Reply #27: I kind of do. [View All]

[Bucky]

I used to be pro-Death Penalty. Philosophically I still feel there are crimes so horrendous that execution is the appropriate punishment. The problem is that in real world application, the death penalty is used against minorities disproportionately. That implicitly violates the 14th amendment demand for equal protection under the law. If we killed more white people, I'd go back to supporting it, frankly.

There's also the inconvenient fact that close to 100 men have been kicked off of death row when it turned out that their convictions were falacious. Most of these wrongfully convicted people were minorities. We will never know how many innocent men and women were put to death on false charges. Under such circumstances, no ethical person can endorse the death penalty except in cases where the accused confesses to the crime and stands by that confession thru the period of detention.

The case of bin Laden would be an interesting test of how I feel about death sentences. I'd sure like to see that bastard hang. Fortunately, Mr Bush seems intent on sparing me from ever considering this particular case.