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elSicomoro · 03-08-2001, 09:27 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Chewbaccus
If someone killed my brother or my friend, I'd want justice. The way the system works is laughable and in such a case, only immediate justice would suffice.

I would agree to that. I don't deny that there are times when I see crimes so gruesome that I think they deserve death. The whole "speedy trial" concept has disappeared as well, which I feel is a disservice to both the victim's family and the suspect.

And IMO, victims' families deserve a power trip (known as "closure" in the psychiatric world) in such cases. If anything, I would bring back public executions.

My only complaint against that is that nothing can bring back the victim or take away the crime. I also question just how healthy the death penalty is in relation to closure.

In old times, publicly executing someone had a twofold purpose:
Bring closure to relatives of the condemned's victim(s)

Demonstrate to the general populace that the justice system does work, and that there will be serious punishment for the violation of a serious law.

I must admit that I'm for public humiliation of convicted criminals (see my remarks on Mardi Gras). Although, truth be told, my ideas may violate people's civil rights. ;-)

Unfortunately, while the times have changed, the way we handle people involved in crimes has not changed much. I'd even say it's gotten worse. Our society focuses too much on punishment and not enough on rehabilitation. Given the proper resources (money, people, and time), I do believe that the majority of criminals could be rehabilitated. (Not all though...some are simply bad seeds from day one.)

(And before anyone gets any ideas, I know McVeigh wants his execution televised, and no I wouldn't permit it simply because he wants it to happen, which means he's planning something.)

I would, for one major reason--he is quite possibly the most hated criminal in American Society. I think a lot of people would watch...but not on a major network. PBS...simple...to the point. (If I recall, PBS tried to televise a live execution once, but something stopped it.)

As such, I'm not such a capital punishment enthusiast that I would turn my ideas loose on such a system. We ARE talking about a human life, and if it is to be taken, we should be damned sure that it deserves to be. Public opinion is far too rickety a thing to lay so heavy a burden upon.

I don't Joe Q. Public really thinks about the death penalty on a wider scope. They see this--man kills woman in vicious beating. Man is considered vile and should be punished. Guilty until proven innocent.

I applauded Illinois when they put a moratorium on the death penalty. There have been too many close calls in recent years across this country. I realize that we can never be 100% sure, but I think we could at least be 99.9% sure. Not to mention, while some may complain about the cost of a prisoner for a year, I'd like to think that it's money well spent--the man has to sit there for years...tortured by thoughts of something he did, facing assault, rape, and death on a daily basis. To me, it's worth $30,000 per year.

--
"Blame God...how can you lose?"--David Byrne
Sycamoreland--http://syc75.tripod.com
ICQ--7810696

03-08-2001, 09:27 PM	#8
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	[quote]Originally posted by Chewbaccus If someone killed my brother or my friend, I'd want justice. The way the system works is laughable and in such a case, only immediate justice would suffice. I would agree to that. I don't deny that there are times when I see crimes so gruesome that I think they deserve death. The whole "speedy trial" concept has disappeared as well, which I feel is a disservice to both the victim's family and the suspect. And IMO, victims' families deserve a power trip (known as "closure" in the psychiatric world) in such cases. If anything, I would bring back public executions. My only complaint against that is that nothing can bring back the victim or take away the crime. I also question just how healthy the death penalty is in relation to closure. In old times, publicly executing someone had a twofold purpose: Bring closure to relatives of the condemned's victim(s) Demonstrate to the general populace that the justice system does work, and that there will be serious punishment for the violation of a serious law. I must admit that I'm for public humiliation of convicted criminals (see my remarks on Mardi Gras). Although, truth be told, my ideas may violate people's civil rights. ;-) Unfortunately, while the times have changed, the way we handle people involved in crimes has not changed much. I'd even say it's gotten worse. Our society focuses too much on punishment and not enough on rehabilitation. Given the proper resources (money, people, and time), I do believe that the majority of criminals could be rehabilitated. (Not all though...some are simply bad seeds from day one.) (And before anyone gets any ideas, I know McVeigh wants his execution televised, and no I wouldn't permit it simply because he wants it to happen, which means he's planning something.) I would, for one major reason--he is quite possibly the most hated criminal in American Society. I think a lot of people would watch...but not on a major network. PBS...simple...to the point. (If I recall, PBS tried to televise a live execution once, but something stopped it.) As such, I'm not such a capital punishment enthusiast that I would turn my ideas loose on such a system. We ARE talking about a human life, and if it is to be taken, we should be damned sure that it deserves to be. Public opinion is far too rickety a thing to lay so heavy a burden upon. I don't Joe Q. Public really thinks about the death penalty on a wider scope. They see this--man kills woman in vicious beating. Man is considered vile and should be punished. Guilty until proven innocent. I applauded Illinois when they put a moratorium on the death penalty. There have been too many close calls in recent years across this country. I realize that we can never be 100% sure, but I think we could at least be 99.9% sure. Not to mention, while some may complain about the cost of a prisoner for a year, I'd like to think that it's money well spent--the man has to sit there for years...tortured by thoughts of something he did, facing assault, rape, and death on a daily basis. To me, it's worth $30,000 per year. -- "Blame God...how can you lose?"--David Byrne Sycamoreland--http://syc75.tripod.com ICQ--7810696