The Cellar - View Single Post

DanaC · 05-03-2004, 05:13 AM

I have heard it said that one can judge a society by the way it treats its criminals. I dont believe the death penalty does a ny good. The nature of criminality and the prejudices of most societies lead to any such penalty being weighed heavily against the poor. The poor are more likely to commit crimes and having committed them are less likely to be given adequate legal representation
In America youare more likely to be convicted of a murder if you are black. Having been convicted you are more likely to face the death penalty if you are black. . Black and white people are the victims of violent crime in roughly equal numbers, yet 82 per cent of people executed since 1977 have been convicted of killing white victims.

The lawyers and judges who preside over these legal proceedings and the people who write the laws which govern them are generally from a very different class and background to those who face the death penalty. As far as I am concerned its good old fashioned class war, the fact that many people of working class backgrounds have been persuaded to this method of justice is an example to me of how the moneyed classes keep their lessers in order. In Saudi Arabia they chop the hands of thieves.....its just another way that the poor are oppressed. Its the same method that's been used throughout history. Make the masses see that the criminal is an "other" disassociate the criminal from the rest of society.....Sell them a dream of what their society should look like and then tell them that the people who are standing in their way and ruining it for everyone are the criminals. Its almost medieaval. The idea of the Ideal as we should look to it, being held at bay by those who do not follow the programme.....Hence we see such a graphic and violent punishment for those who disturb the balance and in doing prevent us from reaching our goal.

In the UK there have been many prominent cases recently which have led to a worries that our jails are in fact brimming over wiht people who should not be there. There are many parents who have been committed of killing their babies and whose cases are now being reassesed because the "expert witnesses" have been proved to be unreliable. There are examples in the USA too. The "shaken baby syndrome" which convicted the british nanny louise woodward has faced scurtiny and is now considred to be less than sure.

Many of the women ( mainly women though some men) who have served jail time in the UK are now being released after trhe convictions have been deemed unsafe. Trypti Patel is one of the more famous ones over here.

Thats just an example of some of the miscarriages of justice currently in the british news. If we add to that the many many unsafe convictions for other crrimes ( irishmen convicted of political crimes they didnt do for instance ) we see that the justice system simply isnt to be trusted to the degree needed to ensure no innocent is convicted.

Frankly though, even if the person has been caught stood over the bleeding corpse of their victim , knife in hand with an evil grin spread across their murderous face....I still deem capital punishment an act of barbarism and the electric chair in particular is a disgrace to the modern world.

As an aside there are states in th USA which have convicted children who will face the death penalty when they reach maturity. I saw one case with a pair of young lads who seemingly had struck back at their abusive father and his abusive friends by killing their dad.....Both lads were convicted both now face a jail sentence until they are old enough to be put to death. ...in 24 US states people can be sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were children......so thats just you guys and China.

Not to mention of course those who have mental retardation... In 1989 the US Supreme Court ruled that it was not unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded people. Since then some 30 mentally impaired people have been executed.

I read of one case for instance of a fellow who had schizophrenia .....He was sentenced to die and before he died he was given medication which gave him a temporary measure of normality ( some kind of ati psychotic agent) so that he would fully understand his fate.......

We havent even talked about the brutality ofthe method....The electric chair which so often goes wrong is an abomination. At the very least if you are going to insist on slaughtering your murderers use a method that kills instantly and painlessly (injection ).....Or is it necessary that the condemned suffer mortal agony in order for justice to be served?

In Europe we consider Capital Punishment to be barbaric and unfair.

05-03-2004, 05:13 AM	#6
DanaC We have to go back, Kate! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 25,964	I have heard it said that one can judge a society by the way it treats its criminals. I dont believe the death penalty does a ny good. The nature of criminality and the prejudices of most societies lead to any such penalty being weighed heavily against the poor. The poor are more likely to commit crimes and having committed them are less likely to be given adequate legal representation In America youare more likely to be convicted of a murder if you are black. Having been convicted you are more likely to face the death penalty if you are black. . Black and white people are the victims of violent crime in roughly equal numbers, yet 82 per cent of people executed since 1977 have been convicted of killing white victims. The lawyers and judges who preside over these legal proceedings and the people who write the laws which govern them are generally from a very different class and background to those who face the death penalty. As far as I am concerned its good old fashioned class war, the fact that many people of working class backgrounds have been persuaded to this method of justice is an example to me of how the moneyed classes keep their lessers in order. In Saudi Arabia they chop the hands of thieves.....its just another way that the poor are oppressed. Its the same method that's been used throughout history. Make the masses see that the criminal is an "other" disassociate the criminal from the rest of society.....Sell them a dream of what their society should look like and then tell them that the people who are standing in their way and ruining it for everyone are the criminals. Its almost medieaval. The idea of the Ideal as we should look to it, being held at bay by those who do not follow the programme.....Hence we see such a graphic and violent punishment for those who disturb the balance and in doing prevent us from reaching our goal. In the UK there have been many prominent cases recently which have led to a worries that our jails are in fact brimming over wiht people who should not be there. There are many parents who have been committed of killing their babies and whose cases are now being reassesed because the "expert witnesses" have been proved to be unreliable. There are examples in the USA too. The "shaken baby syndrome" which convicted the british nanny louise woodward has faced scurtiny and is now considred to be less than sure. Many of the women ( mainly women though some men) who have served jail time in the UK are now being released after trhe convictions have been deemed unsafe. Trypti Patel is one of the more famous ones over here. Thats just an example of some of the miscarriages of justice currently in the british news. If we add to that the many many unsafe convictions for other crrimes ( irishmen convicted of political crimes they didnt do for instance ) we see that the justice system simply isnt to be trusted to the degree needed to ensure no innocent is convicted. Frankly though, even if the person has been caught stood over the bleeding corpse of their victim , knife in hand with an evil grin spread across their murderous face....I still deem capital punishment an act of barbarism and the electric chair in particular is a disgrace to the modern world. As an aside there are states in th USA which have convicted children who will face the death penalty when they reach maturity. I saw one case with a pair of young lads who seemingly had struck back at their abusive father and his abusive friends by killing their dad.....Both lads were convicted both now face a jail sentence until they are old enough to be put to death. ...in 24 US states people can be sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were children......so thats just you guys and China. Not to mention of course those who have mental retardation... In 1989 the US Supreme Court ruled that it was not unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded people. Since then some 30 mentally impaired people have been executed. I read of one case for instance of a fellow who had schizophrenia .....He was sentenced to die and before he died he was given medication which gave him a temporary measure of normality ( some kind of ati psychotic agent) so that he would fully understand his fate....... We havent even talked about the brutality ofthe method....The electric chair which so often goes wrong is an abomination. At the very least if you are going to insist on slaughtering your murderers use a method that kills instantly and painlessly (injection ).....Or is it necessary that the condemned suffer mortal agony in order for justice to be served? In Europe we consider Capital Punishment to be barbaric and unfair. Last edited by DanaC; 05-03-2004 at 05:31 AM.