They were innocent and on death row.

[*michaelsean*]

(03-23-2021, 11:51 AM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I've never been a fan of the death penalty.  Moral issues aside, it's monstrously expensive and extremely time consuming.  Also, I personally feel that life without the possibility of parole is a far worse fate.  The only problem with that is the current trend towards leniency for older prisoners.  I get that an old man is almost certain not to offend again, but there sentence is their sentence, they got it for a reason.

Michaelsean is absolutely correct to ask the question he did.  Far too often (more like every time) when there is a disparity in the ethnicities affected the immediate conclusion is that this is due to racism.  That is why his point about men being grossly over represented in the prison population is an excellent one.  With men being so overly represented how, using the same logic, can we not conclude that the criminal justice system is overtly and systemically sexist?  Of course the answer is hardly that simple and involves numerous other factors.  So why does the story include this data and draw such a conclusion?  I suppose everyone will have their own answer for that.

All that being said I'd be fine with doing away with the death penalty, taking someone's life is, obviously, irrevocable, so in the rare instance in which a mistake was made it cannot be reversed.  Quite honestly, the prosecutors only like it as it's a bargaining chip, i.e. plead guilty to "X" and I won't seek the death penalty.

I have no moral issue with killing the worst of them.  And there are things I would take into consideration.  For instance, if a man is robbing a convenience store, and the worker pulls out a gun, and the criminal kills him I believe I would be far less likely to send that person to death row, than if a man robbed a store, the clerk complied and then the man shoots the clerk in the head as he is leaving.  The level of depravity is different.

Like the story mentioned above, I would not send a person to death row if they weren't the trigger man unless it was a planned murder.  If you kill or have someone kill a witness in a criminal trial then absolutely.  Serial killers, mass murderers,purposeful killers of children such as people who prey on children.