Ted Rall for September 21, 2012

Presuming the first panel is true,They need to get better doctors. Any hospital that used THAT excuse for botched IVs would be sued down to the basement for malpractice.

Do they use an alcohol swab?

Yeah, I read them. And yes, your attitude sucks. I’m against capital punishment, full-stop.

Being forever exiled from society is penalty enough. It is a form of living death to social animals like humans. Just say NO to capital punishment!

We call capital punishment cruel and unusual. We make it easier on condemned killers to BE killed (executed). No one seems to remember the acts the killer did were cruel or unusual, regardless of how heinous the act. Maybe the punishment should fit the crime?

And yes the first panel is true!

“O.K. We can just send YOU the bill for the $30,000 a year it costs to feed, house, and clothe EACH prisoner.”Well, it costs far, far, far more to put a prisoner on death-row. So, guess what, mate, you’re paying through your nose for the pleasure of revenge.

“More big-government right-wingers who want to make sure the state has the power to kill people.”Did you notice Gary, that I just replied to two blokes who usually respond from the left?I’m afraid those that support the death-penalty are both from the left and right.

@olfart… does that include neutering the mad dog owner?

Apply these actions or punishments to yourself. I suspect you’ll start to understand why they are considered cruel. Isn’t cruel unconstitutional? At least for the government?

@ Scully and BraindeadI got it, and that was a George Carlin joke.

In Georgia the condemned can choose to be guillotined in order “to provide for a method of executionwhich is compatible with the donation of organs by a condemned prisoner.”

http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/1995_96/leg/fulltext/hb1274.htm

The ONLY reason I am against the death penalty is all the money the lawyers make for the endless appeals and counterappeals. Life in prison, solitary confinement, fed through a slot, never seeing anybody, one hour a day outside the cell in a common yard everybody on that death block taking turns so they don’t see even each other.

But I suppose that would be ruled cruel and unusual itself.

If the death penalty was changed to allow limited appeals in cases where guilt is absolutely certain (did it on tape, shot up a movie theater with a hundred witnesses, etc) then the murderer should be executed in the same fashion as his victims were killed. Strap you kids in cars seats and roll the car into a lake? Guess what Susie Q?!

I’m opposed to the death penalty for a number of reasons, but the chief is that the execution of even ONE innocent person invalidates the whole idea. For the sake of argument I’ll grant that perhaps no innocent person has YET been executed (I don’t believe that, but I can’t prove it one way or another), but there have been MANY cases where a guilty verdict was overturned on appeal. So if you had removed the lengthy (and expensive) appeals process in order to “streamline” the affair before this point, some of those innocents would surely have been executed. Even if you’re 100% “sure” the guy did it, go with Life Without Possibility of Parole. If it turns out — Gosh! Who knew?!? — that he’s actually innocent, you can still release him.

If you haven’t already, you should watch Erroll Morris’s 1988 documentary “The Thin Blue Line.” It will chill you.

That being said, I think we should replace the death penalty with mandatory castration for those convicted of violent, sexual, or major felonies (and I’m including White Collar felonies). One appeal, and then “snip, snip.” It may turn out to be an even BETTER deterrant than capital punishment, it ought to seriously reduce aggressive behavior IN the prisons, and if it turns out — Gosh! Who knew?!? — that the guy is actually innocent, you can still say “Well, at least we didn’t kill you.”

Ah, yes the religious right. Pro-life right up till the moment of birth.

We could give capital offenders the CHOICE between execution and Life Without Parole, but there would still be a certain segment who’d insist that those who chose Life must be condemned to Death, and those who chose Death must be condemned to Life.

“Revenge” is not “Justice.”

“Perfect Justice”, if it exists, exists only with an Omniscient Deity. If our imperfect approximation of justice inflicts punishment that is unjustly lenient, the Deity can make up for it in good time. If our imperfect approximation of justice inflicts punishment that is unjustly harsh, how do you think the Deity is going to feel about those who inflicted it?

The quality of mercy is not strain’d,It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath: it is twice blest;It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomesThe throned monarch better than his crown;His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,The attribute to awe and majesty,Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;But mercy is above this sceptred sway;It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,It is an attribute to God himself;And earthly power doth then show likest God’sWhen mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,Though justice be thy plea, consider this,That, in the course of justice, none of usShould see salvation: we do pray for mercy;And that same prayer doth teach us all to renderThe deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus muchTo mitigate the justice of thy plea.

Unfortunately, I think the opinion expressed was “all too human” (although something less than “humane”).

“My prefered method of execution…”

Should we ever have cause to execute you, we’ll take your wishes into account.

I just don’t think the state should kill people. I don’t think people should kill people, and the state is ultimately the people of the state. I don’t want to kill anyone, and I don’t think handing the job over to the state somehow eliminates my share of the responsibility.

You DO realize that this is actually cheaper than putting prisoner’s to death, once all of the legal costs are factored in, right? Or is it just your bloodlust that gets in the way of your reason?

If the dog is rabid you still wait for a second bite???? I don’t think so….even in Tennessee.

“What happened to the libs who love to comment on the higher percentage of one race being executed over another race?”

We’re still here, and the point is still valid, but it’s not immediately applicable to the topic at hand. Still, I’m sure we’re game if you are.

However, as human alluded to it’s not simply “race”, it’s also “class” (as so many “race” issues ultimately are). You may be 100% guilty of murder in the first degree, but if you can afford a decent lawyer you will not face the chair; you may not even be convicted. If all you have is an overworked Public Defender, the chances you’ll be convicted (rightly or wrongly) and sentenced to death (justly or unjustly) skyrocket.

Brother did you bring me silver?Brother did you bring me gold?What did you bring me, dear brother,To keep me from the gallows pole?