Kidnapped girl found 18 years later

Originally Posted by lookout123

Fair enough. When that bothers me I'll let you know.

I don't subscribe to the "it is better to let a thousand guilty people go than to convict one guilty person" philosophy...

I dont recall reading any post here that suggested letting any guilty person go free.

Life imprisonment w/o parole is not freedom and allows for the correction of the worst act the state can undertake....executing an innocent person.

[lookout123]

alright, if it makes you feel better keep them in prison til they rot. when i'm dictator i'll off who i see fit. til then we'll just have to work with the system we have.

Originally Posted by lookout123

alright, if it makes you feel better keep them in prison til they rot. when i'm dictator i'll off who i see fit. til then we'll just have to work with the system we have.

Or work to change the system so that the criminal justice system in the US resembles every other western democracy w/o capital punishment and not tin pot dictatorial governments.

After that, we go for your guns
(j/k about the guns...I dont want another UG lecture on how a nation w/o a guaranteed and unlimited right to bear arms is on the road to mass genocide of its people.)

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Flint

You can't answer "no" to that question unless you knowingly choose to exit the realm of reality. If you accept that the system is not 100% infallible, and you accept that said system has the power to take a human life, and you support said system, then you have to answer "yes" to the question, i.e. it must, logically, be acceptable to that an innocent person could be put to death by the state. You can choose to ignore this, but palming it off on "society" doesn't make it go away, or remove you from taking responsibility for your own position.

No, you are wrong. I can answer it any way I choose and you are free to read into it. I don't have to answer it any way other than I did. I fully support the Death Penalty as punishment. I have not "palmed" it off on anyone. I have stated that it remains a moral delima for the legal system and society at large when innocent victims are accidently put to death by the system. I have not shirked my responsiblity for my position, merely stated the facts as they now exist.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

After that, we go for your guns

WOW, I am shocked.

Not really.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

IMO, shrugging it off as a moral dilemma and a "good for you" is a cop-out.

But see your opinion of my opinion is really not important to me. I thought we already established that premise.

Just admit that you are willing to accept that an innocent person can be put to death to preserve a flawed system of justice.

At this point I am not willing to support the death of an innocent person nor am I willing to remove the notion of Capital Punishment for those who deserve it.

[DanaC]

And if they don't deserve it but the court mistakenly believes that they do :P

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by DanaC

And if they don't deserve it but the court mistakenly believes that they do :P

My condolences. Sorry for the loss. Truely. A bad day for our imperfect system of justice.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

But see your opinion of my opinion is really not important to me. I thought we already established that premise.

At this point I am not willing to support the death of an innocent person nor am I willing to remove the notion of Capital Punishment for those who deserve it.

Cheap attempt at semantics?

I didnt say you were willing to support the death of an innocent person.

I said you were willing to accept the death of an innocent person.

Its a fact, not my opinion. If you support the current system of capital punishment, you accept the fact that an innocent person can be executed.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

Cheap attempt at semantics?

I didnt say you were willing to support the death of an innocent person.

I said you were willing to accept the death of an innocent person.

Its a fact, not my opinion.

If you support the current system of capital punishment, you accept the fact that an innocent person can be executed.

Not semantics. It is a fact. It happens. But I am not willing to get rid of the system because errors occur. The errors are few and far between, unless you can prove other wise. They are rare.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Not semantics. It is a fact. It happens..

Right...its a fact, not my opinion, that you are willing to accept it.

I'm curious.

If one wrongful execution is acceptable, what is the limit? What do you consider rare?

How many innocent people have to die at the hands of the state execution system before it becomes unacceptable?

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

right...its a fact, not my opinion.

I'm curious.

If one wrongful execution is acceptable, what is the limit? What do you consider rare?

How many innocent people have to die at the hands of the state execution system before it becomes unacceptable?

Provide me with evidence that there is a huge disparity between those put to death wrongly and those who deserved it. I am certainly not going to box myself into some number game. Innocent people die all the time in many situations. I am sorry for it. It is not my place to put a limit on it. It is a very sad situation for that one person, his family and all his or her connections to the eventual death. As I stated earlier these are questions for the legal system to tackle and a moral quandry for society at large. In the meantime, I will continue to support Capital Punishment as a form of ultimate punishment. Do the time do the crime.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

Right...its a fact, not my opinion, that you are willing to accept it.

I never disputed the fact that it happens.

[monster]

Is it more or less acceptable for a soldier to be killed in action than for an innocent person to be executed?

If you believe in one or more deities, then the chances are you believe that an executed innocent has gone to better place, and if you don't, then the chances are you believe the executed innccent no longer exists, so why do they matter any more...so what's the problem?

If you reject CP on the grounds that it is irreversible and cruel, in what way to you envisage years of wrongful maximum security detention less irreversible and less cruel?

Just askin'.....

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by monster

Is it more or less acceptable for a soldier to be killed in action than for an innocent person to be executed?

Absolutely.