I hope people understand the grave injustice by the state. There are 300 people on death row, and everyone is not a monster. Texas is carrying out a very inhumane and injustice. It's not right to kill anybody just because I killed your people. Everyone changes, right? Life is about experience and people change.
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I hope you don't find satisfaction in this, watching a human being die.
I always find the phrasing of these posts weird, as if we have to pretend that Texas has not executed innocent people before and this would be a first.
on edit: not just the post, but the articles, we must pretend that of course this would be a first time event that would otherwise sully the fine nature of the criminal justice system with accidentally murdering someone.
I'm not from the US, so my knowledge on the death penalty is quite limited. But I clicked on a link posted below listing executions in Texas, and I was shocked to see that the most recent execution was last year for a crime committed back in 1993. Why?? You've already locked the guy up for almost three decades, what possible benefit is there to executing him now?
I get that he ruined (well, ended) someones life, but what does society gain from ruining his life in turn, to the point of what feels like mental torture: Being locked up for such a long time, all the while knowing that you will eventually just be executed.
If someone murdered a loved one of mine, I don't see how having the state execute them would make things any better for me. I'd be satisfied if they were simply imprisoned so they could not hurt others. Punishing them further wouldn't help me at all.
>Legal experts say his case is rare, even in Texas, the execution capital of America — and a state that allows capital punishment for people who did not kill anyone or did not intend to kill.
Forty six US states have Felony Murder statutes. I don't think this is all that rare for states with capital punishment. According to the wiki "...the death penalty may be imposed if the defendant is a major participant in the underlying felony and 'exhibits extreme indifference to human life'."
For the record I am STRONGLY opposed to the death penalty (for moral/religious reasons).
That said, I wonder if you live in the same Texas I visit each year. The vast majority of Texans support the death penalty.
A University of Texas (Austin) poll last year showed 49% of Texans support the death penalty. 26% somewhat support. That's almost 20 million Texans. While just 19% are opposed (of which just 9% strongly oppose).
So it seems the death penalty cannot be enforced if it cannot be investigated or adjudicated with a necessary and sufficient degree of rigor. It also doesn't serve a purpose as a deterrent (criminals aren't smart enough to anticipate outcomes). Furthermore, it makes the society that dispenses it appear governed by a 3rd-world authoritarian regime. Finally, it's an expensive process and a bloodlust spectacle. Better off keeping cretins alive behind bars for the remote possibility of rehabilitation and let them live with themselves rather than giving them an easy out.
I think you misunderstand my question. I'm not wondering how often innocent people get executed in Texas relative to the number of people murdered. I'm asking about the absolute number.
This doesnt contribute to the OP's discussion but i thought i'd mention it anyway.
Texas love executing people. Since 1976 Texas executed 498 people, the state in second place is Virginia with 110. Also, their supreme court does not hear criminal matters, only civil, because it makes the appeals process for executing people faster.
Jesus Christ. Death penalty advocates always say there are so many checks and that only absolute monsters are executed but this is a case made off animal spirits and the testimony of a fellow prisoner, both of which were later called into serious question. What the fuck.
I think that a lot of people are just bloodthirsty and once they’ve categorized somebody as evil then anything can be done to them. Unbelievable.
Executed for killing another inmate in a fight..
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