Death penalty objections

I would like to take exception to Lynn Alsup’s stance on legal execution (7/5, Letters).

To start with, she says, “A majority of people are in favor the death penalty.” How do you know that?

I would not say that without proof, such as citing an article that says “the majority of people favor the death penalty” by some expert on the subject.

Alsup also wrote, “The death penalty is a huge deterrent.”

End-of-life issues can only be made by God, not man. I realize that this is a firecracker statement to make, but it is my opinion.

Alsup writes, “The pain lingers for three families.” I agree. But there is a fourth. What about the family of Richard Grissom?

It is correct that criminals do have the right to a speedy trail. I think you would find that a “speedy execution” is not possible, though.

James McInereny

KansasCity

Comments

[JoCo]

Don't forget Devin, the bold stance of our forefathers included "ducking" of "witches", pillory and stock for criminals of carnal nature, as well as the oft-used rope for crimes of capital definition.

[JoCo]

Dudley Sharp,

That sounds fair enough. Let's see what Virginia is doing right to expedite executing undeniably guilty murderers or other capital convicts. Open their system wide.
I am FOR getting rid of cold-blooded murderers, particularly freely self-confessed ones, but the problem is that my opinion doesn't guarantee uniformly true enforcement across the board in all states.

[JoCo]

Devin,

I've heard tell right here by an expert that "WE the People" is so much cow manure. You are very likely to soon see a more vivid portrayal of animal waste.

[devin]

"I've never heard of anyone punished by execution of the death penalty returning to a life of crime."

I've never heard of an executed person coming back to life and going free when later exonerated by new evidence.

One of the founding principles of this nation was that it's better for the guilty to go free than the innocent to hang. True, it's possible that free, guilty person could later kill an innocent person, but at least "we the people", as represented by the state, aren't killing the innocent. Most of the developed world followed us in that enlightened stance. How sad that many of us now want to turn our back on the bold stance of our forefathers and stand for a barbarous system that should be relegated to the dustbin of history.

[Dudley Sharp]

Speedy executions are a reality.

In Virginia, those sentenced to execution are executed in 5-7 years.

The national average is 10 years.

All states could, easily, adopt the Virginia protocol.

[Dudley Sharp]

Poll support very high

80% in the US support the death penalty for true CAPITAL, DEATH PENALTY eligible murders, as per a number of polls.

When polling wrongly inquires about the death penalty for murders, support drops to 60-75%. The overwhelming percentage of "murder" are not death penalty eligible.

However, rape/murders, robbery/murders, mass and serial murders are and those are death eligible. the only relevant group of murders for the death penalty.

[Kent Scheidegger]

James McInereny asks for authority to support the proposition that a majority supports the death penalty. Happy to oblige.

"The majority of Americans continue to support the use of the death penalty as the punishment for murder. Most Americans (71%) also say the death penalty is used either about the right amount or not often enough." -- Lydia Saad, Gallup Poll, "Americans Hold Firm to Support for Death Penalty, Nov. 17, 2008"
http://www.gallup.com/poll/111931/Americans-Hold-Firm-Support-Death-Penalty.aspx

Kent Scheidegger
Criminal Justice Legal Foundation

[JoCo]

Yeah, the ammo is inexpensive, but where you gonna find 4, let alone one to pull the trigger so cheaply?

[Susans]

Many people don't realize that the largest part of the high cost of the the death is for legal expenses, and the highest expenses come at the beginning of the process- before and during the initial trial. It has very little to do with the cost of the actual execution.

Obviously someone who is executed cannot commit crimes. But murder rates are consistently higher in states with the death penalty than in those without it.

[balingwire]

I've never heard of anyone punished by execution of the death penalty returning to a life of crime.

[devin]

The US is the only developed nation that still has the death penalty and we're also the developed nation with the highest murder rate...by a long shot. Studies of the last fifty years in the US, when the death penalty has gone in and out of use in various states at various times, show no correlation between the use of the death penalty and murder rates.
The fact is there no evidence whatsoever for the deterrent value of the death penalty.

On the other hand, there is ample evidence that the death penalty is used disproportionately on minorities. There are also numerous cases where executed people were later found to be innocent of the crimes. It's odd that our society is so distrusting of the government, yet so many of us trust the government to decide who lives and who dies.

Look, the desire to kill people who are different from us is human nature and long a part of our genetic code, so if you support the death penalty because you want to eliminate people who are different from you, that's totally understandable. But if you support the death penalty as a deterrent, well, that's just ridiculous.

[Kee]

As NoMo and I have demonstrated a 7.62 round costs between 23 and 31 cents.