The Death Penalty, Schwarzenegger and The Exonerated

On January 19th of this year Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger allowed the
first death sentence to be served in three years, and the first under
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. That is almost copied straight from a
news site (because honestly if I hadn’t, there’s no way I’d have been
able to spell Arnie’s name!)

Anyway, I recently caught an ad for a movie on Court TV called The
Exonerated. It’s based on true stories of several people who spent
years on death row for crimes they didn’t commit. The original version
was a play which inspired my interest in the subject of the death
penalty. I specifically remember one guy who spent something like 20
years on death row before finally being cleared.

Now before someone jumps all over me: I’m not saying that the guy who
was just executed in California was innocent. But does anyone think
it’s acceptable that even one innocent person could be executed? I
think it’s about time this country joins the rest of the civilized
world and adopts a more humane approach. For those of you still on the
fence on this issue, I’d check out this movie, because if it’s anything
like the play the personal stories will astound you. I think it airs on
January 27 (but check courttv.com just in case I’m wrong). And if you
have thoughts on this issue, I’d like to hear them.

tflon said:

On January 19th of this year Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger allowed the
first death sentence to be served in three years, and the first under
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. That is almost copied straight from a
news site (because honestly if I hadn’t, there’s no way I’d have been
able to spell Arnie’s name!)

Anyway, I recently caught an ad for a movie on Court TV called The
Exonerated. It’s based on true stories of several people who spent
years on death row for crimes they didn’t commit. The original version
was a play which inspired my interest in the subject of the death
penalty. I specifically remember one guy who spent something like 20
years on death row before finally being cleared.

Now before someone jumps all over me: I’m not saying that the guy who
was just executed in California was innocent. But does anyone think
it’s acceptable that even one innocent person could be executed? I
think it’s about time this country joins the rest of the civilized
world and adopts a more humane approach. For those of you still on the
fence on this issue, I’d check out this movie, because if it’s anything
like the play the personal stories will astound you. I think it airs on
January 27 (but check courttv.com just in case I’m wrong). And if you
have thoughts on this issue, I’d like to hear them.

Click to expand...

Up front, I do not oppose the "theory" behind the death penalty. I believe there are crimes that warrant such punishment and will continue to accept that until the US Justice system evolves in several areas: 1) that murderers and child molestors never walk free again to repeat their offenses on some other innocent life; 2) IMO criminals lose rights at the commission of the crime and quite honestly I am fed up with how many get away on technicalities; 3) when the prison systems are revamped to the point that they actually are constructive instead of destructive - in other words very few who enter a prison come out and stay crime free or are actually improved mentally.

As for one innocent dying on death row - I don't like it but I am even less impressed when killers and sex offenders are set free and ruin the lives of another series of innocent families. This board alone displays many crimes committed that cannot be defended on any level of civility. As police science and analytical abilities increase, there will be fewer innocents accused let alone punished. To me there is little difference between an innocent dying on death row and a person with obvious mental problems being thrown into a prison population instead of a mental facility - this happens far more frequently and it appears no one really cares about that.

As for joining the civilized world, perhaps this will help:

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777460.html

My biggest problem with the death penalty is that it is often quite discriminatory and rarely equal across any line, inclusive of race, crime comitted, or lives lost. In other words, reservation of the death penalty for heinous crimes is idiocy - murder of an innocent life, no matter how committed is heinous IMO. In these respects I think a more "civilized" approach is very warranted. I actually have more of an issue with how death row prisoners are treated while in prison versus their sentence.

If the rest of the civilized world doesn't have the murder rate as the United States, then I can hardly see how we should be compared to the rest of the "civilized world" on how we deal with murderers/rapists of toddlers.

People in the "civilized world" don't serial murder people, molest children, violently or otherwise rape a series of women, or beat people to the point of near death an irreparable damage.

We don't live in a civilized world.

And I am an "innocent" person, yet I would have given my life to insure Ted Bundy never harmed another person. But lucky me, I didn't have to because he was executed, and there is no way he can kill another person. EVER.

I do have an issue with the death penalty for cases where no physical proof has been shown, but that's just a me thing. I'm not big on circumstantial for the death penalty.