----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Gabriel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, February 21, 2003 6:46 PM Subject: Death Penalty (Was: Re: EU Warns Iraq It Faces 'Last Chance')
> > 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.' OK > > 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. Bah.......rehabilitation is for thieves and drug addicts. > 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. Prison should be either a punishment appropriate to a crime or a barrier that keeps violent types seperated from potential victims. > 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. What is reality?<G> > > Texas was barbecuing their criminals (okay, okay... it's an awful choice of > words) on a regular basis while GWB was governor. I can't imagine that all > those people really deserved to be put to death for their crimes. The death penalty could be considered a permanant impermeable barrier between violent types and potential victims. >And, as > you said, the disproportionate numbers of nonwhite poor who are given the > death penalty is also a concern. Do you actually believe that murderers fall into exact percentages of race and/or economic advantage? Think about this for a minute or two. The class of people who seem to get imprisoned and recieve the death penalty the most frequently also seem to grow up in fatherless families and in turn also abandon children they themselves father with greater frequency than other groups/classes of people. Its a self-reinforcing cycle that somehow promotes immorality or lawlessness. If we could find a way to strengthen families within these groups, I suspect that much of the crime and the controversy that surrounds it will evaporate. BTW, I'm not saying that Justice is never mistaken. > > And then you have OJ, who's scouring golf courses all over the South looking > for the 'real killers'. > Is he having much success? <G> xponent Hidden Forces Maru rob smart patrol nowhere to go suburban robots that monitor reality common stock we work around the clock we shove the poles in the holes _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
