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Nathan
816 Posts |
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erm035
USA
36 Posts |
 Posted - 03/06/2010 : 15:44:02
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Nathan,
The problem with the death penalty is that there is too much chance of an innocent person being convicted and subsequently executed.
Have you ever served jury duty? I have, several times. Our court system sucks...it is a mess. A verdict is RAILROADED onto the jury based on which attorney is more skilled in twisting favorable evidence while getting their opponent's contradictory evidence thrown out! Real court IS NOTHING LIKE YOU SEE ON LAW AND ORDER!
I am not a Democrat but I think you are misunderstanding their opposition. What if you kill in self-defense then a prosecutor decides you shouldn't have and manages to get you charged with murder? Read Ayoob's book "in the gravest extreme". What if you face a bunch of jurors who hate gun owners? What then Nathan? Are you personally willing to be executed just to make sure that in a few cases where the person is obviously guilty (eg. your example), they get executed?
I know the knee-jerk reaction is "fry them all"...I feel the same anger but again, I know from personal experience how the system fails. We need to try to understand the system and get it changed instead of falling into the same old stupid Libs vs. Neocon bullshit! |
Randy, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida USA |
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Nathan
816 Posts |
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erm035
USA
36 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2010 : 07:09:03
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Nathan, if you had seen what I have seen in the court and jury room then you'd understand.
If the court system was changed so that all the evidence could be heard and so that the jury could ask questions, then I would be fine with the death penalty. Otherwise I think its better to lock them up for life with no parole, albeit under harsh conditions (no weight lifting, tv, etc.)
The way the jury system works today, juries are almost treated like children - being told what is suitable and not suitable for them to consider as evidence. Then the trials go on and on - months for a murder trial. I think it leads to poor decisions. Now I do believe that the majority of people executed are indeed guilty and deserve it. But there are documented cases of the contrary. Our system is supposed to operate on the principle that its better to free a guilty person than convict and innocent one - that's why juries are told to convict only upon a "preponderance of the evidence" - a concept which in my experience, my fellow jurors did not even understand!
Also the requirement that all jurors must reach the same decision, is also a problem (a unanimous decision). In my experience, people will vote against their own belief just to get the hell out of there, knowing that if its not a unanimous decision, the judge won't let them leave. Keep in mind these jurors have been kept in isolation for months and are probably experiencing severe personal issues due to the trial. They just want it to be over with!
Hell, as it stands today many of them on death row stay there for year after year while seemingly endless appeal rounds take place. A total was of time and money in my opinion.
I hope that this explains it better. I enjoy your posts and while I don't always agree with your opinions, I do respect them. Reasonable people can disagree and it does promote understanding, don't you think?
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Randy, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida USA |
Edited by - erm035 on 03/07/2010 07:14:08 |
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yeruham
Israel
223 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2010 : 15:33:07
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Dear Randy and Nathan,
There is, in my humble opinion, truth in what both of you say. But I have to disagree with Randy. The fact that -- as Randy says:
>many of them on death row stay there for year after year while >seemingly endless appeal rounds take place
shows that they are getting a fair hearing. It is only after "seemingly endless appeal rounds" that they are put to death. After all of these seemingly endless appeals have been judged, I think we can be quite sure that the conviction was justified. Best wishes to all, |
Yeruham |
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nj bans death penalty
