Death penalty

DNA frees man - 18 years later. It is cases like this that have made me change my views on death penalty. I used to think a person that killed or raped or hurt a child deserved to die. Then I saw the movie Life of David Gale. They proved to me that there will always be resonable doubt, that no matter what evidence there is, what people saw, we will never know 100% what happened in the majority crimes. So I no longer believe in the death penalty. Especially when people can be convicted of a crime and then 18 years later be freed when they prove it wasn't him. Poor man.

Comments

teacherwoman said…
I don't like the death penalty either. But, if someone is proven guilty, by DNA especially, I would have to say they deserve to spend their sorry a** in jail. Maybe even put on death row. The sad thing is, even with the death penalty in some states, our prisons are growing fast with little or no room for inmates. Sad.

Why can't everyone just get along.
3/21/2006 4:03 PM
cdoc said…
This is probably not what you meant, but I don't think putting people on death row will solve our growing prison problem. You are right, we all should just get along, we need to find solutions to stop crimes instead of focusing on how to punish them. Also, DNA testing doesn't always prove anything. If you read the link to the article about the man freed 18 years later, DNA tests were done in December, but they were inconclusive because they didn't do advanced testing. When they did the more advanced testing just recently, they found he was not connected to the crime and freed. I am sure the advanced testing is expensive, so they don't always do it, and the less advanced testing obviously doesn't always prove things right since it didn't for this man in December. So like I said, there will always be reasonable doubt, which is why I am against the death penalty.
3/22/2006 9:15 AM
Anonymous said…
We are one of the ONLY "civilized" countries in the world that have the death penalty. The other ones have since realized or always knew that the death penalty will neither deter people from committing crimes nor punish those that do the crimes (esp. in light of wrongful convictions). I think we should try to learn a little from the world community ... most of these countries have been around for FAAAAAARRRRRR longer than we have.
3/24/2006 9:54 AM
teacherwoman said…
That wasn't what I mean, I am sorry it came off that way! Oops. I am strongly against the DP as well. But, I do believe that in some cases it can "seem" like the right thing to do. As such as the Dru Sjodin case. And there is definitely enough information to say that he did commit that crime. Sometimes it seems as if it is only an eye for eye....very interesting topic.
3/24/2006 2:02 PM
Girl of Approval said…
I am against the death penalty for the sheer idea that death does not deter crime. Also, the innocent who are found guilty weigh on my mind, along with the question "is death justice?" Does that vindicate the victim? I don't think it does.
3/26/2006 12:29 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder"

I was always a bit skeptic of this phrase. How can being away from a person make you fonder? With time, you will slowly start to forget the sound of their laughter and the scent of their hair. You will forget the way they dance and the way they like their toast. Sure, when you see them again, when they laugh or dance, all those things come rushing back. Being away may make you yearn for them, but you no longer know them as well as you used to. At least that is what I used to think. I should have know this phrase was true since whenever I would see my sisters again, it was like no time had passed. I don't know what it was that made me realize all that I took for granted, maybe it is being away from home for so long or my travel mishaps or my friend's car accident or maybe just that I am getting older, something made me see how I took everything for granted in my life before I came here. It was so easy, I could go up the stairs or across the hall or get in my car and spend a day
Read more

What do I do?

All week I have made some attempt to tell the parents I am leaving. It started on Tuesday, all night I tried to tell them, but everytime I was about to bring it up, one of the parents would leave the room or the baby got hurt, etc. Wednesday, I made plans to go to the neighbors when the parents got home, but I made an attempt to tell them anyway, but S was glued to my side. I kept trying to distract her with food and television, but no go. I could have just said "I need to talk to you parents, go away", but I know her well enough to know that would have only peaked her interest and she would never go away. Last night, I was SO ready to tell them. The father asked me to watch the girls for 15 minutes while he weed-whacked the yard. I said sure, thinking the mother should be home any minute and then I could tell her when he is outside (I decided that if I can't tell them both at the same time, I will tell the mother alone). I waited and waited and waited. Not only was it 8
Read more

Target

I called my Mom to tell her that the parents are back and that I am responsibility-free in the evenings and weekends again. She didn't answer, but returned my phone call soon after. I told her my news, and she shared with me that she was about to head into the new Target. We are a family of Target-lovers, what's not to love? As she walked in, she said "it's huge." I tried talking to her, but could tell that she was distracted. She started to ask me something, "Did you... you should see the card section, it is like the one in Grand Forks." I, again, tried to change the subject back to what I was talking about. I finally let her go because she needed to finish shopping in there before returning home to watch Lost, throwing in "it has a Starbucks" before we said our goodbyes. A few minutes later my phone rings. It is my Mom again, she called to say "You should see all the food they have. They have a lot of organic food, organic oatmeal and or
Read more