Within Christianity, there are those who fully support the right of the state to execute criminals and those who find it morally reprehensible. Among Protestant denominations there are those who are very vocal on both sides of the issue. The Roman Catholic church has remained consistently against the death penalty.Which side are you on? I realize everyone is an individual, but don't conservative, gun owner and proponent of capital punishment usually go together?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Lethal injection is Bad News for Women (TM) (R) (C).
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, if you want to argue against the death penalty, this story is far sadder.
I'm against plea barganining for the same reason. Threat of punishment to coerce admission of guilt is often used by the State to compensate for misconduct and poor investigative work. It may even be a Fifth Amendment issue.
I say it every time we discuss capital punishment. If man does not have the right to kill man, why is the government, which is made of men, allowed to kill man.
ReplyDeleteI've moved over the years from an ardent supporter of the death penalty to one that still sees it's occasional use as acceptable in certain cases.
ReplyDeleteOverall, Il Principe's point is one of the reasons, although, I generally favor it in cases of child rape, certain child molestation cases and some particularly heinous murder cases.
In this case, I do not think it was appropriate. Life in prison (100 or more years) would have done the task of removing her from society quite sufficiently.
"I say it every time we discuss capital punishment. If man does not have the right to kill man, why is the government, which is made of men, allowed to kill man."
ReplyDeleteWell your statement is untrue. A man most certainly has the legal right to kill another person under a large number of legal umbrellas. Be it at war, in self defense, or be it by undertaking a risky medical procedure.
So a great argument if it was true.
"I realize everyone is an individual, but don't conservative, gun owner and proponent of capital punishment usually go together?"
ReplyDeleteIs this need to pigeon hole everyone why you find it difficult to believe that a vegetarianism would enjoy target shooting?
I realize everyone is an individual . . .
ReplyDeleteHot damn! Progress! Could there be hope for you yet?
. . . but don't conservative, gun owner and proponent of capital punishment usually go together?
Perhaps they do, usually, and perhaps they don't, but even if they do, so what? How is that useful information? Any conclusions about a person's beliefs, based on the assumption of all those beliefs going together (because they "usually" do), unfairly pigeonholes that person.
Dropping the broad brush is more work--it's not for the intellectually lazy--but to hold onto it is a form of intellectual bigotry, and is thus morally reprehensible.
Mike I am a Democratic Socialist, who can see the need for the death penalty in some cases, but also supports the right to keep and bear arms.
ReplyDeleteIn a case where there is 100% proof of guilt of a crime so horrible that it borders the inhumane, I see the use of the death penalty, not as a deterrent, but as a means to eliminate someone who should never be allowed into the general public again. Nor should the risk of their escape from a prison even be allowed. But we are talking about someone who most likely is a monster roaming about in a humans skin.
In general I am not for the death penalty, as far to often we seen far to many issues arise within the system. But those are for others to discuss. Or maybe at a later point, who knows.
Van Dyke, You're not kidding that is a much sadder case.
ReplyDeleteZorro I swear from this moment on I'll strive to not be morally reprehensible due to my facile use of the broad brush.
Seriously, I agree there's no real use in pigeon holing people like I do. I just find it interesting.