Gov. Bush almost delayed execution because of pope's death

[rainbow4321]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_OCHA_EXECUTION_FLOL-?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

Gov. Jeb Bush said he had considered delaying Tuesday's execution of a convicted killer out of respect for Pope John Paul II's death, but changed his mind out of sympathy for the family of the murdered woman.

Bush is a convert to Roman Catholicism and the pope opposed capital punishment.

"I have a duty to carry out the law, and in this case I actually was prepared to delay the execution out of courtesy for and respect for the pope's passing," Bush told reporters Tuesday in Tallahassee. "But I also have a duty to have sympathy for the victims, and so we checked with the victims, and they were already prepared and ready to be at the execution and to be there so they could have closure, and I decided to carry it out. It was a grotesque crime."

Bush's decision drew criticism from Abe Bonowitz, director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, who had called Ocha's execution, "suicide by governor." Ocha has dropped his appeals and fired his attorneys. "Instead of honoring Pope John Paul II, Gov. Bush has today chosen to mock him. The pope has been outspoken about the value of all life, and repeatedly called for the end to the use of the death penalty," Bonowitz said.

[demnan]

1. Ah the "Culture of Life" strikes again

[CottonBear]

2. Why the hell would he make such a stupid statement?

He was going to execute the poor slob anyway.

The Bu$hes make me sick.

[Demit]

5. He wants to show that he almost was sensitive, but then realized he had to

be a manly man. Oh, the complex emotions raging within! Oh, the moral struggles of a moral man!! He of course is a true statesman. Like all the Bushes. <gag> <retch>

[fertilizeonarbusto]

3. Hm

That Culture of Life is rev-rev-revvin' in Florida, obviously. *sarcasm off*

[Bluebear]

4. Then why even announce it you bloated POS

Did Ocha say "boo hoo hoo, please don't kill me?" before the execution? I bet the Bush brothers pulled wings off of flies in their youth.

[impeachthescoundrel]

6. I don't know about that, but

George used to insert firecrackers in frogs and blow them up. Makes me sick to my stomach.

[etherealtruth]

7. Did * actually abuse animals as a child?

...or was that a tongue in cheek statement?

[impeachthescoundrel]

9. I read that he

not only blew them up with firecrackers, but if there were none handy, he still owned a bb gun. Nice pResident we got here! Mentally disturbed.

[Clark2008]

14. The Links between Cruelty to Animals and Human Violence

The FBI’s investigation into the childhood of serial killers, and their discovery of juvenile animal abuse in most of these cases, drew the public’s attention to this link initially. When I make presentations to various audiences — whether educators, mental health professionals, police, prosecutors, domestic violence advocates, child protection workers, or animal control officers — most know that serials killers started their grisly careers by torturing and killing animals.

http://www.animalsvoice.com/PAGES/invest/randour.html

[etherealtruth]

19. The hallmark symptom of a sociopath...

...consistent with *'s behavior....

[rainbow4321]

22. And we wonder where the prison tortures ideas came from....

We know that shrub has Saddam's gun hanging up in his library..think he has the prison's torture films in his VIDEO library??

[etherealtruth]

18. Oh my God, sociopathic...

[NightOwwl]

10. It's a fact.

He also got his rocks off branding fraternity pledges on the ass with a coat hangar. He's a sadist, plain and simple.

[gratuitous]

8. Well, you can bet all the news outlets and cable shows

Will be all over JEB! for being a "bad" Catholic for signing a death warrant and executing someone in direct opposition to official Catholic doctrine! You know, just like all those mealy-mouthed commentators who were giving John Kerry grief because he wasn't using a battering ram to break into clinics and stop women having abortions or getting birth control pills?

C'mon guys! Go get that bad Catholic Jeb Bush!

[Princess Turandot]

11. Governor Carnahan (spelling?) the guy who beat Ashcroft ..

in an election for Senator even though he died before the vote, did something similar. He was not Catholic but did not want the publicity that day. His wife said the other day that after the various dignitaries had greeted the Pope, he turned back to Carnahan and said 'do not kill this man'. He commuted his sentence the next day to LWOP. If Ashcroft had been governor, he probably would have invited the Pope to the execution.

[CBHagman]

23. Yeah, I saw that on Olbermann's program last night.

The pope, according to Jean Carnahan, simply asked for mercy for this particular man on death row, and the governor, though he knew the decision would be politically unpopular, commuted the sentence.

What we haven't mentioned is that Governor Mel Carnahan (D-MO) and one of his sons were killed in a plane crash during the campaign for the Senate seat. Carnahan still beat Ashcroft POSTHUMOUSLY, and Jean Carnahan served in the Senate for her late husband until Jim Talent (R-MO) won the seat in a special election two years later.

[leyton]

12. Does the family of the victim receive satisfaction from the execution?

Pardon my ignorance - I have never been in a situation where someone I know has been the victim of violent crime. However, I can't imagine taking pleasure in the execution of the culprit, and I don't think that's what the death penalty, or any lesser sentence, is designed for.

[gratuitous]

15. I don't have personal experience on this subject either

But someone in my teeny tiny denomination does. Her name is Suezann Bosler, and she and her father were attacked inside her home in Florida. The attacker killed her father and left Suezann for dead. Suezann testified at the killer's trial and a conviction was secured, however, she wasn't allowed to testify freely during the penalty phase of the trial. Specifically, she was not allowed to give her opinion that she didn't think the man who killed her father and nearly killed her should be put to death.

That wasn't a very popular position to take for either the prosecutor or the judge, both of whom were happy to take Suezann's testimony as to the brutality of the attack, but not inclined to hear that she didn't want blood retribution.

http://www.caboolcob.org/witnessweekend2004.htm

http://www.deathpenaltyreligious.org/ministry/victimsfamilies/iforgive.html

[Clark2008]

16. Depends on the family and the circumstances surrounding the killing

I've covered lots of death penalty cases.
In one case, the family absolutely didn't want it, so the prosecutor didn't even ask for it.
In others, particularly where the murder was particularly violent and when a child is involved, then the death of the murderer DOES give "closure" to the family (I think, in the case of children who were sexually assaulted and then murdered, the family becomes aware that there is no cure, realistically, for pedophilia and just wants to rid the world of these people).

[leyton]

20. Well, that I can understand.

Thanks for your insight!

[Capn Sunshine]

13. WTF kind of catholic Kills people for the State?

Oh yeah. A neocon one

"Culture of Life" :hi:

[rainbow4321]

17. The same kind that promotes violence..look at this pending Fla bill

Sooo.how many Floridians will get themselves killed while "fighting back" and how many may get away murdering innocent people by using the "it was self defense" excuse??

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_XGR_DEADLY_FORCE_FLOL-?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US



TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- People who feel threatened on the street, in a bar, at a baseball game - or anywhere they have a legal right to be - could "meet force with force" to defend themselves without fear prosecution or liability under a bill the House passed overwhelmingly Tuesday.

The measure (SB 436) passed 94-20. It had already passed the Senate and now heads to Gov. Jeb Bush, who said Tuesday that he will sign it. It was the top priority of the National Rifle Association in Florida this year.

It essentially extends a right Floridians already have in their home or car, saying that there's no need to retreat before fighting back. Generally people attacked in their homes don't have to back off. If they're attacked in the street, though, they're supposed to do what they can to avoid escalating the situation, and can only use deadly force after they've tried to retreat.

Baxley said that if people have the clear right to defend themselves without having to worry about the legal consequences, criminals will think twice before attacking someone. Opponents say it will make Florida like the "Wild, Wild West." The bill would take effect Oct. 1.

[Avalux]

21. Jebbie's NOT a Catholic

don't care if he says he's a convert.