Comments on: Is lethal injection cruel and unusual punishment?

By: Mary Caruso

Mary Caruso — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 02:37:30 +0000

True, the whole system should be revamped so that it is fair across the board. Those with money to hire the best attorneys should be treated just like the poor guy who has a court appointed lawyer and the punishments handed out should be consistant and not dependant on how big someone’s bank account is.

By: J R

J R — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 21:43:19 +0000

Mary it sounds as if you have issues with our justice system not all that dis-similar from my own.

I am not against the death penalty. I just do not trust that we really have “justice for all”. I say the system favors those with the best lawyers.

By: Mary Caruso

Mary Caruso — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 21:34:28 +0000

So is the victim of the person who murders.

By: J R

J R — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 21:30:26 +0000

Well parole and that is something of a different issue. I don’t really know about it so I won’t go there.

I’m sorry Dam oops I don’t think I can get used to this!!! I’m sorry Mary, but I still stand with presumption of innocence above all.

100 “guilty” murderers set free for whatever reason/technicality may… MAY kill again. 1 innocent man mistakenly put to death is DEAD.

By: Mary Caruso

Mary Caruso — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 21:20:46 +0000

JR, I’m not so sure I’d want 1000 murderers going free to safeguard one innocent person, because then more than one innocent person would probably die as a result.I have to go to a parole hearing on Monday to support an effort to keep a man in prison for murdering a young couple. He was given 2 life sentences, but only served 20 yrs. when he was released and started his criminal behavior all over again. This is the 3rd time he has come up for parole since he was sent back to prison in 1993. He was already on parole when he killed the couple, leaving their 3 young children orphans. He comes up for parole every 3 yrs. EVERY THREE YEARS, the family and friends of this couple have to relive the nightmare, just so he won’t be able to terrorize society anymore. There is something really wrong with our justice system that it’s so lenient with people who commit premeditated murder.

By: J R

J R — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 03:59:18 +0000

Franklin?

Thank you Out

I should have remembered that. I will fetch the whole quote and repost later.

By: outlander

outlander — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 03:54:50 +0000

It’s 100 guilty JR; and Ben Franklin said it. He might have had another opinion at 1,000.

By: J R

J R — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 03:47:18 +0000

A 1000 guilty should go free rather than 1 innocent unjustly punished.

I’m quoting that badly and I don’t remember who said it. But that is my position as well.

By: gster

gster — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 03:04:04 +0000

Mary- I think I knew you in an earlier life?Anyway, I think that when people do things of a horrific nature, ala Carr Bros., etc., they move beyond being a member of humanity , and should be treated accordingly. Maybe this is the human equilvalent of being rabid; in any event, society should remove them from their midst.In the case of the Carr Bros., I propose a Drano enema, and call me in the morning!

By: Mary Caruso

Mary Caruso — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 02:49:16 +0000

PS, I’m posting under by real name from now on.

By: Mary Caruso

Mary Caruso — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 02:48:21 +0000

X, In all honesty, being a psychiatric nurse for over 20 yrs, I don’t think it’s possible to rehabilitate the anti-social personality. Being “repentant” doesn’t give the victim back their life, does it?I’ll leave forgiveness up to God, and I think we should help murderers get to the “pearly gates” as quickly as possible.Now that we have DNA testing, the chances of putting an innocent person to death is pretty slim.

By: CrusaderX

CrusaderX — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 04:13:09 +0000

Da,You are correct in saying that perfect justice is giving another what is owed to him, or what he deserves. However, if you believe in capital punishment then you don’t believe in repentance and rehabilitation. You also run the risk of executing innocent people.

By: Damoon

Damoon — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 03:31:28 +0000

You are so right!

By: Gertie

Gertie — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:04:45 +0000

Damoon, you made some excellent points. When you think about it, it is not so hard to understand why most pro-lifers are also pro-death penalty. It’s all about protecting the innocent.

It’s all about choices… and consequences. A person convicted of first degree murder made a premeditated choice to carry out a crime, resulting in the death of an individual. By making that choice and taking the risk of being caught and convicted, that person has chosen his own destiny — possible death by lethal injection. The victims in either case (premeditated murder or abortion) have no choice in the matter. Life is precious.

By: Damoon

Damoon — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 14:35:54 +0000

I understand the hypocrisy of it all, too. For example, how someone can believe that the death penalty is barbaric, but think it’s justifiable to kill a child for whatever reason before it’s born.

By: Damoon

Damoon — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 04:24:37 +0000

Because I believe life is precious, and that when someone willingly takes the life of another, they should have to pay the ultimate price, by giving up their own. It’s not revenge, it’s justice.

By: Damoon

Damoon — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 04:21:05 +0000

I don’t claim to be prolife, beacuse I’m not. Sometimes abortion is necessary, like allowing someone to die when there is no hope, or war, or killing someone in self defense. I’m just not going to deny what abortion is, which is what the prochoice camp likes to do. If you deny that a fetus is human, then it’s not really killing and one doesn’t have to feel guilty. I refuse to be in denial and I’m at least willing to admit that sometimes it’s necessary or maybe even just to kill another person. I’m not “prolife” or “prochoice”. I’d love to see Bin Laden bite the dust, I’d kill anyone who threatened my life or the life of my family. Although I think abortion is wrong, I’m not going to judge any woman for having one. I think it’s sad that she’s made a choice that took an innocent life and one that she may regret for life. I’ve known plenty of women who have aborted, and if given another chance, would have made a different choice.I also believe that the acceptance of abortion has fueled the idea in our culture that children are disposable and if unwanted, it’s OK to just throw them away. Abortion has cheaped life in our country.

By: CrusaderX

CrusaderX — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 19:50:04 +0000

Damoon,Why? Is it because those who are typically pro-life are also pro-capital punishment? You’re a smart woman, and I’m not being sarcastic, but don’t you see the glaring discrepancy of being pro-life (which maintains that ALL human life is sacred) while at the same time believing that the state has the right/duty/authority to summarily execute criminals (whichare still human beings aren’t they?)In order for one to be truly “pro-life” one must be consistent in maintaining that all human lifeis more important than any system of government. Otherwise we are merely perpetuating the brutal savagery of the Roman caesars in which a human life fated by the position of one man’s thumb. It is ironic that our American society which is heralded as beingfounded by God-fearing Christian men immortalizes the barbarism of pagans by practicing state sanctioned killing.

Your B.F.F,CrusaderX

By: CrusaderX

CrusaderX — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 19:26:08 +0000

Gertie,

1: Because the Code of Hammurabi is not what Jesus taught.

2: Because the justice department cannot pass sentences on past crimesusing laws that were made in the future. If you committed a murder 36 years ago then you’d be sentenced according to the judicial guidelines of that time. How would you like it if you skipped out on taxes 25 years ago and the penalty of which at the time was a 500 dollar fine. Now let’s say that the IRS goes over it’s records and finds out about it at present. Ask yourself, would it be fair for you to pay a 500 dollar fine for a crime you committed 25 years ago, or would you rather spend let’s say, 20 years in prison? (which let’s say, would be the penalty for tax evasion today.)Now don’t get me wrong, I think Dennis Rader is a total waste of space/life/breath/tax money, but it is imperative that a fair and just society maintains an inherently fair and just judicial system. I’m not saying that our legal system is perfect, in my opinion it is perverse; but at least it’s symmetrical. :)

Your Pal,CrusaderX

By: Damoon

Damoon — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 02:26:24 +0000

I see your point, Gertie. I think Dennis Rader should be put to death, since he plead guilty and was sentenced when the death penalty was legal. Think of those who were tried, convicted of murder, and given the death sentence, only to have the death penalty declared unconstitutional, giving them life in prison instead. The justice system didn’t abide by the “old laws” in that situation, why should they now?

By: GMC70

GMC70 — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 17:45:00 +0000

Gertie:

The easy and quick answer is the Article one of the Federal Constitution, Art. 1, Sec. 9, 10.

That has been held repeatedly to apply to the State, presumably through incorporation under the 14th amendment.

The long and short of it is that an offender may only be punished under the law that was in effect at the time the offense occurred.

By: Gertie

Gertie — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 15:46:30 +0000

Okay, Damoon, you brought up another point about the death penalty and the whole eligibility thing…. I know some will disagree with me, but if someone is convicted of a murder that was committed when the death penalty was not in place (for instance, Dennis Rader) — and he is convicted of those murders during a time when there is a death penalty in effect — WHY must we abide by old laws? The years he got away with living among us are years that his victims didn’t get. I, for one, felt very cheated in knowing that Dennis Rader will take up space in prison until he dies a natural death. Yes, he’s off the streets, but is justice really served in that case?

By: Damoon

Damoon — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 15:26:45 +0000

X, do you believe in abortion on demand? Than you have no room to put down those who believe in the justice of the death penalty.

By: Damoon

Damoon — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 15:19:50 +0000

A lot of people would agree with you Gertie. I know if someone murdered my child I’d want them to suffer.Next week I have to go to a parole hearing (again) for a convicted murderer who robbed and shot (execution style) a young couple with 3 small children back in the 60’s. He was given 2 life sentences (there was no death penalty when he committed the crime), but he was let out of prison after serving less than 20 yrs, only to get in trouble again by returning to his criminal ways. Now he’s up for parole every three years, putting us all through the process of reliving the murder again and again in order to keep him where he belongs. It’s so unfair, the young couple he murdered never got a second chance, yet he keeps getting chances over and over. He should have been hung after he was convicted the first time, then it would have been easier to move on and put him in the past.

By: Gertie

Gertie — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 15:04:46 +0000

I have always thought that lethal injection was too nice for most of the convicted murderers on death row. If the Bible says an eye for an eye… why not inflict the exact same thing they did to their own victims? For instance, why don’t they just line up the Carr brothers naked in the snow and shoot them execution style? Or, if Dennis Rader were eligible… why not put a bag over his head and hang him from a pipe with just enough rope to make him suffer? Or Chelsea Brooks’ murderer… why not strangle him (or them) and leave the body (or bodies) out in a field to rot? Now when you think of it, lethal injection sounds way too humane for those guys.