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Old 02-11-2009, 11:20 AM
 
200 posts, read 977,172 times
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I saw this on the news last night. I guess the story was that Utah has 8 murderers on death row who have appealed for 10+ years from death row, are trying to get a bill/law passed that a murderer can only appeal once.
What do you think about this?

I am all for it, these scums took a life(plotted it out, followed through with it) so theirs should end. I guess one of the murderers (took a woman up into the canyon, tied her to a tree, tortured her, and slit her face from ear to ear) has appealed for 22+ years, the woman's son he killed has not had closure knowing his tax money is going towards housing, feeding this guy when his mother never had a chance. I couldn't imagine being in this guys shoes.

Sorry for the rambling, just had to let it out.
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Old 02-11-2009, 12:25 PM
 
Location: vagabond
2,631 posts, read 5,440,881 times
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i won't pretend that i know of all of the ramifications to the idea, but so far, that does sound like a sensible restriction.
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Old 02-11-2009, 03:08 PM
 
Location: Jones, Oklahoma
602 posts, read 1,866,979 times
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I think it's a pretty good idea, because with DNA testing these days, I think convictions are far more accurate than the used to be, however I know there have been several conviction reversals around the country for the last few years, so maybe extra consideration should be taken for those cases dating back far when the conviction was questionable? Just a thought. It irks me that taxpayers are responsible for the care of inmates. What happened to chain gangs?? lol
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Old 02-11-2009, 04:06 PM
 
Location: suburbia
595 posts, read 2,736,441 times
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If it were up to me, I'd get rid of the death penalty all together. I had to do a debate on this and found tons of info on the death penalty and its consequences. One thing I remember is that we are the only developed country that still has it, and look at us; we're still the most dangerous developed country in the world!
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Old 02-12-2009, 08:48 AM
 
Location: Outside Newcastle
281 posts, read 1,182,321 times
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While I appriciate the views of those who would like to see the appeals limited I have to agree with the belief that the death penalty should be abolished. Not because I'm some bleeding heart liberal but because I'm cheap. Putting someone to death because they killed someone else is a very emotional issue. It has all the requisites for a seemingly simple yes/no, black and white solution for murder. It has roots in the Bible so if one says they're against it they automatically can be labeled as a tree-hugger, starry eyed peacenik or at worst an infidel democrat. The fact is it's expensive. Lawyers who take the appeal cases get reinbused by the state. And if anyone has ever hired a lawyer for say, a divorce they know the longer they drag it on the more they get paid. Plenty of studies have concluded that it's a lot cheaper to keep someone in prison for life than sentance them to death. Feeding them and providing a bunk costs nothing compared to the entire cost of maintaining the prison. I'm not sure about the closure issue. I personally don't believe in closure. When you lose someone prematurely like a Mother, wife or child under any circumstances there's nothing that can magically make it better. You never completely get over it.
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Old 02-13-2009, 09:20 PM
 
14,322 posts, read 14,125,914 times
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What is really going on is that Utah and many other states are moving towards a "de facto" abolition of hte death penalty. Its based on the idea that while these are evil people there are some strong reasons to let the death penalty wither away. These include:

1. The high cost of a trial and appeals in a capital murder case.
2. The strain carrying out the death penalty imposes on innocent third parties such as prison guards, the warden, the judges, the prosecutor, and the families of the person who committed the crime. In some situations it can be a strain on the victims family as well.
3. Innocent people still end up on death row. This has been documented in both Illinois and Oklahoma. It may be far more prevalent than is assumed.
4. If the greatest sentence was life imprisonment (without parole) there would probably be much less emotion and fewer appeals in murder cases.
5. Life without parole exists in Utah and many states and is a viable alternative to the death penalty in view of the fact that prison escapes are very rare these days.
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Old 02-14-2009, 01:40 AM
 
Location: vagabond
2,631 posts, read 5,440,881 times
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i think that the entire penal system is as messed up as are our school and political systems. we give control of prisons to private companies; we put the prisoners up in comfy, relatively easy living conditions. the whole thing is a mess, and the appeals are just a single manifestation of the stupidity.

restricting appeals certainly wouldn't fix the problem, but it would be a step in the right direction.
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