I think even the most ardent anti-Death Penalty folks were on board with killing McVeigh.
McVeigh was significantly older than this guy, and I don’t recall that anyone else was said to have had a strong influence over him like the brother might have had in this case. I suspect life in prison will be the call. As has been said here, this is Massachusetts, not a death penalty friendly state.
There are a few folks on this forum opposed to death penalty at any time for any reason.
I don’t see any of them on this thread ... Perhaps they could show up and apply their principles to this case.
I respectfully disagree with the death penalty. fromoccupiedga gives the best (IMO) conservative argument for which is: “Mercy to criminals is malevolence to their victims”
I have 2 main reasons that I oppose the death penalty:
1. I believe in the sanctity of life. I oppose abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty.
2. I have seen how corrupt our government has become and the thought of the government wielding life or death power over all of us chills me. The government has no problem taxing you into poverty, persecuting you via the IRS, FBI, or other agencies. The government sees no problem with forcing you to bake a cake for a gay wedding. The government has no problem setting up 0vomitcare death panels. What makes you think it will act with any restraint when it sees fit to start putting to death political opposition? Or maybe it will sentence to death someone whose kidney is needed by a Clinton or a Kennedy. Far-fetched? So was gay marriage a few years ago.
I’m not saying that some people don’t deserve the death penalty. In fact, I think some people (child molesters and terrorists) deserve to be tortured first. But I believe that death is for God to decide. Putting the power of life and death into the hands of an increasingly corrupt government is a mistake.
(I do believe in the right of all of us to use deadly force in order to protect ourselves or others. In this case, it’s a choice of one life vs. another and I am willing to shoot someone who is attacking me or a loved one.)