Executions continue steady nationwide decline

[Coder]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/21/...iref=allsearch

Conservative justices -- led by Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas -- have chided lower courts for casting aside congressional mandates that death sentences be carried out without unnecessary delay. Liberal justices -- including an increasing vocal Sonia Sotomayor -- worry that states and the lower courts are not following high court precedent to ensure capital inmates get a full hearing of their appeals.

Nothing like a Supreme Court Justice flagrantly ignoring THE LAW because she's smarter than all of us.

The appointment of that lady is going to bite us in the heinie...

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[AWDeanSr]

Capital punishment is touchy subject. I believe in self defense, but, I abhor Capital punishment. Just seems ineffective and makes no sense to kill people just to teach the general public that killing people is wrong.

[Coder]

Capital punishment is touchy subject. I believe in self defense, but, I abhor Capital punishment. Just seems ineffective and makes no sense to kill people just to teach the general public that killing people is wrong.

I used to think that it was cheaper to kill them than imprison them for life. That is not the case apparently.

[21bubba]

Capital punishment is touchy subject. I believe in self defense, but, I abhor Capital punishment. Just seems ineffective and makes no sense to kill people just to teach the general public that killing people is wrong.

It seems ineffective because it's not done soon enough,nor as frequently as it should.

[Old School]

Capital punishment is touchy subject. I believe in self defense, but, I abhor Capital punishment. Just seems ineffective and makes no sense to kill people just to teach the general public that killing people is wrong.

I believe that it definately eliminates the possibility of the convicted capitol murder offender from committing the same offense again and it teaches him or her that murder is wrong.

[retsupt99]

Laws should be made that create dead offenders, not repeat offenders (and they do repeat offend...even in prison).

[SIGguy229]

It seems ineffective because it's not done soon enough,nor as frequently as it should.

Yep....three appeals (1st one is free)...and all within 5 years....If you can't get the court to change/overturn the verdict, get in the express lane.

Punishment has three attributes to deter crime:

Punishment must be certain: The criminal must know the punishment will be carried out and why the punishment is being meted out

Punishment must be swift: The criminal must be punished in a period of time to understand the severity and impact of the crime on the victim

Punishment must be severe: The criminal must be punished in a manner to deter future crimes, and be an example of what NOT to do.

All these elements put together results in crime deterrence--if one element is missing, the punishment is worthless...and does not deter crime.

[Ram Rod]

Back to the days of the old west....the posse, and the sheriff. Hangings and firing squads. Third world countries keep it simple in ways of dealing with criminals. Few prisons......convicted felons show who they are for the most part (or parts missing). We've missed a lot with the capital punishment ordeal in order to make things more humane. Where did lawyers come from? England....the British empire we sent packing home. Just like Japan and how they own us now after killing so many Americans in war. We're weak and subjugated no matter what we created some 200+ years ago. And to this day.....we still somehow talk about and make the act of killing a human being into science and research....in self defense, in war, and for the ultimate punishment of crimes committed against life. Within the past 200 years, we've put people to death for making stew out of bones in the moonlight (witches?)............for standing in our way of conquering the wilderness and territory (the native Indian).....etc. How easy was that? Yet we can't come to terms with killing a criminal who should give an eye for an eye? We're twisted in so many ways that we can't make any good judgments now. Our rights under our constitution were written forever....and now even those ideals are subject to review by those who would judge others. Capitol punishment should still exist. Granted.....capitol punishment is not a threat like once was the hanging of a horse thief. What's a threat to us all is letting things go on the way they are. IMO.........justice IS blind because we've taken her eyes.
We really have no right to be disappointed in the way things have become now. Our day for arguments has come to a close. We didn't do what was needed at the time for our own personal reasons. Each and every time I hear of "the team aspect"......it pisses me off because I know what that term truly means....some look the other way....some try to haul the weight of many, some get tired of hauling the weight, and some just don't care. We've made everything we're worried about now. I'll gladly take my fair share of the blame.

[21bubba]

Yep....three appeals (1st one is free)...and all within 5 years....If you can't get the court to change/overturn the verdict, get in the express lane.

Punishment has three attributes to deter crime:

Punishment must be certain: The criminal must know the punishment will be carried out and why the punishment is being meted out

Punishment must be swift: The criminal must be punished in a period of time to understand the severity and impact of the crime on the victim

Punishment must be severe: The criminal must be punished in a manner to deter future crimes, and be an example of what NOT to do.

All these elements put together results in crime deterrence--if one element is missing, the punishment is worthless...and does not deter crime.

Three? I was thinking maybe one within a year.

[hudsonvalley]

I used to think that it was cheaper to kill them than imprison them for life. That is not the case apparently.

A bullet doesn't cost so much and is better than many of them deserve.....imo....we're just animals in suits....

[CowboyColby]

I agree with hudsonvalley. Shorten the time spanthey are on death row. Have express lanes and free up prison space.

[ErnieNWillis]

Here in Texas if you kill someone the state will kill you back!

[Pyro07]

Eh i think we need to do it in the most torturous way possible criminals should have no rights and live in prison on bread and water like the old days keep costs down and also if you bring back hanging only has the cost of a rope and can hang multiple offender with one rope

[Xader]

Yep....three appeals (1st one is free)...and all within 5 years....If you can't get the court to change/overturn the verdict, get in the express lane.

Punishment has three attributes to deter crime:

Punishment must be certain: The criminal must know the punishment will be carried out and why the punishment is being meted out

Punishment must be swift: The criminal must be punished in a period of time to understand the severity and impact of the crime on the victim

Punishment must be severe: The criminal must be punished in a manner to deter future crimes, and be an example of what NOT to do.

All these elements put together results in crime deterrence--if one element is missing, the punishment is worthless...and does not deter crime.

Yep. And the first and second have been tossed out the window by letting those sentenced sit on death row eating three meals a day until they die of old age.

[Fitch]

I could agree completely with the notion that the appeal process is completed and the sentence carried out within a year except for one thing: There have been too many death row inmates proven to be innocent to make me comfortable with that schedule. Ambitious prosecutors, poor investigations, corruption of evidence, and other errors have added up to a number of folks being placed on death row that hadn't committed any crime.

I don't have a problem shooting to stop someone who is attacking me or my family, invading my house, trying to jack my car, or threatening death or grave injury in a public location - the assailant's innocence isn't in doubt at all in that situation. But I do think the number of innocent people found on death row indicates the death penalty needs to be very carefully justified and the appeal process needs to run it's course.

Fitch