Posted on 05/13/2014 6:01:29 AM PDT by richardb72
The death-penalty debate goes on. After a piece that I wrote about the debate last week, National Review’s Charles C. W. Cooke wrote a response, followed later by a much stronger attack by the Washington Post’s Radley Balko.
Cooke’s response was philosophical and drew a distinction between killing someone in self-defense and using the death penalty, though given the evidence that the death penalty deters murders and thus saves lives, that distinction isn’t as clear as he thinks.
Balko, a blogger/reporter for the Washington Post, based his reply on empirical evidence. He puts a lot of faith in studies by death-penalty opponents. Let me address his major points in turn: “It’s important to factor in the severity of the crime. And when a black defendant and a white defendant are convicted of murders with similar aggravating circumstances, the black defendant is significantly more likely to get the death penalty.”
Over the period from 1977 to 2011, the rate of aggravating circumstances for murders was higher for black defendants for murder than it was for whites. Yet, despite that and with whites accounting for fewer murders than blacks (whites commit about 46.8 percent of all murders committed by whites and blacks), whites account for 57 percent of the white and black prisoners sentenced to death for murder.
Finally, even after being sentenced to death at a higher rate than blacks, whites on death row over the decades have had a significantly higher probability of actually being executed than blacks. Over the years from 1977 to 2011, 65 percent of the total number of whites and blacks who have been executed have been white. . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
To hell with numbers and percentages. How ‘bout we just euthanize murderers regardless of their skin color?!
And FORCED LABOR CAMPS for ‘baby daddies’ who don’t pay for their childrens upbringing
The pity expressed for convicted murderers is disgusting. The convicted killer when executed is merely receiving his due and receiving ones due is justice.
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The deterrence issue is completely irrelevant. Our justice system is based on the individual and what that individual does. It doesn't matter what other people do or how other people react. Irrelevant.
To answer the "deterrence issue", here's all you have to say, every time the death penalty is applied, its 100% deterrence. That convicted murderer will never kill again. Killers continue to kill in prison. Some dude in prison for a burglary, could end up getting killed in prison by a convicted killer. He gets the death penalty, while the convicted murderer continues on his merry way.
Wait until they compare stats of women EXECUTED to men. War on Women my butt.
There are people on death row who kill guards and other prisoners. Executing them guarantees that they won’t kill again. Just locking them up for life does not prevent further murders.
Once conservatives are the chairmen of the senate and house judiciary committees, waiting 20 or 30 years on death row before execution should become a thing of the past. Some of the reforms they could make are in no way unjust, but would be of immense help in expediting the process.
1) Declare states to be “competent authorities” to carry out executions by whatever means they choose. This would eliminate endless appeals over the minutiae of the *means* of execution. Hanging, electrocution, the gas chamber, lethal injection, the firing squad. All of which should be based on state competency.
2) Move all death penalty appeals to the front of the appeals court docket. No more waiting years just for the appeal to be heard.
3) Limit appellate continuances to one month each for the defense and prosecution, and one for the judge to use at his discretion. No six months or year long continuances at the drop of a hat.
Ideally, just these three things should reduce the time from sentencing to execution from 2 to 3 decades to just five years, as a maximum.
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