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Death Penalty & Wrongful Convictions »
Posted by: Spadecaller 1 year, 10 months agoPerspectives of the death penalty and wrongful convictions remain a perplexing issue in America. Here are three videos that offer a closer look at the current policies. Included in the article is a poll; cast your vote.
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Spadecaller
Welcome to my profile. About me: I'm an artist of several kinds; from bull to painting. I don't spare too many words. Most ...
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Comments: 155
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Spadecaller
Jan. 12, 2008, 5:20 p.m."There are no millionaires on death row nor will there ever be. Almost everyone on death row is poor. And do you really think that no millionaire ever committed a capital crime? I'm saying that there are certain people that we are willing to offer up, and not others, and they're the people who have no power."
Thomas Cahill
Only the poor and disadvantaged are convicted of crimes that they are innocent of; only the poor and disadvanted receive the death penalty. And who ever appeals the death of a convicted murderer wrongfully charged?
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greenmac
Jan. 12, 2008, 5:38 p.m.I don't think I could ever forgive those that locked me up for a crime I didn't commit. Think about what it must be like for those that sit in prison for years knowing they are innocent.
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Radiofreeeuropa
Jan. 12, 2008, 5:53 p.m.Fortunately at least here in NJ it has been abolished.
A society can be judged by how it treats the least among them.
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Spadecaller
Jan. 12, 2008, 6:03 p.m."In our understandable desire to be fair and to protect the rights of offenders in our criminal justice system, let us never ignore or minimize the rights of their victims. The death penalty is a necessary tool that reaffirms the sanctity of human life while assuring that convicted killers will never again prey upon others."
Ventura County's former District Attorney, Michael D. Bradbury
I don't agree with Bradbury, but it his view is widely held.
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Rinty
Jan. 12, 2008, 6:56 p.m.I wonder how many prisoners were sent to their death, knowing they were innocent over the last 50 years and beyond ... it would have to be 100's ... can't even imagine the frustration and fear.
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Spadecaller
Jan. 12, 2008, 7:05 p.m.What did you think about those videos?
I thought they were poweful.
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gamahuche
Jan. 12, 2008, 7:48 p.m.According to Amnesty International's report for 2005, over 2,100 people were executed worldwide and 5,186 people were sentenced to death in 53 countries in 2005. The vast majority of all known executions occurred in China (at least 1,770 executions). Iran had the second highest number with at least 94 executions, followed by Saudi Arabia with at least 86 and the USA with 60.
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Spadecaller
Jan. 12, 2008, 8:08 p.m.The Supreme Court is currently deliberating on a case against letal injection, under the gounds of the 8th Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Their decision should be rendered before the end of this month.
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Mdiar
Jan. 12, 2008, 8:34 p.m.Hmmmm. The death penalty is something that has been around as long as laws have existed and the concept of the rich being able to buy there way out almost as long. I don't disagree that there is something wrong in the system. But at the same time I know people who have been assaulted in horrible ways, some by people in there own family, who would truly relish the ability to just kill them. I can't truly blame them. But, considering that death is quite irreversible (unless we all wish to pursue the path of Dr. Frankenstein, that is) then perhaps it should be abolished. I don't necessarily find it cruel and unusual or unsettling to the stomach considering what these people have done. But at the same time mistakes have been made in the past and will be made again and mistakes can never be reversed if the person is dead. Then again the people in the vids aren't going to get all those years of there life back either, so reversed isn't the right term. I'll have to ponder this a bit... cont.
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flyonthewallzz
Jan. 12, 2008, 8:54 p.m.Hello Spadecaller:
I also have limitations in terms of being able to view media on my Idiot box.
Forgive me if my name does not come up as a vote (Silly personal rules).
As a pragmatic thought about the death penalty,
Disregarding the failures of the justice system,
Why destroy the key information about threats to our society for simple vengeance?
Would it not be wise to know our enemy?
Are there patterns that could be studied?
Sociologists rush in and come up with theories about bedwetting and childhood abuse, but the folks that step out side of humanity are destroyed before comprehensive questions can be asked.
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eugenegerard
Jan. 12, 2008, 9:45 p.m.Lock them up for life. The state should not be in the business of killing.
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Beeboppin71
Jan. 12, 2008, 9:58 p.m.I actually cried tears of joy for these men while watching these videos. I couldn't be happier that they are now free. I can't imagine the suffering they had to endure while being incarcerated. I am, and have always been against the death penalty. There are no sub-clauses, no additional articles to God's law - Thou shall not kill. His law is not up for debate. This article and these videos clearly illustrate why.
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natashas
Jan. 12, 2008, 10:23 p.m.I support the death penalty.
I understand that people can be in jail that were wrongfully accused. I still hate the idea that we are paying for rapist and murders to eat, sleep, and watch TV just so they will be released and commit more crimes. If an officer or anyone else did something illegal, than they are responsible for there actions and should be punished by the law. We need tougher crimes for people like that. I can protect people from becoming victims if the worst criminals are dead or on there way to be.
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klr60
Jan. 12, 2008, 11:13 p.m.My opinion on this, is, if someone commits a murder-per se, prison time-we don't need them on the streets or neighborhood, or whereever. Take tis example of the rich, Martha Stewart & Bob Ney (presently)., served their sentences In WV @ cupcake prisons-not fair. The point I am making-if you commit a crime-the person had his wishes come true, and get that person out of society, so him/her cannot do vengeful or otherwise crimes to us law abiding citizens. Sure, there are wrongly convicted criminals, but, if they were not suspects at the time-they would not be in prison. Thank God for DNA & i voted to abolish-it is costing the states a fortune to keep them & they eat better than us, etc.-case closed here
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GoldStandard
Jan. 13, 2008, 12:39 a.m.My stance on the death penalty varies depending on individual instances. When one takes a life for any reason beyond self-defense, they have forfeited that right for themselves and declared themselves unfit to live in a civilized society. Justice demands that the guilty are punished in proportion to their crimes, (or as close to proportionate as possible.) But in order for justice to be carried out, irrefutable evidence that the accused is guilty is an absolute necessity.
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truthiness
Jan. 13, 2008, 1:01 a.m.It matters not whether the victims desire death as justice, or if we do make occasional mistakes in verdicts (the latter being a separate issue we must resolve).
What matters is that we, as a society, enforce our mores via our justice system. If we say it is morally wrong to kill and then kill the killers, how are we supposed to convince the generation we are raising that mean this?
it is not rational to expect that we will transform our culture within a generation, but if we hope to change it over time then we must consider the implications of our current actions to those we hope will carry on our ideals.
This is achieved by teaching them through words and actions. This teaching must be done in the home, the schools, and as a culture.
lack of forethought is the greatest danger to humanity.
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Dicax_Maximus
Jan. 13, 2008, 7:44 a.m.I have a fairly simple take on this issue. Those that have, by their own actions, demonstrated their "opt out" from civilised society, should have their wish granted. I'm talking about peodophile killers, rapist killers, mass murderers. These "people" have, by their own choice - sane or otherwise - shown exactly WHY they should be removed from society as a protective measure at least, justice being shown to be served at best.
To some of the comments above as to "studying" these creatures, given the reported cases where the "psychiatrists" declared them sane & fit to return to the comunity, where they have re-offended & done worse, why bother ? Waste of time & money.
As to the sanctity of human life, they threw that "right" away the day they started their actions.
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Spadecaller
Jan. 13, 2008, 8:58 a.m.dicax_maximus
How many executions of innocent victims warrant the "justifiable" execution of guilty ones? One... two... 10...100 ....500?
If you were on death row innocent of all charges, would you want an opportunity to appeal your case beyond the date of your execution?
Do we care more about avenging the victims than protecting the innocent, who are convicted of crimes that they were ill-equipped to defend themselves against because they lacked the money to do so?
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jmopinion
Jan. 13, 2008, 9:23 a.m.Thank goodness for DNA and new technology mistakes are very limited. Usually, the death penalty is for the most aggrivated violent cases. A lot of these mad-dog killers have overwhelming evidence against them and should be removed from the face of the earth for the victims and societies sake.
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OldHickory
Jan. 13, 2008, 11:58 a.m.I am ambivalent about the death penalty as long as the guilty party is punished, whether by death or life in prison. The fear I have about abolishing the death penalty and subsequent resentencing of those animals to life in prison is that in the future some bleeding heart legislature, governor, president or supreme court may come up with a way to further reduce their sentences so that they become eligible for parole. And I don't care to hear about how they were unfairly convicted and their other sob stories. If they weren't guilty of the crime(s) for which they were sentenced then most of them certainly were guilty of other crimes they got away with.
Semper fi.
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Tango57
Jan. 13, 2008, 1:52 p.m.I'm on the fence on this one. I live in one of the nations largest cities, with an increase in murder and horrendous violence. I carry a weapon with a license and will shoot to kill to protect myself or others. Am I imposing self judgement by doing so? I have never killed anyone but I would if it came to me or the bad guy. I see some of the most hateful vengeful people on the planet. If you never have, it's a shocker...remember to join a gang, you have to kill someone. You can argue it all starts in the family, where tradition is gang violence. I talk to people who have lost loved ones to violence, and it resorts to revenge. One way to stop this is to make some hard choices and decisions in our society. Some people deserve to die and should, if nothing else to free them of themselves.
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greenmac
Jan. 13, 2008, 2:39 p.m.The death certificate for a person executed is listed as homicide.
"The manner of death is listed as justifiable homicide. That is, the box next to "homicide" on the death certificate is checked off, and the word "justifiable" is typed in above. Though there is no space on the form for it, clearly someone believes that a qualifier is necessary here."
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Spadecaller
Jan. 13, 2008, 3:21 p.m.Some people become extremely angry about this subject and insist that it is a simple issue.
And, some of these members hate those that they perceive as "bleeding heart liberals" so much that they can not even tolerate different opposing views.
The subject seems to evoke a lot of political bias and stereotypes. I don't think this is a simple issue.
Most rational people all agree that there are seious flaws with a system that only punishes the poor --that there are innocent victims wrongfully convicted, and that executions that are cruel fail to meet constitutional requirements.
This is not a simple issue and it is obvious that changes are seriosly needed.
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bruhaha
Jan. 13, 2008, 3:41 p.m.I am opposed to the death penalty, at least as it currently stands in most places in this country, especially Texas. Too many people given the death penalty have had poor representation by lawyers who do not care. Add to that false convictions...what makes us any better than a murderer if we put someone to death for a crime they didn't commit.
I would not be opposed to it as much if not for the chance that innocents could be put to death for a crime they didn't commit.
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