Martin O'Malley on Boston Marathon bomber verdict

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Carrie Dann @CarrieNBCNews · 2h 2 hours ago
Martin O'Malley, death penalty opponent, weighs in on Boston Marathon verdict.



related:

Maryland Death Penalty Repeal Signed Into Law By Martin O'Malley
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/maryland-death-penalty-repeal_n_3202249.html

Gov. O’Malley commuted sentences of Maryland’s remaining death-row inmates
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/gov-omalley-commutes-sentences-of-marylands-remaining-death-row-inmates/2014/12/31/044b553a-90ff-11e4-a412-4b735edc7175_story.html

Opinion: Repealing Maryland's death penalty - Martin O'Malley
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/martin-omalley-repealing-marylands-death-penalty-88972.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I am glad to see he's in the correct camp on this issue. n/t

[bigtree]

4. yes

...he took the lead on ending the practice in my state.

[KamaAina]

2. Go Martin Go!

[AtomicKitten]

3. hear, hear

[elleng]

5. Good work, Mr. Governor.

[Koinos]

6. A man governed by principle, not by polls.

[Fast Walker 52]

7. Glad to hear

[JDPriestly]

8. K&R.

"North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, China and the United States. Our country does not belong in that company."

Well said. Well said.

[Lucky Luciano]

13. Left out Japan. They are "civilized." nt

[Iliyah]

9. K & R

[Omaha Steve]

10. K&R!

[Agschmid]

11. Kick nice to hear!

[Terra Alta]

12. K&R

He is 100% right.

[MohRokTah]

14. I'm not sure where we are in the over/under on the presidency and the DP

We're probably right at the tipping point or very close.

O'Malley may have made himself less electable by being honest here, but he could help tip the favor to ending the DP.

[Jackpine Radical]

15. As Rupert Murdoch famously said of a certain other Democrat,

"I could live with" that guy.

[MrModerate]

16. Hear! Hear! n/t

[loooneranger]

17. Since when do we have public executions?

[blackspade]

18. well said.

My heart goes out to the families and victims of the bombings.
The death penalty does not relieve the pain though.
It never goes away.

[awoke_in_2003]

19. I agree

He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.
"Beyond Good and Evil", Aphorism 146 (1886).

[askew]

20. Excellent statement.

He's been against the death penalty for a long time. Great op ed by him from 2007:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/20/AR2007022001292.html

In 2005, the murder rate was 46 percent higher in states that had the death penalty than in states without it -- although they had been about the same in 1990. And while the murder rate has gone down across the board since 1990, it declined by 56 percent in states without the death penalty but only 38 percent in states that have it. It would appear that the death penalty is not a deterrent, but possibly an accelerant, to murder.

Human dignity is the concept that leads brave individuals to sacrifice their lives for the lives of strangers. Human dignity is the universal truth that is the basis of ethics. Human dignity is the fundamental belief on which the laws of this state and this republic are founded. And absent a deterrent value, the damage done to the concept of human dignity by our conscious communal use of the death penalty is greater than the benefit of even a justly drawn retribution.

One of the reasons I support O'Malley is his strength in his convictions and that his principles don't change every election cycle unlike Hillary who has changed positions on this multiple times.

I also like that he had the guts to say this today after the Boston bomber verdict. He came out against the death penalty in this case before the verdict and he is standing by his position.

[davidpdx]

21. I agree with O'Malley

[senseandsensibility]

22. He speaks for me.

I hope he is running.

[bigtree]

23. »

[BlancheSplanchnik]

24. very well said. I'd never put 2 and 2 together, regarding appeals process

That wastes money, for what? The only real consequence is revictimization of all the survivors.


I had mixed feelings about the death penalty, mostly because I know too many are falsely accused. But for some cases, I still felt that I WANTED them dead, and they deserved it. Tortured and dead.

But the quotes from a victim's father in a post I read yesterday and this article make it clear, it's better to stick those people away. No more attention. No chance of freedom. No more $$$$$$$ thrown away.

[RiverLover]

25. Wow. That's impressive! I like this guy.

Thanks for posting!!

[FSogol]

26. K&R. n/t

[bigtree]

27. »

[Koinos]

28. Principles for O'Malley

O'Malley attended the Jesuit Gonzaga High School and graduated from The Catholic University of America, before earning his law degree at the University of Maryland School of Law. His Jesuit and Catholic education provided O'Malley with excellent training in ethics and philosophy, courses mandatory at The Catholic University of America. His essentially pragmatic approach to problem-solving is guided by adherence to principles, and he is especially committed to the idea of the dignity of each and every human being. The term "human dignity" has appeared in many of his speeches, as long as I can remember. The term "common good," which lost favor with Reagan conservatism, has also been a consistent theme in O'Malley's speeches. O'Malley's opposition to the death penalty, like his support of marriage equality, is rooted in his belief in the dignity of each and every unique human being. I believe that, for O'Malley, governing a city, state, or nation is like being a lead musician in a band, where each individual and different musician and instrument contributes to the harmony of the whole.

[RoccoR5955]

29. He forgot Saudi Arabia. n/t

[Jim Lane]

30. Very gutsy to pick this moment to reiterate his position.

The Boston attack was a mass murder AND it played into the anti-Muslim panic that certain elements in society have been trying to stir up. Of all the people who get sentenced to death this year, Tsarnaev may be the best known and the most widely detested. I'm impressed that O'Malley would make this comment now instead of just lying low.