argument to say that blacks are 10% of the population but 100% of the problem.