Nice to see a truly thoughtfull piece on the death penalty. The most important sentence in the article is:
"What I do know is that as hard as we try to make it so, we are not perfect. Mistakes are made. Even the strongest death penalty supporters among district attorneys must acknowledge that mistakes happen."
Those that are unwavering supporters of the death penalty do not acknowledge that mistakes happen, that politics plays a part and that the poor are more likely to die for the same crime than the rich.
I was raised in a Southern conservative place with small town values by parents who believed in and practiced their Christian faith in every way. I guess support for the death penalty was simply a given.
Actually, according to the Gospel, the exact opposite should be true.
Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz may not have stabbed Debbie Sue but they held her down. You can't tell me they had nothing to do with her murder. Theres been a lot of money made on the "let's exonerate killers so I can become famous" scheme.
Grisham saw there was money in it.
Rage, I don't know any better way to say this but you're an idiot. My apologies for the lack of a better word.
No one gets sent to the chamber without overwhelming evidence. Your innocence project has released several people who were at the scene, lied, and years later someone found hair samples from someone else.
At least Bogess took responsibility for his actions:
"I’d like to say that for the murders of Ray Hazelwood and Frank Collier, I’m sorry for that pain it has caused you. To my friends, I’d like to say that I love you and I’m glad you’ve been a part of my life. Thank you. I’ll miss you. Remember that today I’ll be with Jesus in paradise. I’ll see you again.
Lord Jesus Christ, son of Almighty God, [have] mercy on me as a sinner, forgive me of my sins. I would like to offer up my death for the conversion of sinners on Death Row. Lord Jesus, into your hands I command my spirit."
Many who support the death penalty fail to understand that some fates are worse than death. I believe life in prison to be worse than death. Death is too easy a way out for our most violent criminals.
To 11:23 - where in that article do you see anything that says the victim's life didn't matter? Stop reading things between the lines that aren't there.
Texas has executed more people than the next six leading states combined. If deterrence is your argument for supporting the death penalty, why doesn’t Texas have the lowest murder rate among all the states? Shouldn’t we at least be among the lowest five or ten states?
2:21 ... The death sentence of the famed Henry Lee Lucas was thrown out by none other than President George Bush, when he was governor, due to grave doubt about his guilt of THAT murder. If you want to go beyond Texas, there have been dozens.
Texas may have already executed an individual who was not guilty of the crime for which he was convicted. It's very difficult to say "no one" makes it to execution without overwhelming evidence of guilt when you consider that the "overwhelming evidence" may be wholly false or faulty.
This is a lengthy, but good, read on the plight of Cameron Todd Willingham.
I went to the site and did not find any exonerations. What part of the site has that information? I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm just not very internet. savy.
6:15- I realize your comment is meant as a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek response. But it brought to mind another question. If scientists found a single living cell on another planet, they would proclaim that life has been discovered! Why is it then, that a living cell found in a woman's womb is not considered life?
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25 comments:
Nice to see a truly thoughtfull piece on the death penalty. The most important sentence in the article is:
"What I do know is that as hard as we try to make it so, we are not perfect. Mistakes are made. Even the strongest death penalty supporters among district attorneys must acknowledge that mistakes happen."
Those that are unwavering supporters of the death penalty do not acknowledge that mistakes happen, that politics plays a part and that the poor are more likely to die for the same crime than the rich.
Interesting and thought provoking article. Good job, Tim.
I was raised in a Southern conservative place with small town values by parents who believed in and practiced their Christian faith in every way. I guess support for the death penalty was simply a given.
Actually, according to the Gospel, the exact opposite should be true.
Rage
The safeguards built into the criminal justice system make it very unlikely that an innocent person will be convicted.
Uhhh. Tap the brakes on that there buddy. We now know that it is 100% likely that innocent men have been convicted.
Rage
Allright, I'm gonna say it...the guy in the pic looks just like a young BG.
That looks exactly like my Uncle Rico...
DF Napoleon Dynamite
Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz may not have stabbed Debbie Sue but they held her down.
You can't tell me they had nothing to do with her murder.
Theres been a lot of money made on the "let's exonerate killers so I can become famous" scheme.
Grisham saw there was money in it.
Rage, I don't know any better way to say this but you're an idiot. My apologies for the lack of a better word.
No one gets sent to the chamber without overwhelming evidence.
Your innocence project has released several people who were at the scene, lied, and years later someone found hair samples from someone else.
So to paraphrase this story, Boggess is just the victim of a broken system and Frank Collier's life really never mattered.
11:20, please show me that I am wrong when we say we know, 100%, that innocent people have been convicted of crimes they did not commit.
Difficulty: Michael Morton, Timothy Cole, a couple dozen folks out of Dallas County, and several others that you can find on a quick internet search.
Don't be a liar.
Rage
At least Bogess took responsibility for his actions:
"I’d like to say that for the murders of Ray Hazelwood and Frank Collier, I’m sorry for that pain it has caused you. To my friends, I’d like to say that I love you and I’m glad you’ve been a part of my life. Thank you. I’ll miss you. Remember that today I’ll be with Jesus in paradise. I’ll see you again.
Lord Jesus Christ, son of Almighty God, [have] mercy on me as a sinner, forgive me of my sins. I would like to offer up my death for the conversion of sinners on Death Row. Lord Jesus, into your hands I command my spirit."
Wow -- this guy almost sounds like a lawyer with a conscience -- I didn't know those existed??
Many who support the death penalty fail to understand that some fates are worse than death. I believe life in prison to be worse than death. Death is too easy a way out for our most violent criminals.
Rage, do you know of any death penalty cases where they were exonerated after a conviction?
I am fine with abolishing the death penalty as long as there is "true life in prison" in the state of Texas.
To 11:23 - where in that article do you see anything that says the victim's life didn't matter? Stop reading things between the lines that aren't there.
Texas has executed more people than the next six leading states combined. If deterrence is your argument for supporting the death penalty, why doesn’t Texas have the lowest murder rate among all the states? Shouldn’t we at least be among the lowest five or ten states?
2:21 ... The death sentence of the famed Henry Lee Lucas was thrown out by none other than President George Bush, when he was governor, due to grave doubt about his guilt of THAT murder. If you want to go beyond Texas, there have been dozens.
2:44, because, like always, they were glorifying the criminal. He is central to the story and the victims are merely a footnote.
Texas may have already executed an individual who was not guilty of the crime for which he was convicted. It's very difficult to say "no one" makes it to execution without overwhelming evidence of guilt when you consider that the "overwhelming evidence" may be wholly false or faulty.
This is a lengthy, but good, read on the plight of Cameron Todd Willingham.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann?currentPage=all
2:21:
Yeah, I do:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-and-death-penalty
And only intentional ignorance (read that as dishonesty) would have kept you from finding it.
Rage
rage,
I went to the site and did not find any exonerations. What part of the site has that information? I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm just not very internet. savy.
I found the exonerations Rage. it was on a PDF. Has any evidence exonerated someone after they were put to death?
As a liberal, I fully support a women's right to kill her unborn baby and deplore our sick fascination with killing our fellow man.
False Compassion once again. It has ruined our once great nation.
6:15- I realize your comment is meant as a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek response. But it brought to mind another question. If scientists found a single living cell on another planet, they would proclaim that life has been discovered! Why is it then, that a living cell found in a woman's womb is not considered life?
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