I am also appalled by prematurely foreclosing the opportunity for repentance and salvation that I consider so priceless; I recognize that many people do not find that compelling, but would not want to answer for it personally. I hope GA got the right man, but God only knows; anyone else is only guessing.
As Johnson said, "...when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully..." The certainty of imminent death would then be a far better incentive for the condemned to get his act together and get himself right with God, and make his apologies. When there is any hope of freedom or putting off death, most will seize on that slim chance, rather than taking measures to prepare for the certainty of death. Once of the greatest graces a man can be granted is to know the time and date of his particular judgement years in advance. Better to have all the spiritual solace and opportunities for meditation and prayer afforded by the time spent on death row than the hubbub and violence of normal life in a prison for murderers.
Fear of Hell can excuse no one from it; only love from and for God can. I forget which Pithy Pet Phrase that is, but I stand by it. That remains my biggest problem with fire and brimstone theology: It encourages hollow "repentance" based on self preservation rather than reverence and devotion to God. As James said, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!" Christianity is not a "get out of Hell free card," and treating it as such is horribly dangerous.
And on the practical side, since we're getting into non-legal/justice grounds, when there is no death penalty, and the ultimate penalty is never getting out of prison, what does a convict risk by repeated and violent escape attempts? What penalty can then deter a man who cannot legally be released, from improvising weapons and cutting a bloody path to freedom? Even if he fails, society can do nothing more to him beyond lock him up to try again and again. And finally, if a man cannot be deterred by the threat of death, only death can stop him. Those who argue that the death penalty does not deter criminals thus provide the ultimate practical argument for putting criminals to death.
It may surprise you to hear, but I accept those practical arguments, in principle; my solution would be to bring back things like Alcatraz and Devils Island. The Rock (and syphilis) broke Capone, and no successful escape has ever been confirmed; the only possible candidate is three guys who made it beyond the wall and, if they also made it through 20 miles of frigid shark infested water, were never seen or heard from again, despite being such incorrigible criminals that they wound up at Alcatraz. Send the most violent repeat offenders to some inescapable island to live by the jungle law for which they rejected the laws of God and man, periodically airlifting them food and water, if necessary. Many would still die, but their blood would be on each others hands, not yours or mine, and the potential to free wrongfully connected prisoners would remain in most cases (though restricting such sentences to the worst repeat offenders would reasonably ensure inmates were violent criminals even if their most RECENT conviction were erroneous.)
What such a practice would not do is continue the execution of people later discovered to be innocent with no recourse to correcting that injustice. I fail to see why killing an innocent is so great an evil in an individual that it merits death but an inevitable acceptable VIRTUE in a state.
Honorbound and honored to be Bonded to Mahtaliel Sedai
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
This message last edited by Joel on 23/09/2011 at 01:18:10 AM
i'm proud to live in a country where you can be executed based on circumstantial evidence...
- 22/09/2011 04:06:07 PM
1390 Views
And yet the Supreme Court didn't stop it. You're a lawyer right?
- 22/09/2011 04:19:05 PM
762 Views
Well, that right there was an ignorant thing to say.
- 22/09/2011 04:32:49 PM
817 Views
But they get all the media attention
- 22/09/2011 04:45:03 PM
707 Views
*NM*
Cameron Todd Willingham is white, and his story is a national one since Perry is running for Pres
- 23/09/2011 03:41:52 PM
599 Views
those numbers are less schocking when you consider that blacks commet a lot more murders *NM*
- 22/09/2011 05:43:51 PM
311 Views
And this is a typically illogical argument.
- 22/09/2011 11:11:48 PM
744 Views
You're kidding, right?
- 23/09/2011 02:55:44 PM
693 Views
Re: You're kidding, right?
- 23/09/2011 07:36:38 PM
707 Views
Juror bias. *NM*
- 23/09/2011 08:35:10 PM
277 Views
Your evidence for that? *NM*
- 23/09/2011 11:33:58 PM
286 Views
Twenty-one years of life in the American South.
- 24/09/2011 12:40:10 AM
668 Views
Of course I'm interested
- 24/09/2011 04:03:51 AM
598 Views
From me being too involved with the subject material. I apologize.
- 24/09/2011 11:16:06 AM
581 Views
While I largely agree with your argument, I agree more with Cannoli on the NAACP.
- 23/09/2011 07:46:06 PM
643 Views
Huh.
- 22/09/2011 04:47:20 PM
775 Views
That jumped out at me too.
- 22/09/2011 04:50:52 PM
694 Views
What really confuses me
- 22/09/2011 04:58:32 PM
652 Views
That's a good question and I really wish it would be addressed.
- 22/09/2011 05:05:40 PM
737 Views
Re: That's a good question and I really wish it would be addressed.
- 22/09/2011 05:21:59 PM
788 Views
If the original trial is shown to be flawed that's supposed to require a new trial.
- 22/09/2011 08:25:51 PM
629 Views
Well...
- 22/09/2011 05:18:54 PM
804 Views
So if I understand you correctly...
- 22/09/2011 05:23:00 PM
742 Views
Yes, that is correct. And proving witness coercion is likely to be difficult if not impossible. *NM*
- 22/09/2011 05:30:37 PM
252 Views
it is only confusing because the evidence isn't really that shaky
- 22/09/2011 08:54:21 PM
676 Views
If I understand the Supreme Court correctly, the reason they denied the stay of execution was
- 22/09/2011 08:25:14 PM
726 Views
I completely support the Death Penalty without question.....
- 22/09/2011 08:27:54 PM
631 Views
Unreasonable doubt is impossible to eliminate.
- 22/09/2011 09:54:43 PM
707 Views
Doubt can be eliminated.....any question about Dalmer?
- 23/09/2011 01:00:52 PM
682 Views
Maybe he was framed by an enemy, government conspiracy or aliens.
- 23/09/2011 01:54:21 PM
649 Views
Jigga what? 
*NM*
- 23/09/2011 03:36:07 PM
314 Views
*NM*
- 23/09/2011 03:36:07 PM
314 Views
"I do not know if I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly or am now a butterfly..."
- 23/09/2011 06:50:34 PM
629 Views
Circumstantial evidence is not, I believe, a bar to conviction.
- 22/09/2011 09:43:56 PM
594 Views
Regarding the salvation thing, that is an argument FOR the death penalty, in my mind.
- 22/09/2011 11:37:16 PM
659 Views
That motive is seflish and thus fatal.
- 23/09/2011 01:17:00 AM
613 Views
Bullshit
- 25/09/2011 03:53:05 AM
839 Views
Where do YOU get the idea that imperfect contrition is good enough?
- 25/09/2011 02:29:18 PM
1114 Views
Thank God you're not an evangelist.
- 23/09/2011 02:59:06 PM
631 Views
And I pity the souls you have ministered to. They're in for a rude shock at their judgement
- 25/09/2011 04:01:05 AM
662 Views
lol roman catholicism *NM*
- 25/09/2011 04:39:55 AM
262 Views
Not just Roman Catholics, y'know, everyone who thinks God was not BSing about judgement.
- 25/09/2011 09:47:12 PM
695 Views
lol hellfire and brimstone *NM*
- 26/09/2011 12:12:28 AM
257 Views
I suppose in a consequences free world everything is a source of amusement.
- 26/09/2011 12:33:14 AM
823 Views
You really don't understand irony, do you? Particularly as it applies to your post about this case.
- 22/09/2011 11:26:49 PM
723 Views
.
- 23/09/2011 08:21:38 AM
666 Views
A list of anecdotal wrongs does not prove anything. If convictions can be wrong, so can exonerations *NM*
- 25/09/2011 04:03:26 AM
261 Views
sorry if i don't have time to link to every 
thing i've read on the subject
- 23/09/2011 02:54:50 PM
787 Views
thing i've read on the subject
- 23/09/2011 02:54:50 PM
787 Views
Well I would think you would have picked an article that offers some iota of proof of his innocence.
- 25/09/2011 04:14:45 AM
715 Views
Well, I wouldn't call eyewitness accounts circumstancial evidence.
- 23/09/2011 11:45:48 PM
650 Views
Nor would I, but I've heard that lawyers say, "an eye witness is the worst witness you can have."
- 25/09/2011 03:23:53 PM
675 Views