Posted on 04/18/2015 8:34:42 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The Boston Globe has published a heartbreaking appeal from the parents of Martin Richard, the 8-year-old boy who died in the Boston Marathon bombing. Bill and Denise Richard (who were also injured in the blast, along with their two surviving children) are asking prosecutors to stop seeking the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was recently found guilty of carrying out the attacks with his late brother, Tamerlan. Rather the seeing Tsarnaev killed — and enduring the years of legal maneuvering that generally precede an execution in the United States — the Richards want the 21-year-old sentenced to life in prison "without any possibility of release and waiving all of his rights to appeal."
In the Boston Bombing Trial, the Defense Is Trying to Walk a Tricky Line to Keep Tsarnaev Alive Defense Admits Tsarnaev Is Guilty in First Day of Marathon Bombing Trial From the Richards' piece in the Globe:
We understand all too well the heinousness and brutality of the crimes committed. We were there. We lived it. The defendant murdered our 8-year-old son, maimed our 7-year-old daughter, and stole part of our soul. We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives. We hope our two remaining children do not have to grow up with the lingering, painful reminder of what the defendant took from them, which years of appeals would undoubtedly bring.
For us, the story of Marathon Monday 2013 should not be defined by the actions or beliefs of the defendant, but by the resiliency of the human spirit and the rallying cries of this great city. We can never replace what was taken from us, but we can continue to get up every morning and fight another day. As long as the defendant is in the spotlight, we have no choice but to live a story told on his terms, not ours. The minute the defendant fades from our newspapers and TV screens is the minute we begin the process of rebuilding our lives and our family.
In a statement responding to the Richards' letter, United States attorney for Massachusetts Carmen M. Ortiz said, "As the case moves forward, we will continue to do all we can to protect and vindicate those injured and those who have passed away." The sentencing phase of Tsarnaev's trial is set to begin next week.
skip the appeals , put him in stocks for five days on Boston Common and then hang whatever is left . Pillory the bastard . Send a real message . Life in prison is a poor deterrent . 3 squares a day , all sorts of activities and education opportunities , all paid for by the tax payer ...forget about it .
Lynch his ass
What about the other families of victims that want him executed? Why does the opinion of this family matter more than theirs?
Life in prison without the possibility of release and waiving all rights to appeal is a pretty strong sentence. My only problem with that is.. he is a radical terrorists, plotting mass destruction.. Do we really want him conducting classes in prison? The expense and risks of keeping him alive is a bit much. In prison, he will likely have a strong following of the death to America crowd that already exists.
That is okay. Your right in America. However while the tragedy wa deeply personal for you it does not belong to you. It was an attack on America and all Americans by our muslim enemies. Ilsma is at war with America and in war there is a bigger picture that we must never lose sight of. Our enemies think we are weak. In many ways we surely are weaker then our grandparents generation. But the tide is turning. We are bigenning to regrow our spine. The only manner in which we can deal with these enemy combatants that kill our citizens is to execute them when we have that option. We have that option. This enemy must be executed.
Yeah - you feel their loss every bit as much as they do and have said the same prayers to God and asked Him how to go on with your life without being eaten up with hate.
Someone with a "Dr." lead-in would be expected to sound a bit brighter than that instead of relying on visceral emotion....
There was absolutely nothing manly about Coward McVeigh. He lost that by knowingly blowing up a day care facility. He was too much a coward to face his own evil, so in effect he committed suicide.
Didn’t bother to actually read their reasoning behind their opinion, I see. How long have you been proudly commenting on threads without reading the articles?
No visceral emotion here. Just “Rule of Law”.
This is not really an argument against the death penalty, but rather for a swift execution.
Sorry, I don’t buy it.
Just because they’re victims doesn’t make them experts.
I guess the question that begs to be answered is what makes you and expert in this type situation?
Also, while "rule of law" allows for them to be put to death (I'm actually for it), it doesn't demand it.
Unless you can cite a cae where said "rule of law" actually demands the death penalty, I will have to think that the "visceral emotion" you deny may be a part of your formulation of opinion - it seems that those who actually suffer the harm may be more relevant than what one thinks "rule of law" means without actually knowing what it says....BTW - I did some research on whether there is any crime which demands, by law, the death penalty and could only find some opinion pieces and some Old Testament edicts (some of which include lying about virginity and practicing magic), but could not find any case where rule of law demands, rather than justifies it.
This is story proof that liberalism is a mental disease. Good money says that these parents are idiot liberals.
Rule of Law is allowing for the PROCESS take its course, according to the system we have established. I did not advocate for a particular sentence.
Appealing to emotion is asking the mother of one of the dead victims what they think should be done, despite that there’s a process in place. Without knowing the parents, it seems unlikely they’re in a proper state of mind to evaluate objectively.
I doubt Tsarnaev’s mother has a newsworthy opinion of the process either.
OK - still doesn't say that the victims don't get input; both those who would plead for leniency and those who would ask for death. I didn't see anywhere that the family asked that the due process not be taken, just that they wished leniency. My personal opinion is that he should be put to death, but that opinion comes from outside the actual event.
Now that you have clarified, I believe we may be at least on the same bookshelf - I apologize for my initial antagonism.
According to the Congressional Research Service 170 members of the House and 60 Senators are lawyers.
Out of a total of 435 U.S. Representatives and 100 Senators (535 total in Congress), lawyers comprise the biggest voting block of one type, making up 43% of Congress.
Sixty percent of the U.S. Senate is lawyers. Enough said. 37.2% of the House of Representatives are lawyers
There are 81 Republican lawyers in Congress who list "lawyer" as their profession. There are 123 Democrat lawyers in Congress that list "lawyer" as their profession.
Some may have not told that they had a law degree or practiced law, because they were doing something else, e.g., doctor, industrialist, teacher, real estate agent/broker, etc. It seems that the medical and real estate professions are also heavily represented in Congress.
Socrates would be proud that we both came to a different state of understanding the other’s position.
Of course, I probably could have said it differently than “Who Cares?” the first time. You were correct to point out the apparent lack of compassion in that statement.
Let’s drive on and win this war on our culture.
Respectfully,
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