There's a big flaw in the death penalty system.

[Taxloss]

It's too slow. Too bureaucratic. No wonder it's so controversial. Guilty is guilty - the judge should bang the gavel, and they should drag the condemned straight to the gallows or the chair or the poison table or whatever. All this faffing about with appeals and whatnot - what's the point? It only complicates things. It just causes people to doubt the fact that the courts are always right first time, and even if they aren't, they always get it right on the do-over.

John Nixon was able to kill from beyond the prison gate. Tookie's attempt to rehabilitate himself just inconsiderately muddied the issue. The suggestion these people might be innocent just confuses things, especially if they spend ages appealing. All this time and effort spent measuring the facts of a case, attempting to redeem evil, actually attempting to understand the human spirit ... why bother? Guilty is guilty. Death row is expensive. Kill the fuckers right away.

Questions?

[redqueen]

1. I've heard people actually say this!

And they cite Singapore's low crime rate as a model!

:o

[NYC Liberal]

12. Yup and right here on DU...watch this thread. People won't get the sarcasm

and they'll agree completely with it.

[redqueen]

14. Nooooooooooooooo!

I can't bear it... it's too depressing.

:nuke:

Savages. :grr:

[asthmaticeog]

2. Great impersonation of an American, TL.

You been visiting or something? :hi:

[Taxloss]

4. Hey ... I love you guys.

You know I have close links to the US - which remains a wonderful country, despite being weird in many ways.

[G_j]

8. te he

:rofl:

[LeftNYC]

3. Good idea with all the innocent people on death row

and the innocents who have been killed in the past.

[Taxloss]

5. I think you might have missed the sarcastic note in my voice ...

My tongue was very firmly in my cheek.

[LeftNYC]

6. my bad. i thought it was a freep attack...my bad...nt

[asthmaticeog]

11. I must confess - it took me a couple of reads.

Your parodic voice is VERY dry. That's when it's best, though - parody fails when you telegraph it, it's best just to accept that some won't catch on.

[wtmusic]

7. No, languishing in jail for 24 years is about right

although Tookie could have languished for another ten or so. He was gettin' more and more innocent, as time went by!

[tocqueville]

9. kill the fuckers is medieval vengeance

democracies have evolved since then

Dick Cheney would be proud of you. They probably want to reintroduce torture as a public deterrent.

[Taxloss]

10. Perhaps I should have been more obvious:

:sarcasm:

[tocqueville]

13. OK

my post was already on its way, before I could understand from other posts that you were ironic

[spanone]

15. 4 words: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Period. End of discussion. No asterik.

[Taxloss]

16. Apart from this one: *

*: sarcasm

[Geoff R. Casavant]

17. Well, one asterisk:

Can't really quote that commandment as a prohibition on the death penalty. The English is unfortunately a mistranslation from the Hebrew via the Greek. The original Hebrew term was not "kill," but something closer to "commit murder," which from a legal standpoint is a whole different animal.

Couple that with the fact that the death penalty is prescribed in a bunch of other commandments later on and it's pretty clear "thou shalt not commit murder" doesn't refer to state executions.

Plenty of good reasons to oppose the DP, but alas this bit of scripture isn't one of them.

Peace.

[MrSlayer]

18. I realize you are being sarcastic but there is truth to it.

The endless appeals for the patently guilty do take the teeth out of the death penalty and add ridiculous unnecessary costs to the taxpayer. Take the asshole Joseph Smith in Florida for instance. He is no doubt about it guilty, caught on video snatching his victim, admitted it and was convicted with DNA evidence. He definitely did it. He should have been taken out and immediately hanged after the trial. What need is there for appeals? Why waste the time and money? It makes no sense.

I understand the concern that there is a chance that an innocent person may be put to death but that doesn't mean those that are absolutely guilty shouldn't get it.

If there is shaky evidence or no evidence (no eyewitnesses, no DNA, no video, no admission etc.) then the person in question should get the benefit of appeals to prove their innocence and all factors should be considered. No one should be put to death without definitive proof.

To me the open and shut cases should have their sentences carried out instantly while those with doubt should be given life until they are either exonerated or proven guilty without any doubt. If neither happens then life is fine.

It's hard for the DP to work as a deterrent if the sentence isn't carried out for 25 years.

[GirlinContempt]

19. It's hard for capital punishment to work as a deterrent

cause it isn't one.

[hopeisaplace]

20. may someone you love never be a victim

of being wrongly accused. It may be hard for you to hear people say "kill the fucker"
when the fucker is your spouse,child,father,mother,brother,sister. Innocent people
are put to death, it's a fact - the only difference for you and me, is it hasn't
been someone in our family. Victims come from every angle on planet earth.

[Taxloss]

21. I appreciate your sentiment.

See this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5599703&mesg_id=5599752

[hopeisaplace]

22. Yeah, I too realized your post was sarcasm

after I had hit "post message"..the positive side,
"my light bulb did go on" lol :)

[rug]

23. Why not execute them upon arrest?

[Ezlivin]

24. This is OUTRAGEOUS!

Why should we wait for the gavel to drop?

If we even suspect someone of a crime, we should preemptively execute them then.

Why wait for possible trouble?

This policy has served us well internationally.

[ProfessorGAC]

25. Now There's An Action Plan!

I think you stopped short, though. Why not execute people pre-emptively? You know like if they have beady eyes and look like they just might, one day, turn out to be a criminal. No sense in taking chances.
The Professor
:sarcasm:

[Solomon]

26. Let's just have all pregnant women have dna tests so we can

just abort the bad babies right off the bat and be done with it. Sort of nip it in the bud.