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Author Topic:   Death Penalty and Stanley Tookie Williams
Omnivorous
Member
Posts: 3978
From: Adirondackia
Joined: 07-21-2005
Member Rating: 7.3


Message 9 of 54 (268726)
12-13-2005 9:48 AM
Reply to: Message 2 by berberry
12-13-2005 2:34 AM


My changed mind
For the first 30-some years of my life I supported the death penalty in what I saw as appropriate cases.
My reasoning relied on the fact that some convicted killers kill again, even if imprisoned for life, taking as new victims fellow inmates jailed for property crimes, correctional officers, and citizens encountered after an escape. I argued that once they were proven killers, the State should prioritize the prevention of further taking of life.
The rub is in the world "proven".
My beliefs changed when I started paying more attention to the number of death row inmates cleared of their charges by repentant false witnesses, law school projects, DNA tests, etc., as well as the racial and class biases which have become increasingly evident.
I believe one of the noblest principles of our judicial system is the implicit tenet that it is better for some of the guilty to escape justice than for an innocent to be falsely imprisoned or executed.
The judicial system in general, and the capital punishment apparatus in particular, are too flawed to justify executions. When I could sincerely argue that executions of the innocent were extremely rare, I could continue to maintain that capital punishment is justified, though I was uncomfortable with it: I now believe that argument was naive.
The ever-increasing number of cleared death row inmates over the past few decades changed my mind.

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This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by berberry, posted 12-13-2005 2:34 AM berberry has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 10 by Silent H, posted 12-13-2005 10:08 AM Omnivorous has replied
 Message 35 by berberry, posted 12-13-2005 7:50 PM Omnivorous has not replied

Omnivorous
Member
Posts: 3978
From: Adirondackia
Joined: 07-21-2005
Member Rating: 7.3


Message 12 of 54 (268743)
12-13-2005 10:24 AM
Reply to: Message 10 by Silent H
12-13-2005 10:08 AM


Re: My changed mind
it is better for some of the guilty to escape justice than for an innocent to be falsely imprisoned or executed.
I agree, but the argument that since there are errors execution must be done away with is an extreme position. In fact I see you mention false imprisonment. Would you agree the even larger numbers of false imprisonment should end imprisonment?
I would not argue that imprisonment should be abandoned; the difference is that imprisonment is reversible--execution is not.
I don't believe it is an extreme position to believe that because the process is not merely rarely flawed, as any human process must inevitably be, but is by the available evidence extraordinarily flawed, capital punishment should be abandoned.
It is a complex, difficult issue, and I have been on both sides of the fence. I certainly do not put any moral or ethical charge against those who disagree with me, but I see no clear benefit to capital punishment, and I do see repeated abuses and errors.

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This message is a reply to:
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