Capital Punishment

On Protecting The Innocent, Or, Is There A Death Penalty Compromise?

September 24, 2011 by Left in Alabama

I don't feel very good about this country this morning, and as so many of us are I'm thinking of how Troy Davis was hustled off this mortal coil by the State of Georgia without a lot of thought of what it means to execute the innocent.

And given the choice, I'd rather see us abandon the death penalty altogether, for reasons that must, at this moment, seem self-evident; that said, it's my suspicion that a lot of states are not going to be in any hurry to abandon their death penalties anytime soon now that they know the Supreme Court will allow the innocent to be murdered.

So what if there was a way to create a compromise that balanced the absolute need to protect the innocent with the feeling among many Americans that, for some crimes, we absolutely have to impose the death penalty?

Considering the circumstances, it's not going to be an easy subject, but let's give it a try, and see what we can do.

On Protecting The Innocent, Or, Is There A Death Penalty Compromise?

September 23, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

I don’t feel very good about this country this morning, and as so many of us are I’m thinking of how Troy Davis was hustled off this mortal coil by the State of Georgia without a lot of thought of what it means to execute the innocent.

And given the choice, I’d rather see us abandon the death penalty altogether, for reasons that must, at this moment, seem self-evident; that said, it’s my suspicion that a lot of states are not going to be in any hurry to abandon their death penalties anytime soon now that they know the Supreme Court will allow the innocent to be murdered.

So what if there was a way to create a compromise that balanced the absolute need to protect the innocent with the feeling among many Americans that, for some crimes, we absolutely have to impose the death penalty?

Considering the circumstances, it’s not going to be an easy subject, but let’s give it a try, and see what we can do.

Two more government murders, and the crowd cheers

September 22, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Last week during the GOP debate we were treated to the spectacle of a crowd cheering the large numbers of government-sanctioned murders in Texas.  This week we were treated to the reality.  Troy Davis was put to death last night in Georgia, despite a growing concern on the part of many that his continuous claim of innocence may well have been correct. The court system failed Troy Davis, and we as a nation failed him.

Where to start? The application of the death penalty in the United States is an anomaly among Western nations. We happily cling to a system of punishment that seems to serve no purpose other than retribution. It's not a crime deterrent, it's not even cost-effective.  It is government-sanctioned revenge. It is a punishment that cannot be revoked, ameliorated, or forgiven.  It is the last desperate act of a government to punish the guilty and destroy a little more of the soul of our nation.