Pushback

My objection to the death penalty is based on one major point: economics. It is far less expensive to put someone away for life than to execute them, often times MANY years later, and after numerous and very expensive rounds of appeal up to and including the Supreme Court.
Outlaw the death penalty for this reason and we may then declare the remaining arguements moot: the disparity with which it is applied among the races; reversals after DNA evidence bears out a person's innocence; its morality; sensationalism of trials; and ultimately, its constitutionality.

The millions spent on Death Penalty cases each year is obscene in comparison to the good that money could do if elsewhere applied by the state & federal governments.

Just? No. Justice would be; that a native child would not be abused, not become an alcoholic, not murder a woman, not be sentenced to death in a fit of revenge by representatives of a so called 'noble' system.

Just? No. Barbaric? Yes.

For me this example of yours shows more than anything the lengths an addict, will go to to 'feed the monkey'.

And how a fearful and ignorant society treats the symptoms of social breakdown, not the cause.

Is our system just? No. The reality is that our civilized nation is uncomfortably closer to barbarism than most would care to admit. The fact that lawyers routinely, for both the prosecution & the defense, play to juries sympathies is proof of the problem. Is there a solution? Possibly. Imagine a trial with no jury to play to. The jury could be physically removed from the trial, reading transcripts or viewing evidence away from the courtroom, in an effort to remove some of the theater and emotion. That would be one barrier to undue influence. Removing the references to one's past or influences on one's behavior would be trickier. I'm no lawyer but perhaps there could be some way to modify courtroom procedure or rules to discourage the playing up to (or down to) jurors fears, prejudices or emotions.

The solution to having a fair trial is to have the prosecutor and the defense lawyer both sworn TO TELL THE TRUTH, just as are all witnesses.
This would stop the blatant lies that are told by both.
Let's face it, they are both trying to win as many cases as possible, with no consideration whatsoever for seeking justice.
If the prosecutor does not get the convictions, he does not get reelected. If the defense lawyer does not win, potential clients go elsewhere. There is no reason for either of them to seek JUSTICE, under the present rules.

When does an innocent child become a drug-addicted monster?

When he kills a babysitter with a pair of scissors.

"Society" didn't do that. "Society" didn't stab a woman 17 times with a pair of scissors, in order to steal money.

We should recall that human beings are not animals, and have the ability to decide their fate for themselves. Many people are abused, or mentally ill, or drug addicts; they somehow manage not to murder. They make a decision that their pain is not "Society's" fault. They do not kill.

Or, maybe we should let him go, as an apology for causing his pain. Mari Anne Pope was a member of "Society" after all.

There is a telling moment in Genesis, just before Cain kills Abel, when God says; "The beast is at the door, and his heart is set on you, but you must conquer it."

That beast is jealousy, rage, revenge.

For a country that pays such overwhelming lip-service to Christianity, it's amazing how those values play out.

Conquer your blood lust America.
Save your children.

The death penalty is one unmistakeable sign of a truly unhealthy society. That over 20,000 people were murdered in 1987 is appalling. That we allow our government - under any circumstances - to exact revenge upon her citizens by legalized killing is even worse. It is indeed telling of how far we've fallen when we send people to death chambers willingly, legally, eagerly and with smiles on our faces.

Thou shall not kill (unless you are the government). I simply do not remember that part about the government being attached to that particular commandment. Committing murder is wrong but, does two wrongs make it right. Why is it okay for the government to commit murder and not for the citizens to commit murder? The death penalty is wrong no matter how a murder was committed. Let's stop kidding ourselves America. We aren't deterring murder by murdering the accused. Murder is on the raise still. The death penalty needs to be rescinded.

The real irony is that journalists think that covering the news somehow gives them a privileged perspective. I could care less about Moran's opinion - he's merely a recording device for society. The opinion of a jury is what counts.

Obviously our system of justice is far from perfect, but until somebody comes up with a better one we will just have to live with it. That being said, the ongoing debate over the death penalty already is a "moot" point. In death we are truly all equal. So one must consider the wisdom of hastening that which already must occur, even for the sake of justice. People are born. People die. It is what happens between these two events that defines who we are, not the manner in which they occur.
It is not out of sympathy for the convicted murderer that causes us to oppose the death penalty. Indeed, a long, long life behind bars should satisfy even the most vengeful among us. Hopefully, given enough time, perhaps the condemned individual would learn the error of his ways as well as one more thing; remorse.

tu mataste mi padre en la silla de electricidad. ello no es guilty.

senora abrahamson is cool.
Credito Extra!?

He stabbed a woman 17 times. Brutally. And he's still alive, being fed, clothed, maintained and even entertained by my tax dollars with books and magazines?
Why wasn't he executed within a year of the crime? Critics of the death penalty are fond of saying that it doesn't work. Of course it doesn't, because it takes decades to be carried out, if ever.
My sympathy, my compassion, goes to the family of the victim and the victim herself.
That young man made a choice, to take drugs, to associate with druggies, to break into a house with a woman and children.
Stop blaming the drugs! You people make me ill with your claims of, "It's the drugs. Oh, he's not responsible!"
Balderdash.
If I grabbed a .30-06 rifle and fired it down the freeway, at nothing in particular, and that bullet hit and killed someone you'd lay the responsibility solely in my lap.
What's the difference when you decide to follow a lifestyle of drugs?
Want to see crime take a dive in this country? Clear out the death rows, where inmates sit for decades, laughing at the system, while filing endless specious appeals and even getting college degrees.
Put a .44-40 bullet in their brainpan. They were sentenced to death, carry it out!
The coddling of criminals only perpetrates more criminals.
Anyone who kills without provocation should forefeit their life.
Send them to Hell, where they belong.

Firstly, people like the good gentleman above me, coupled with the HUGE disparity in race as well as constant DNA clearing of death penalty cases is exactly why the system DOESN'T work. If the tables were reversed, and it were more white people being set free from death row than Blacks and Hispanics, I'm sure Mr. "Ski Daddy" would be singing a different tune. The point is the system, the ENTIRE justice system, is horribly broken and biased against people of color. It's been that way since the time of slavery and the great influx of Hispanic immigrants, and it will continue to be so as long at people with Mr. "Ski Daddy"'s mentality run the justice system.

My mistake, the person above me I was referring to was Gatofeo, not Ski Daddy...but my point remains the same.

Mary Anne Pope is dead but Billy Slagle still lives, 20 years after killing her. How can that be fair?

I find the death penalty despicable and hypocritical not to mention immoral. We want to teach our society that killing someone is wrong and, therefore, we kill someone to prove that point?!? Our society, including our "President" Bush, upholds the death penalty and wants to see it carried out swiftly. The United States condemns countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, China,etc. for their abuse of human rights. However, in the same breath, we uphold the same form of punishment as do the countries we chastize. Hypocritical - you bet!
When an individual is executed, the only thing that is accomplished is that we create a completely new set of victims. The new victims consist of the family members and friends of that inmate. What did they do to have to suffer the loss of their loved one? They are just as innocent as the original victim's family. Why does our society think that a punishment that can create such sorrow is just and logical? The death penalty is a plague on this nation and should be eliminated. We execute individuals each year who may have been innocent. Is is worth taking the chance? Does God think that we are noble by executing people? Wake up and see what this barbaric act is costing. It is time for this to end.

I don't get most of you. Why don't we just let these killers go free. I mean my goodness, we're taking away their rights by sentencing them to death row, those poor pathetic killers. Just because they kill people we shouldn't take away their freedom. What gives us the right? Just let them out, like most are anyway and let whatever happens, happens. If you get killed or a friend or family member at least you can say you're being fair and nice to those killers. We already let them sell their wares from prision based on their deeds and call it letting them have their 1st amendment rights. Let's just go all the way and do away with jails altogether. Let's be totally free!

The death penalty is just plain stupid. I oppose it for the same reason I oppose abortion. NO HUMAN HAS GOT THE RIGHT TO TAKE ANOTHER HUMAN'S LIFE.

The only problem with the death
penalty is that it isn't applied
often enough. Why would you NOT
want to execute someone who stabs
a woman to death for no reason??
Legal executions are not murder..
they're just a nice way to give
Mother Nature an enema.

What part of you kill you will die, dont you people understand?
Weather by mans or God's hand you are dead.

What part of you kill you will die, dont you people understand?
Weather by mans or God's hand you are dead.

What part of you kill you will die, dont you people understand?
Weather by mans or God's hand you are dead.

What part of you kill you will die, dont you people understand?
Weather by mans or God's hand you are dead.

I was against the death penalty when young, then a close family friend was murdered. After her death, I embraced the death penalty.

But as I've grown older, I've seen the failings of our legal system. It, and the people who try and judge cases, are fallible. I would not want to trust my life to it and doubt anyone else would either.

Add to this the economic reality that putting someone to death is now more expensive for taxpayers than housing them for life, and I vote for doing away with it. My only caveat would be that life without parole would be an option in all states.

Now, if it could be definitely substantiated that the death penalty was a deterrent, then once again I might change my mind. A woman's prerogative, I suppose.