Death penalty
Kevin T. Keith has a post that is worth reading fears of inhumane executions. He addresses, in some detail, that persons executed may have suffered, which to me is not that important an issue. I don’t take much sympathy on mass murderers, rapists, and other hooligans. It does paint a picture of some of the process involved. However, I do oppose the death penalty for reason outlined here. Brief summary:
It’s expensive to kill people and keep them on death row for decades.
It is used an disproportionate amount against minorities, which is code for it is used on poor people more than rich people.
It’s not a make or break issue for me.
September 17th, 2004 at 11:51 am
I would add that it’s a punishment for which there is absolutely no remedy. Now if you could absolutely guarantee with 100% certainty that you would never execute an innocent person, then I might be persuaded. But there’s simply no way to guarantee that, so as far as I’m concerned, the death penalty is a non-starter.
What’s interesting (to me, anyway) is that my in-laws, who are ultra-conservative and think Bush walks on water, oppose the death penalty. They used to support it. I’m not sure what changed their minds.
September 17th, 2004 at 11:52 am
But is that really the code? I honestly don’t know the answer to this, but is it really just a rich/poor thing, or is it used disproportionately on minorities even when you break offenders into classes like that? For example, is a poor white murderer less likely to be executed than a poor black murderer? I don’t know…
September 17th, 2004 at 12:02 pm
Dunno. But if OJ had been convicted where there was a death penalty, i doubt he’d have gotten it.
September 17th, 2004 at 12:05 pm
yea i really don’t care about it being used on poor people more, because they are commiting the most crimes, so that is only fair, but i am against the death penalty being used as much as it is used in texas.
The cost of killing some one, the giant buearcy that it creates, and the fact that mistakes happen are important to me.
though in extreme cases (such as timithy mcviegh) i do support it
their are pros to using it less, though i don’t support abolishing it.
and also you can get a lot of manual labor out of a person who is sensented for life. You don’t have to provide them with a comfortable life either, that would save a lot of money
September 17th, 2004 at 1:59 pm
It’s expensive to kill people and keep them on death row for decades.
If you do it in that order, expense is the least of your problems.
September 17th, 2004 at 4:42 pm
Uncle:
But even if true, that still wouldn’t make the point. You could still have a system where a rich black guy is far less likely to get the DP than a poor white guy, but the poor white guy is still far less likely to get it than a poor black guy. And it could be that a rich white guy would be even less likely than OJ to get the DP. Without decent statistics, there’s no way of knowing, but I suspect both factors (race and financial status) have seperate but profound effects on the likelihood of being sentenced to death.
September 17th, 2004 at 4:43 pm
“I honestly don’t know the answer to this, but is it really just a rich/poor thing, or is it used disproportionately on minorities even when you break offenders into classes like that?”
Yes, at least for poor people. Poor blacks ar emore liekly than poor whites by to get the death penalty for similiar crimes. Uncle is right, though, that OJ alsmost certianly would not have gotten the death penalty.
Where race is really nasty in this process, though, is when the victim is taken into account. Blacks who kill whites are the most likely to get the death penalty, followed by Blacks who kill blacks, followed by whites who kill whites, followed by whites who kill blacks, IIRC.
September 17th, 2004 at 7:15 pm
But is this because he’s a rich black guy, or because he’s a celebrity? If OJ had been an anonymous rich black guy, he was still unlikely to get the DP, I’ll grant, but I suspect OJ’s celebrity status (particularly as a former pro athlete, which Americans tend to deify) would have had more to do with it than his wealth.