With John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind of the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks, scheduled to be executed tomorrow, Virginia voters are broadly in favor of the death penalty for those convicted of murder, according to new data from a Washington Post poll.
Virginia voters favor the death penalty by a better than 2 to 1 margin, with 66 percent supportive of it, 31 percent opposed. And intensity on this issue is with the supporters: 45 percent "strongly" back capital punishment, 18 percent are that solidly opposed.
But in Northern Virginia - site of several shootings by Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo - a smaller majority of 56 percent backs the death penalty, compared with 71 percent in the rest of the state.
That's an interesting statistic. In Northern VA, only 56% favor the death penalty compared to 71% in the rest of the state. What do you think could account for that difference? Could it be education? The northern residents must include many educated people who work in Washington D.C. whereas much of the rest of the state is rural. Is that it? What's your opinion?
What about Mr. Muhammad? They said he was delusional and suffered from amnesia during the trial. Should that have been considered to mitigate his guilt? Could a delusional person have done what he did?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Also posted at Man with a Muck-Rake
My opinion?
ReplyDeleteI think it's a shame we can't kill him for each one of his victims, and that hanging by the neck until dead has fallen out of favor.
The man was a spree-killer with a rifle, killing women and children who had never done him wrong, and who never wished him ill. He sought that out. He chose it.
He earned his execution many times over.
I'm sorry you feel so sorry for him. I assure you that he feels no such compassion for you.
They should use a firing squad rather than lethal injection.
ReplyDeleteI was going to leave the same comment on Muddie's site but he only allows people with Blogger or Google accounts to comment.
MIkeB,
ReplyDeleteWhere is your call for shared responsibility in this case?
The killer was a muslim; when are you going to ask if all muslims are responsible for the 13 murders?
The killer was also a military veteran, LIKE YOURSELF; do you share in responsibility for the 13 murders he committed?
I am not a big fan of the death penalty, but I am not categorically opposed to it. It is something that ought to be reserved for the most heinous crimes. But this is one of those cases I don't have a problem with it's application.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, you'll get little disagreement from me there's problems with how capital punishment is administered in many states in this country.
Mikeb: "The gun control response is fewer criminals should have access to guns."
ReplyDeleteIn order to evaluate this "gun control response," I would like to know how often the following occurs:
Places that have a problem with criminals having access to guns then enact gun control and subsequently have significantly less of a problem with criminals having access to guns as a result.
That's an interesting statistic. In Northern VA, only 56% favor the death penalty compared to 71% in the rest of the state.
ReplyDeleteNorthern VA is nothing like the rest of Virginia. Unfortunately it's full of liberals.
The thing I don't understand about the whole "DC sniper case" is that the Brady Bunch says the AR-15(weapon used in attacks) is designed to be "spray fired from the hip."
ReplyDeleteHow can a weapon designed to be spray fired from the hip be used as a sniper weapon?
Each attack was, one shot one victim.
Where was the spray fire?
It's almost like the rate of fire of semi-autos are totally dependent on the PERSON holding the weapon instead of the intrinsic design of the gun.
Weird, huh?
I second FWM's firing squad motion. Criminals should die the same way they killed.
ReplyDeletekaveman, The only reference to "spray fire" I remember is on that video I posted by Jackie Kuhls.
ReplyDeleteMikeb302000,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you continue to duck talking about your responsibility?
You were a gun owner. You were in the military.
How much responsibility do you share for this scum's actions?