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Nope - for the rules of warfare govern the battle field and, while unfortunate, innocents will be killed during war.
BTW - ever been on a battlefield - while weapons are being fired?
Ugh, I agree with you
Sorry but when a guy breaks into a womens house rapes and kills her is not even on the same level as a soldier who is under fire and mistakenly hits a civilian target. Also give the cowards in Iraq hide amongst the innocent people making even tougher.
I think alot of the convictions that were later overturned could have been avoided with today's forensics.
I support it. Since we are into multiculturalism nowadays, we should do what other countries do. If you steal, we chop of your hands. If you kill, we hang you. If you rape someone, we stone you to death.
Perhaps this would create many one handed politicians as they seem to always steal from the people... hmmmm
I guess I wonder in this system ... what if you didnt do it?
I like the idea of 3 strikes and you're out. forever. no chance of parole. done. If that includes the death penalty, so be it.
Crimes against children, the elderly or otherwise helpless; 2 strikes and you're out. forever. Death penalty? sure.
This country needs to set some boundaries and STICK TO THEM. People need to have a sense of personal responsibility and be held accountable for their actions. From Washington on down.
Make the penalties so severe that capitol crimes become unthinkable rather than a matter of course. THIS is the only way to have a civilised society. And it needs to start at home. Kids need a smack now and then. Don't get your panties in a bunch, I am not advocating abusing children, but a healthy dose of fear goes hand and hand with respect of parents and THEIR rules, which easily translate to behavior in the streets.
Last I heard, we "claim" to be a country which doesn't torture (although the torture memos released today would contractict such statements made by the previous administration). There's a little something about cruel and unusual punishment somewhere......now WHERE COULD THAT BE?
You want those kinds of punishements for crimes, move to Iran.
I read all of yours.Mine is based on a change in the current judicial process.Death penalty is also only in play if it is premeditated.If someone is murdered and you have a suspect, unless DNA proved it was them, they flat out confessed or the cops caught the perp in the act;that would be the only way that I would be for it.Based on the constitution and UCMJ everyone is innocent until proven guilty and allowed their day in court.
"Only if it is premeditated"........not so in Florida. We have what is called "felony murder." One can be charged with felony murder, and the prosecutor can seek the death penalty, if YOU happened to be driving the get-away car, and just sitting outside the convenience store which your buddy is robbing, and your buddy kills the clerk in the commission of a felony, THEN you, as the driver of the get-away car, who didn't have a clue that your friend would kill the clerk, MAY STILL BE CHARGED WITH FELONY MURDER and YOUR CASE COULD (OFTEN IS) A DEATH PENALTY CASE, and you could go to death row and be executed because you were driving the car and just waiting outside for your friend who robbed the store, and killed the clerk without you knowledge or consent.
VERY RECENTLY, a state just passed a law that REQUIRES there to be DNA evidence or some other reliable physical evidence which links the person to the murder or the prosecutors cannot bring a death penalty case against someone. You do realize that there are people tried for murder and the prosecutors do not seek the death penalty, don't you?
Problem with the death penalty is that we human beings are NOT PERFECT and so our "systems" are NOT PERFECT. Therefore, the death penalty cannot possibly be fairly administered........there will always be mistakes in trials and in verdicts. Therefore, life in prison without the possibility of parole EVER, make more sense. The Death Penalty is a VERY EXPENSIVE $$$$ luxury. We do execute innocent people. And if the ultimate penalty were life without the possibility of parole ever, then when we discover MISTAKES and wrongly convicted people, well, they're not dead yet. It's hard to rectify a mistaken death sentence after the innocent person has already been killed by the state.
In Florida we do have a sentence option in death penalty cases of life in prison without the possibility of parole EVER. It's commonly referred to as LWOP. Put on the books in 1996,
I did indeed read your post did you read mine? Even if they are caught in the act constitutionally they are required to be able to use the full appeals process which takes a lot of time and money.
Secondly even if they are caught red handed doing a heinous crime their is no guerantee they will get the death penalty because of people's perception of their character, their victims etc. i.e. Dan White. I find those variances in justice and potential punishment too high to allow for a death penalty.
I could not agree with you more. I think many people are unaware that a d.p. case is a two-part proceeding. Guilt/innocence trial. Sentencing trial. In some states they do NOT execute mentally retarded people. So what if a mentally retarded person were caught in the act of killing someone, that issue has to be dealt with in the sentencing phase.
I don't understand why people generally do not understand that all these appeals procedures are in place to PROTECT THE ENTIRE POPULATION.
Life in prison is not cheaper for the state.I do agree that any execution should be only based on no chance of innocence though (caught in the act,dna-exact match).We have such overcrowding in prisons based on non residents,ridiculous drug charges,and too many life sentences. If we have to keep someone in prison for life with no chance of parole and they are an admitted murderer or they were caught in the act then why not take them in the room,firing squad,OVER??? A bullet is sure to cost less then paying for 40 years of feeding someone or keeping them alive!
YES, life in prison is much cheaper than the death penalty. The costs are very high to kill someone. Who do you think pays for all those appeals? It cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to execute just ONE person. I some cases it's close to a million dollars or more.
"It would cut the department's current $2.2 billion budget by about $50 million...Florida currently has approximately 100,000 men and women in prison."
Austin13... perhaps you should start with research on your OWN state... the state of Florida has been working with an education budget of $22k per year, per inmate. How much do you think the average American spends on their child's education each year? The actual tuition that is... room & board is already covered in prison, so don't start dogpiling your numbers with dorm costs/meals.
In fact, as hot and humid as it is in Florida, NO PRISONS HAVE A/C FOR INMATES.
"...ten of the major state-managed prisons in Florida have air-conditioning in some portion of the facility housing inmates...The five Florida prison facilities built under the privatization contract are also air-conditioned."
Well, there are two of your links. Granted, there is a possibility that Florida has REMOVED the A/C from those prisons since 2007, but I doubt it. I think you need to do some research before you post any other LIES.
Now if you want to find information about the other things I've posted about America's prison system, do your own research. I am not going to spend the rest of my life educating ALL of the world (or this forum's) ignorant (I doubt that I could finish even if I attempted to, honestly). Sometimes I am just SUCKED in by the level of ignorance, but seriously folks... quit posting outright LIES. Your ignorance has reached OUTLANDISH proportions!
Well, actually for six years my work involved interviewing inmates at most of the prisons in Florida, including death row. So I've physically been to most of our prisons. The only a/c I noticed was the air conditioning for the guards and prison personnel.
I know there was a lawsuit by the ACLU to install a/c for death row inmates, however, the ACLU lost, and the DOC gave each inmate a small fan. The temps in those cells regularly get well over 100 degrees in the summertime. The inmates try to deal with that heat by lying down on the concrete floors of their cells and pour water over themselves to keep cool. During the summertime, ALL the inmates on death row look pale, thin, and totally drained. They are trying to avoid heat strokes by lying on the concrete floors and pouring water over themselves during the day.
The budget for FOOD for Florida prisons was CUT LAST YEAR in order to save money. YES, the budget for the entire state of Florida was cut last year because we had so little money. State employees were required to take unpaid days off because there was not enough money to pay everyone their same salary. There has been a hiring freeze in this state. And YOU THINK THAT THE LEGISLATORS ARE GOING TO GIVE DOC MONEY FOR COLLEGE EDUCATIONS???
When was the last time you visited a prison in florida?
QUOTE FROM YOUR LINK:
"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Education for inmates would be cut to the minimum required by federal law, saving the state more than $3 million and under a proposed budget discussed by Senate lawmakers."
"Education" does not necesarily mean a COLLEGE DEGREE. There are programs which teach "life skills" to inmates, as well as things like how to be car mechanic, etc.......trades education. Things that might possibilty help the inmates not to return to prison once they leave so they will have a trade or a skill in order to get a job.
Additionally, the $2.2 billion budget IS FOR THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. That means salary and benefits for guards and other personnel, salary and benefits for the administrative employees for the DOC in Tallahassee, that means food, medical treatment, and maintenance of the prison facilities all over the state.
ALSO FROM YOUR ABOVE LINK:
"Only ten of the major state-managed prisons in Florida have air-conditioning in some portion of the facility housing inmates, and many of these are located in South Florida. The following institutions have air-conditioning in the areas indicated: Lancaster C.I. (confinement area); Union C.I. (13 dorms);....."
Union C.I. is in North Florida. It is a very large facility. Google "The Rock" and check out its history. Most of the death row inmates are housed at Union C.I. .........there is NO a/c on death row at Union C.I. I've been there many times. I know that for a fact. There is a/c in the administrative portion of Union C.I. where there guards work, where legal visits takes place, and where administrative personnel work. The cells of the d.r. inmates DO NOT HAVE AIR CONDITIONING.
Let's see, now. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE DEATH PENATLY IN THIS THREAD, AREN'T WE?
And then there is Florida State Prison, right next door to Union C.I. Some death row inmates are housed there. That is also where the death chamber is. NO A/C for the inmates at Florida State Prison. There is actually a cluster of prisons in that area where Florida State Prison and Union C.I. are located. Those prisons are surrounded by swampland, and I promise you that the heat up there in the summertime is HOTTER than the heat in South Florida. In the swampland there is NO BREEZE whatsoever. Not to mention the humidity.
What was it you said about me posting lies???
As for this statement in your post " the state of Florida has been working with an education budget of $22k per year, per inmate." I did not see a LINK to that so-called fact. The State of Florida spends $22,000 per year, per inmate, on EDUCATION???
I know for a fact that there at least 300 inmates on death row who not only have no access to any educational programs, but that the arts and crafts which they were allowed to PURCHASE WITH THEIR OWN CANTEEN MONEY were taken away from them.
What pray tell has the DOC been doing with an "education budget" of $22,000 per year per inmate??? Certainly NOT spending $22,000 per inmate per year on education. Did you know that the previous Secretary of the DOC in Florida was fired from his job and sent to prison for "racketeering" because of kickbacks he was getting from various vendors which sold goods to the prisoners?
Perhaps you might want to look up the word "arrogance" the next time you think you are an expert on something before you freak out and accuse others of ignorance and lies.
2008 information regarding cutting budget for food in Florida prisons:
"TALLAHASSEE — Mushy bland broccoli stems accompanied by a greasy mystery meat endowed with undercooked rice is as good as it gets for inmates behind bars.
But, according to the vendor who provides the food and some lawmakers, that's still too good.
They want to cut as much as $11 million from prison food contracts as part of an effort to pare about $3 billion from next year's state budget.
The state now pays $2.67 for three meals a day for each inmate. Lawmakers in the House want to reduce that cost to $2.30 a day."
So, yeah, $22,000 per inmate, per year, for EDUCATION. Yeah, right.
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