Injection of Reflection

KingLerxst,
In both cases that you state a person was trying to kill another and was stopped. The people you talk about did the necessary thing, but not the right thing. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH THE DEATH PENALTY. These people are behind bars - killing them is also an act of murder as it is neither necessary nor right. Given the fact that the justice systems in all countries are prone to error I do not trust ANYONE with the responsibility that goes with the legal murder of another person. And I do not trust a significant minority of prosecutors with this responsibility since it is easy to find cases where witnesses have been threatened and coerced into given false evidence. This happens in the US, in China people have been executed for murder only to find the "murder victim" alive and well in another village, Singapore's justice system is a massive abuse of human rights (these morons kill so that the PAP can stay in political power ) and the state in many African and Middle Eastern countries is also quite apallling. The Death Penalty is expensive, has little to do with justice and errors made are non-reversible. The decision to kill some person is often made by a person under political pressure and I suspect that once you have authorised the state to kill a person it is much easier the second time (morals no longer control the decision) making abuse of the system much easier. No, the death penalty has no place in an enlightened world (which is probably why the morons from Singapore are trying to prevent the UN from voting on an abolishment or moratoriam on the death penalty) .

I think a great deal of you would have a different response if it affected you personally. If your son, daughter, lover, wife, husband, etc. was brutally murdered, you may not be so passive. I have been the victim of a violent crime and I survived, but with many problems. I begged for my life and I wonder if the ones that didn't survive begged for their life as well. So, forgive me if I don't act as benevolent as the rest of you when I hear about a killer begging for his life.

I do not see what is wrong with public hanging. It is a good deterrent. If it is public than juries will seriously consider it before sentencing someone to death. If there is going to be capitol punishment then everyone needs to see the grim reality of it. Although for some members of the criminally insane putting them to death removes the possibility of studying them to find out why they committed such horrible acts so that they can be prevented in the future.

It shameful to hear how vengeful and ugly all these people sound; all of who I bet would say they are christians. Do you think Jesus is for the death penality? I am not saying that we free these people who commit murder, but because our judical system is a bit screwed up and innocent people are convicted of crimes they didn't commit. we need to be more cautious. If one innocent person dies because of the death penality then it needs to be done away with, period. That makes us all guilty of murder because we condone it. Putting someone a way for life is not taking it easy on them, it is a just punsihment. For God 's sake (and I mean God's sake), we are not barbarians or are we?

It's not up to the people administering the penalty to decide whether it's right or wrong. The people decide and in Texas, the majority favor it, end of discussion. This erroneous idea that so many "innocent" people are imprisoned is totally false. It happens so seldom that it is nearly immeasurable. I spent nineteen years working Corrections and in all that time, there were was one case where a sentence was overturned due to the person being not guilty and he wasn't sentenced for murder. Death sentences only contribute to prison overcrowding because of endless, pointless appeals, stays and such. Most death sentences take at least ten years to be carried out. It's not about overcrowding or any thing else but the fact that the convict committed a heinous crime that is deserving of forfeiture of his life.

Why is it that so many who believe in the bible think that death is a punishment?

Yes, correct. People accused of first-degree murder often sit in cells for years. As I said in my previous post, execution should be immediate.
Oh yes, and if "illicit" drugs were legalized (similar to alcohol, to buy at age 18---no, I think the 21 year-old deal is a bust) then those doing the executions could smoke a bone before they shot the criminal in the back of the head, thereby alleviating some of that nasty GUILT !

There's much to be fixed in the judiciary system. Many people are put in jail (even put to death) who are innocent. As well, we often allow dangerous people to be paroled early because we haven't any room in prisons. And then there is the eternal tedious argument that "we need more prisons". Nonsense !
We need to stop putting people in prison for non-criminal behavior, chief of which is possession, use or distributions of so-called "illicit" drugs. Please look at the stats and tell me I'm crazy, because I know that if it were not for these individuals we would be able to incarcerate and KEEP incarcerated society's most dangerous elements.
As far as killing some of them, if that particular state deems appropriate, I could care less. But, it ought to be the individual state's option and should be used with only those individuals found guilty of first-degree murder. The execution should be immediate.

I was a Guard at San Quentin in the 80's and 90's specifically death row. The insinuation of "guards inserting needles" is a lie. Only trained medical staff is able to insert a needle specifically an R.N. or Doctor. nobody else is allowed to "Probe", or otherwise any object into an inmates body. Charles Manson was on death row until Rose Bird and Jerry Brown abolished the death penalty in California. It works for all concerned about a deterent for crime. Medical care in California's prisons is monitored by a Federal Employee at the cost to taxpayers of Billions.

I am a prosecutor in TX and I have put 3 people on death row. I have several more death penalty cases coming up in the near future. I will agree that the number of times the State seeks death is decreasing. Part of that is due to the fact that the murder rate is much lower now than it was in th 80s to mid-90s. Tne percentage of people commiting capital murder that are sentenced to death hasn't changed much. The pool of capital murderers has just shrunk in the last few years. For that I am thankful! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that people in TX know that if you commit capital murder (killing a young child, a policeman, etc.) that the State will seek to execute you.

The deliberate taking of a life is murder? No exceptions? This quite simply is not true, and to say that it is to equate those who kill with malice to those who kill to protect innocent life. My best friend killed a person who was a hair's breadth away from killing my friend and his wife. My father is a retired police officer whose partner once killed a man who was about to slit a little boy's throat. These two people committed homicide, but they did not commit murder.

Let's see: If the state put's to death an innocent man, have they in fact not committed murder???????? Therefore: those involved in the murder of that innocent victim should be put to death!!!!! Shouldn't they????? According to the death penalty supporters and the eye for an eye supporters they should be!!!! Let's see you spin your way out of this predicament!!!! I'm waiting for these responses!!!! They should be real good!!!!!!!!

Let's see the bible says an eye for an eye!!!! Let's see the bible says though shalt not kill!!!!!! Let's see the bible says if you eat shellfish you are dirty and should be killed!!! Let's see the bible says turn the other cheek!!!!! Let's see the bible says it's okay to own slaves and stone prostitutes to death!!!!! Let's see the bible says he that is without sin cast the first rock at that prostitute!!!!! HEY HERE IS THE KICKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stop with the bible quotes!!!!!!!! Regardless of which side you're on you can justify your point with a quote from the bible!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S ABOUT JUSTICE !!!!! KILLING AN INNOCENT MAN IS NOT JUSTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AS LONG AS THE DEATH PENALTY IS ON THE BOOKS, INNOCENT PEOPLE WILL BE KILLED AT THE HANDS OF THE STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!