tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post2609524244120856425..comments2024-03-28T15:01:21.285-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Florida News – Sudden Death EditionLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-26369845507174993942017-03-20T10:13:53.788-04:002017-03-20T10:13:53.788-04:00Leigh, I totally agree with out about reasons agai...Leigh, I totally agree with out about reasons against the death penalty. And private prisons... they're like for-profit schools: no accountability, and only designed to make money for the corporation. Not a good idea for anyone in them. Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-76635842617185751652017-03-19T22:25:41.681-04:002017-03-19T22:25:41.681-04:00ABA, thank you for providing links included in the...ABA, thank you for providing links included in the article. I appreciate it.<br /><br />Bonnie, although a Quaker background provides a footing, my discovery and convictions about the ills of capital punishment began in high school in preparation for a debate. What most citizens think they know isn’t true, not facts but opinions and not entirely unreasonable surmises.<br /><br />One of the easiest to debunk is that executions deter crime. It may seem counter-intuitive, but the opposite appears to be true. That’s why states that abolish the death penalty often see a drop in murders and an increase when (re)implementing capital crimes. There are a number of reasons. Some evidence suggests ‘state-sanctioned killing’ sends a message that homicide can be an approved way of solving issues. For others, ‘death by state’ is a variation of the well-known phenomenon of ‘death by cop’.<br /><br />More easily understood are situations where murder is intended to cover up another crime. This isn’t unusual in sex crimes. It’s not uncommon for an assailant to panic after assaulting a victim and culminate the crime with killing. The case of Gerald Mason’s worked out differently. He left his teenage victims bound and alive, but Mason subsequently killed two police officers who pulled the car over, later admitting he feared being executed for the sexual assault. If he faced the death penalty anyway, he reasoned, what did he risk killing two cops to avoid it?<br /><br />Another point proponents raise is that it’s cheaper to execute than keep an inmate alive in prison. Again, the opposite is true. As State Attorney Alaya pointed out, death penalty cases and subsequent procedures are terribly expensive. It’s far more cost effective to simply house a prisoner who might even become a ‘profit center’ if permitted to work.<br /><br />Of all the issues, the concept of closure is the trickiest. Some families don’t experience ‘closure’ at all and execution can make dealing with a loved one’s death more difficult. Worse yet comes the situation when DNA or other evidence belatedly proves the man who’d been the focus of anger and frustration is proved innocent. Some family members have even expressed anger and hostility toward investigators for not leaving well enough alone. The legal system has dealt with this in strange ways. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts has opposed post-conviction DNA testing on these very grounds.<br /><br />In the final analysis, the only salient and unassailable point is vengeance.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-49368674101467150192017-03-19T20:30:45.759-04:002017-03-19T20:30:45.759-04:00Provocative post, Leigh. Over the years, I've ...Provocative post, Leigh. Over the years, I've heard many excellent arguments in favor of the death penalty, so excellent I doubt I could refute them. But I've also often taught composition over the years, and George Orwell's "A Hanging" was often one of the essays we discussed. Every time I reread it, I was struck once again by the moral seriousness of deliberately taking a human life, and I didn't know what to think. I don't know if I could serve on a jury if the death sentence were a possibility. That's probably an admission of cowardice, as much as anything else.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17673578800047888317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-90947302334567995592017-03-19T16:08:06.366-04:002017-03-19T16:08:06.366-04:00All too distressing.
I don't know what else to...All too distressing.<br />I don't know what else to say.A Broad Abroadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-92095012301324274312017-03-19T14:24:01.635-04:002017-03-19T14:24:01.635-04:00Yee-hah, Bill! What would we do without the crazin...Yee-hah, Bill! What would we do without the craziness?<br /><br />Janice, that's an interesting idea. Wound the nut-jobs where it really hurts, the wallet.<br /><br />Eve, I included a link to Marissa Alexander, a rotten miscarriage of justice mainly because she didn't kill her man, only scared him with a warning shot. The prosecutor won a 60-year sentence, which even her 'victim' thought grossly unfair. Protests helped get her out of prison for the moment.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-38936300227589591892017-03-19T10:21:31.649-04:002017-03-19T10:21:31.649-04:00Leigh, the other major exception to SYG, is of cou...Leigh, the other major exception to SYG, is of course, women. We just aren't supposed to kill our lords and masters. But if I were a homicidal white guy, Florida would be soooo the place for me. Seriously, it's crazy out there. <br />(But I don't think you'll ever catch up to Texas.)<br />Thanks for the post1Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-75356048681204964772017-03-19T08:37:17.558-04:002017-03-19T08:37:17.558-04:00Justified outrage!
I do think if fees and taxes on...Justified outrage!<br />I do think if fees and taxes on guns and ammo were devoted to the victims of gun violence and if those fees rose or fell with the incidence of gun injuries, a bit more common sense might ensueJanice Lawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-54413745749176415672017-03-19T08:01:18.221-04:002017-03-19T08:01:18.221-04:00Texas leads the way!Texas leads the way!mybillcriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02350478005243505108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-41748446214162307322017-03-19T02:18:23.205-04:002017-03-19T02:18:23.205-04:00Despite a number of well-known conservatives who h...Despite a number of well-known conservatives who have turned against capital punishment, many people tend to assume anyone opposed to execution must be ‘liberal’ in some pejorative sense. In my case, quite the opposite is true. One can’t be Quaker-raised without a thorough grounding in the Ten Commandments and civil libertarian (small L) values. If you’re wondering why a gun owner opposes the original or enhanced versions of the Shoot First / Stand Your Ground laws, I also believe in common sense, sadly lacking in this suppurating corner of the nation.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.com