Why I Am Against the Death Penalty.

[Stuart G]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolando_Cruz_case

A five to ten minute read about a wrongly convicted man who sat on death row for years.
Convicted on a murder he did not commit, and convicted again.
I imagine he was kinda smart ass to the cops and prosecuters.
He was a gang member, well known.
Being a smart ass does not make a person a murderer..they went after him even with some evidence that he was innocent.

So, you suppose this is the only one in this country?

In Texas under Bush there were 125 executions. Bush was quoted as saying all were fair trials.

How many were inncocent?


In Illinois there were 25 on death row..
Half were proven innocent. later.. and released.

As a result of this case, Illinois has abolilshed the death penalty.
How many wrongly convicted people have been executed in this country?
One is too many. And there has been more than one.

[robcon]

1. I am in favor of the death penalty for heinous crimes.

The U.S. system is excellent:

Proof on the prosecution side.
Reasonable doubt on the defense side.

[Stuart G]

2. The U.S. system is not excellent. Favors the rich, always.

The poor do not have the same chance as the rich.

[AlabamaLibrul]

6. "excellent"????

Maybe if the U.S. system actually followed the principles you listed

Reasonable doubt on the rich, white, and lawyered up side
Guilty until proven innocent on the poor, minority, public defender side

You need only look at the story of the lady who left her "profusely sweating" baby in her brand new Mercedes while she went shopping, got released without bail, and kept her kid to see that. The same story on the other side of town in an 88 Honda and the lady would have gotten 25k+ bail, been considered a "flight risk", and never seen the light of day.

[frylock]

10. how does your opinion comport with the facts presented in the op?

people have been wrongly accused and murdered by the state for "heinous crimes." in what world would that perceived as excellent?!

[democrank]

3. K & R

Without exception,I`m against the death penalty. First, it`s an obscene amount of power to give to the state and a cursory scan of the numerous successes of The Innocence Project...and others... is my reason #2.

[polmaven]

4. K&R..

I do not believe the death penalty is what civilized societies do. I do not want the state to commit "legalized" murder in my name.

[myrna minx]

5. K&R n/r

[Upton]

7. Not me..

You knowingly and with malice unlawfully take the life of another you should forfeit your own...no excuses, no coddling of murderers.

[frylock]

12. how about the wrongly accused?

fuck them too?

[Bluenorthwest]

8. If you want to learn a bit about Texas justice...

John Grisham's non fiction 'The Innocent Man' will fill you in. His most important work. Not fiction, I repeat because of the author's reputation for making a good story.

[unblock]

9. personally i don't give a crap if we knew with 100% certainty they were all guilty as hell

NO GOVERNMENT should EVER be allowed to claim the right to kill its subjects.

history has shown that this is a terrible idea. nevermind the problems when it's working as its proponents say it's supposed to, it's subject to abuse and over time can lead to horrendous results as more and more crimes, eventually including political ones, are deemed capital crimes.

it's just NOT something any government should be in the business of doing.
lock 'em up and throw away the key. whatever benefit you get from killing them instead of locking them up forever PALES in comparison to the monster that is unleashed if you grant your government the right to kill its subjects.

[Taverner]

11. Agreed

But I also have a problem with the state having authority over life and death situations

I'm anti war too

[LuvNewcastle]

13. You can't take it back, and we all know that

innocent people are convicted sometimes. There are some instances, such as with Tim McVeigh or Ted Bundy, in which all doubt of guilt is removed, but those cases are far from ordinary. If we're going to have a consistent policy on how we deal with the worst criminals, then life in prison should be the worst punishment.

[lapislzi]

14. Capital punishment is not about justice.

It says it, right there in the bold face type. As a society, we like to punish. Punishment, retribution, vengeance. These have little to do with justice.

A society that executes people teaches its citizens that murder is a crime, except when it's carried out by the state.

I don't like having that kind of blood on my hands.

[sabrina 1]

15. The Death Penalty is barbaric and serves no purpose

as far as justice is concerned. It DOES cater to the lowest instincts of human nature, eg, some people's need for revenge.

We are the only 'civilized' country in the world that still uses the death penalty. It's always strange to see Americans express outrage over brutal dictatorships' use of the death penalty and attempting to intervene on behalf of victims of it in countries like Saudi Arabia eg. I guess they don't know how other countries view this country each time the state executes someone.

I hope one day we will evolve into a more civilized society. Support for the death penalty is diminishing since the 'law and order' days of thee Reagan administration. The sooner we stop state sponsored killing the better. It's funny too to talk to 'pro-life' Republicans all of whome support the death penalty and war who don't make the connection between supporting 'death' while clainming to be 'pro-life'.

[H2O Man]

16. Recommended.

I have a friend who served 20 years for a crime he did not commit. When he was tried, the state of NJ sought the death penalty for Rubin and his equally innocent co-defendant. They narrowly escaped dying for a crime that they did not commit.

More, although there are always cases where I find myself horrified and outraged, I oppose the death penalty even in these cases.