http://news.yahoo.com/north-carolina-death-row-inmate-writes-letter-life-152637993--abc-news.html Friggin awesome eh? Everything that is wrong with the capital justice system summed up nicely not by a death row advocate-but an actual convict.
Lawyers & judges must be brain damaged to let guys like this sit on death row for so long, wasting tax dollars. Once you're guilty, how hard is it to find someone who can stand 6-8 ft away and shoot someone in the back of the head with a .22. Costs a few pennies and the officer is already getting paid anyway. Cleanup is easy because a .22 doesn't really leave a mess. No expensive & complicated serums. Quick, simple, done, but unfortunately too painless. Murders should be awarded no such luxury when their victims & relatives suffer so horribly. So much for justice right?
As a conservative you will find this odd, but I do not believe in the death penalty. I think a murderer should suffer for the remainder of his/her natural life with a constant reminder of the person whose life they took by having photos of the person directly across from them and out of reach. They should have no extra comforts other than a blanket for the cold. No phone calls, no letters, no newspapers, no cigarettes or candy...nothing but three (3) meals. If sick they should be treated. If they abuse that just to get out of their cell, then they should go to The Hole. Some would find this cruel; I say it's retrobution. The reason I do not believe in the death penal;ty is because "two wrongs do not make a right"...this was pounded into my head my entire youth and it is one of the things I live by.
That would be nice but youre giving way to much credit to the conscience of a convicted killer and underestimating the resolve of his/her activist advocates fighting for such amenities in the free world. If theyve been sentenced to death they should get ONE appeal,then put to death expeditiously and for God sake if the convict is begging to be put down,why wait? This guy,invoking his clear conscience wants to die, give him wish. Instead he'll be handed 5-6 appeals and another 20 years of "leisure". If there was a way to really make a killer suffer in prison Id be for as well. But there isnt, in jail they just make a life for themselves, often better than the one they left behind. Not to get too philosophical....isnt a life of tortuous existence the same if not worse than capital punishment? IMO still a 'wrong' if youre inclined to think killing a killer is a "two wrongs" type of analogy.
..and you actually believe this letter? For a start, you are punished by being placed IN jail. You are not to be punished AT jail. To put that another way, the punishment is deprivation of liberty. The punishment is not: - Serving as Bubbas girlfriend. - Dying of treatable medical conditions. - Torture and degradation. Furthermore, if you really want to increase the costs of the justice system, including incarceration, just make prisons into hell holes and increase the penalties for crime. That will have the salutary effect of: - increasing the propensity of offenders to violently resist arrest. - increasing the propensity of offenders to leave no witnesses alive. - increasing the cost and difficulty of identifying and prosecuting the offenders. The best possible reputation the justice system could have is one of being fair and reasonable, and that treats all who engage with it, including convicted offenders with dignity and respect for human rights. Why? Because it's cheaper that way.
Very good post... For the most part, I got no issue w/ the DP, and that mindset is very recent for me... The sheer amount of violent crime I've seen (mostly because of the massive amounts of coverage we get nowadays) has pretty much swayed me to this side... But, my former complete opposition to the DP was pretty much for the same reasons you just listed...
TV, air conditioning, 3 squares.....That's most prisons......nothing surprising there. Nothing prevents one from being slothful while in jail. But leisure is no substitute for freedom.
Hold on there, this is not a capital punishment issue, this is a death sentenced inmate getting air time. If this person's letter was not made public this would be a non issue.
Just because folks arent aware doesnt mean its not an issue. Ive railed against the prison systems coddlling of inmates and the fact many serious criminals thrive in jail before. This is unquestionable.Clearly not confined to purse snatchers and drug dealers,this treatment and ability to live a comfortable lifestyle extends to even those convicted and sentenced to the die for the most horrible crimes. Im glad this guy publicized it, there will be no outrage tho. Taking away someones freedom isnt always the punishment many imagine it to be.
I recommend that you read "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town" by John Grisham. It is the account of a mentally disturbed man, railroaded by small town cops and a DA, for a murder he didn't commit- his 10 years or so on Death Row- his treatment while on Death Row, before finally being completely exonerated. In a world where everything was perfect, I would be okay with the Death Penalty- and the character mentioned in the OP seems like a nasty piece of work. But as long as we have a system that allows failures like the one Grisham outlines, and the many, many reversals that have been accomplished through DNA analysis funded by Project Innocense.....I can't support it.
If he is in maximum security he can't take a (*)(*)(*)(*) without someone watching. He has no life of luxury at all. Its a lie.
I read about this guy, and sadly it is true. Below is a remedy for the old folks that get left behind, now they have a proven example of how to live the rest of their lives in comfort: New Medicare Program You're a sick senior citizen and the government says there is no nursing home available for you. So what do you do? Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets. You are allowed to shoot four Politicians. Of course, this means you will be sent to prison where you will get three meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating, air conditioning and all the health care you need! Need new teeth? No problem. Need glasses? Thats great. Need a new hip, knees, kidney, lungs or heart? Theyre all covered. As an added bonus, your kids can come and visit you as often as they do now. And who will be paying for all of this? Its the same government that just told you that you they cannot afford for you to go into a home. Plus, and because you are a prisoner, you don't have to pay any income taxes anymore. Is this a great country or what?
Right, if you were not aware of this man's idiom, you would still be concerned. The fact is you wouldn't know he existed. Now try spending some time in prsion and see if it is a resort. I assure you, your virgin backside would be shaking in fear each day, let alone worried about getting assaulted or even killed.
Those people likely come from low security prisons where they have more freedom. No one has any freedom in a maximum security prison - its too dangerous.
He's going to be put to death. What would you prefer to do to make the rest of his life even more delightful?
Once an inmate becomes institutionalized, it becomes all he knows and can be very happy in the restrictive environment. He no longer has to fret over making any life decisions, everything is provided for him. This idea that a person given life in prison, fretting away on a daily basis over their loss of freedom is bull. Eventually, prison life becomes the new normal, allowing them to enjoy themselves again, just over different things. That's no real punishment.
