Execution

[Pigskin]

CNN reports that Cuba has executed the three men who hijacked the ferry boat on April 2. That was only 9 days ago. What's wrong with those people? Where was the 15-20 years on death row at taxpayers' expense filing appeals & trying to find a "friendly" judge who could give stays of execution?

[kirch]

Are you really saying you would prefer our legal system by more like Cuba's?!?

[n567]

I've always had a hunch conservatives admired the quick and speedy legal system of totalitarian communist regimes...

Personally, I'm kind of glad we don't kill people trying to introduce freedom to their lives... Oh, and that whole trial thing is kinda nice too, dontcha think?

[Pigskin]

Oh yeah, a group of people hold guns on innocent travelers & threaten to kill them...we need more of those people in our country where they can be free.

No, they're criminals & should be dealt with as criminals. And what I don't like about our system is putting someone on death row for 15-20 years & then hours before they are to be executed after years of appeal process, someone holds things up so they can review the trial because the bad guy "might" be mentally retarded or he was so young when he committed the crime or he wasn't breast feed as a baby. Give me a break. Review the case within a year of the sentence & do the execution. This business of spending years collecting tattoos at taxpayers expense is ridiculous.

[Watchman]

How about 3 months ? That is a realistict time frame to get their case looked at.

n567...
Always seeing things were there are none hmm?
My take on it is that Pigskin admires the swift justice that was administered. No more,no less.

[CinaC]

Pigskin - it actually costs more to execute someone than to give them a life sentence.

[Watchman]

it actually costs more to execute someone than to give them a life sentence.

Crazy...
you dont actually BELEIVE that BS do you ?

Lets do the math...
Since it costs an average of 40 grand a year to house,feed,cloth and give medical attention,

40,000$ x 40 years (a conservative figure)that would be 1,600,000 bucks.

To execute with a lethal injection cost about 2 grand. To execute by electric chair may come to a couple of bucks. A firing squad would be even cheaper. A used rope might be cheaper than that.

Now, if you count lawyer fees for 10 years of appeals and all of the crap that involves that, it might come close. If we did it RIGHT, the cost would be negligable. The laywers are the only ones winning here.Its within their best interests to carry on as long as possible so that they can pad their pockets.

[ 04-12-2003, 12:47 PM: Message edited by: Watchman ]

[retired]

Pigskin,

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pigskin:
Oh yeah, a group of people hold guns on innocent travelers & threaten to kill them...we need more of those people in our country where they can be free.

No, they're criminals & should be dealt with as criminals. And what I don't like about our system is putting someone on death row for 15-20 years & then hours before they are to be executed after years of appeal process, someone holds things up so they can review the trial because the bad guy "might" be mentally retarded or he was so young when he committed the crime or he wasn't breast feed as a baby. Give me a break. Review the case within a year of the sentence & do the execution. This business of spending years collecting tattoos at taxpayers expense is ridiculous.

---

I suspect if you support the death penalty for hijacking, then an execution would be appropriate. What time constraints would you place on the "due process" clause of the BOR's to ensure the defendants rights?

Don't misunderstand me, I totally support the DP, and strongly believe that it takes far too long to execute someone. But I also strongly support our constitution, and don't want the BOR's eroded or diminished to satisfy a lust for revenge.

[dkiefner]

No Crazy is right - it DOES cost more, because of a lengthy appeals process. Blame that one on the lawyers.

OTOH though Crazy, what dollar value do you place on the victim's life?

[DMS 525]

They were kicking around bringing back the DP in my state(Iowa), but still has to become a reality.

I for one feel that if they bring it back, they need to put in the law that they get 3 appeals, then get juiced. 3 strikes, you're out. If they can't prove in 3 tries they are innocent, or need the sentence commuted, they never will. Save a lot of time, a lot of money, and take notoriety away from those eels who make a mockery of the system, and a martyr when they finally do get the switch thrown on them!

[CinaC]

Dave,

I don't think a monetary value can be placed on any life. What would it be based on? A flat rate, perhaps, with money added or subtracted based on factors like military or civil service, school attended, degrees earned, number of spouses and children and property earned?

If your point is to get me to think, "hey, it's worth it to spend the money to execute someone", I'm not going to argue with you. My point was just, as you confirmed, that the "it's cheaper to execute than to keep 'em alive for X amount of years" arguement is flawed.

[ 04-12-2003, 10:40 PM: Message edited by: ciaj ]

[retired]

DMS,

quote:

---

Originally posted by DMS 525:
They were kicking around bringing back the DP in my state(Iowa), but still has to become a reality.

I for one feel that if they bring it back, they need to put in the law that they get 3 appeals, then get juiced. 3 strikes, you're out. If they can't prove in 3 tries they are innocent, or need the sentence commuted, they never will. Save a lot of time, a lot of money, and take notoriety away from those eels who make a mockery of the system, and a martyr when they finally do get the switch thrown on them!

---

I certainly agree that most on death row make a mockery of the system. But my question is would the three appeals you propose be limited to the state, or would those three appeals include both state and federal? Would the appeals be limited to procedural or substantive challenges, or must the appeals include both, and include both state and federal remedies at the same time??

[ 04-12-2003, 11:16 PM: Message edited by: retired ]

[dkiefner]

Then I guess that we can only hope that recent and further advances in forensic science can shorten the overly-long CP process. After a convict's frivolous, pro forma appeals are exhausted, the scientific evidence remains.

[jarhead6073]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ciaj:
Pigskin - it actually costs more to execute someone than to give them a life sentence.

---

That depends on whose study you (want to) believe. I have seen studies that say it is at least a full 1/3 cheaper to execute someone on death row than to keep them in jail for the average life sentence.

[Deputy757]

Texas statistics say that it costs about $61 a day to keep someone on death row. Now, barring prosecution expense and focusing only on the costs to keep them imprisoned, it would seem to reason that if you execute them...you eventually quit paying that $61 a day.