Posted on 12/17/2001 6:12:48 PM PST by tacticalogic
I'm not much on posting vanities, in fact I never have. But I just had another Freeper propose to me that justice and the Republic would have been better served, and we would all be better off if Carbine Williams had been executed for his crimes. I'd like to know what your thoughts are. The source at the top links to a brief history for anyone who is unfamiliar with the man and his case, and there is much more information available on the web.
Admin/Moderators - feel free to pull this if you feel it is outside of the posting guidlines.
He pled it down to a lesser charge; that means he's not a candidate for execution in any case.
I suppose the point you were thinking off was that even a convicted murderer can occasionally contribute a lot. That's a good point, but to be fair you have to look at the big picture, and look at the total cost of keeping murderers alive and behind bars forever, as opposed to the total benifit they might offer as a group.
Trust me on this one; the total benefit is pretty small, even if some exceptional characters like Williams are in the mix. The cost can be quite high; it's measured in the violence done to guards and other prisoners, and the violence done by lesser criminals who are released because there is not room to house them.
Personally, I think it is important to treat prisoners humanely, not only because it is the right thing to do but because it is in everyones long-term interest to do so. A death penalty helps to minimise the violence that occurs within prisons. I think it is inhumane to jail people together when there is nothing to stop one prisoner from brutalizing another because he has nothing to lose. Those who prey on others must have a realistic fear of a final punishment to deter them, or, as a last resort, they must be removed from the population if they cannot be deterred.
In that case, have Bogart play him.
Oh. I'm sorry, I guess I'm not sure what you are asking... As I understand it, Williams might have faced execution if convicted on the original charge, but he plea-bargained it down to a lesser charge. If he would have still faced execution anyway, there'd be no plea at maybe and maybe he'd have walked free.
Are you asking if the world be be a better place if we didn't allow people to plea down on capitol crimes? Or are you asking if the world would be better if, in this case, he somehow got convicted of the higher charge and then executed?
I assume you are asking about the second point. Personally, I'm very fond my carbine so I might be biased, but yeah, I think people should be executed for killing law enforcement officers if they are found guilty fair and square.
On the other hand, perjury in capital cases should be likewise punished. Actually, perjury in general, and especially perjury by cops, needs to be punished much more severely. If cops cannot be relied upon to obey the law, how can they possibly be expected to uphold it?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.