--- Jon Gabriel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >From: Deborah Harrell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >What is your position on the death penalty - i.e., > is it morally justifiable or not? Hmm, I realize that maybe this topic was hashed thoroughly before I joined, so if it was divisive I withdraw the question. > >My personal opinion is that it is justifiable for > the state to execute persons who have been proven > beyond a > >reasonable doubt to have committed heinous crimes; > the (past?) problem with the death penalty is that it > has fallen disproportionately on the poor/non-white, > > with less-than-reasonable evidence. > <snip> > I'm of two minds on the subject. > > My predominant opinion matches something I once > heard Dennis MIller say, > which is that the Death Penalty is society's way of > telling someone that the > crime they have committed is so awful, so terrible > and so horrific that the > rest of us have decided it's time for them to go. > 'Sorry, we just can't > share the same planet. That's the way it's gotta > be.' > > However, my conscience has forced me to vote against > pro-death penalty > candidates in the past. I do honestly believe that > in some rare cases > capital punishment is appropriate. But an impartial > jury needs to prove > beyond a shadow of a doubt that your defendant > committed the crime s/he was > accused of and that s/he can't be rehabilitated. Is > the defendent still a > clear threat to people? It seems these questions > are rarely considered > these days and therein lies my personal concern > about the system. I know > that life is messy. Sometimes you can't be certain. > But I do believe that > often, we could try harder to track down the truth. Yes, which is why I can understand the IL governor (IIRC) commuting sentences before he left office, considering the several men in that state proven 'at the last moment' to be *not guilty* of the crimes for which they'd been convicted; it would probaly have been more logical (but maybe not legally feasible?) to "hold" further executions while cases were re-examined. I agree that I would want irrefutable evidence of the (heinous) crime before agreeing to execution; otherwise, a life sentence would have to suffice. <snip> > And then you have OJ, who's scouring golf courses > all over the South looking for the 'real killers'. <snort> Does anyone know offhand how many _truly rich_ persons have been given the death penalty in recent times? Debbi __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
