Originally Posted by
usmc-sgt
Although it is sad that there are some in prison and some that are put to death when they are innocent it is the legal system we have. We put it in place and until forensic technology and other means take us into the 22nd century it is what it is.
On a side note...why do they sterilize the needles for lethal injection? Something to think about.
I think they sterilize them in case of a last-minute stay of execution, right? Or maybe to protect the executioner and the inmate from infections.
I understand your argument, but respectfully disagree.
What's sad is that the legal system could perform so much better. Unfortunately, it is rarely a lack of forensic technology that plants an innocent man on death row. Indeed, many convicts on death row are being acquitted after years behind bars as new DNA findings and things of the sort come out.
If it is the legal system's fault, then the system is not good enough. The court-appointed lawyers who frequently represent convicts are the worst-paid and least-experienced and skillful lawyers in the country.
None of the 50 states meet the standards put forth by the ABA for their defense attorneys to ensure a good defense in a death penalty case. The convicts are not being given an adequate chance to defend themselves.
I'll quote someone who has far more experience in this stuff than me or anyone else here:
"I have yet to see a death case among the dozen coming to the Supreme Court on eve-of-execution stay applications in which the defendant was well represented at trial...
People who are well represented at trial do not get the death penalty."
- Ruth Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice
"The reality is that capital punishment in America is a lottery. It is a punishment that is shaped by the constraints of poverty, race, geography and local politics."
- Bryan Stevenson, Death Row Lawyer
Originally Posted by
usmc-sgt
Although it is sad that there are some in prison and some that are put to death when they are innocent
Hypothetically, what if it were you or me?
Originally Posted by
atpwannabe
No appeals, no lagging of time. Executions should take place within 30 days of verdict if not sooner. Firing squad.....it's instant.
It may be instant, but it sounds more like barbaric revenge than it does justice.
"Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders."
- Camus
"I have never heard a murderer say they thought about the death penalty as consequence of their actions prior to committing their crimes."
- Kansas Policeman