Bill to Abolish the Death Penalty Advances!

[Mali]

Why is it that we like to say "what part of shall not be infringed don't you understand?" when the government wants to enact gun laws, but we ignore the references to being deprived of "life liberty or property" in the same constitution? If the government wrongfully deprives one person of their right to life, that is significant.

Let's not forget that the same person has already done so to another human being by conscious decision. Although the decision to put this person to death is being set by the government, did not the accused already make that choice when they willfully and deliberately took another person's life?
This isn't just about that single person this is about that single person's decisions and actions.

[Mudinyeri]

Why is it that we like to say "what part of shall not be infringed don't you understand?" when the government wants to enact gun laws, but we ignore the references to being deprived of "life liberty or property" in the same constitution? If the government wrongfully deprives one person of their right to life, that is significant.

The Bill of Rights is for law abiding citizens.  When one chooses to commit a crime, one also chooses to give up some or all of one's rights.  Following your logic, we should never jail anyone because it would deprive them of their right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

[Husker_Fan]

That's why I wrote "wrongfully deprives" someone the right to life. Innocent people have been executed and Alabama just exonerated its 30th death row inmate.

I have moral and religious problems with the death penalty but I'm setting those aside for now and just looks at the civic issues. Civilly, the government can execute. I happen to believe the piss poor way it has done so is reason enough to end the practice.


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[Mudinyeri]

Innocent people have been executed ....

Not a single person executed since the death penalty was reaffirmed in 1976 has been posthumously exonerated. 

[Husker_Fan]

By a court? Probably not. Dead people have no standing to appeal there convictions. There have been over a dozen, depending on the cases you accept, where it has happened.

One example is Cammeron Todd Willingham who was executed for deaths resulting from a fire he was accused of starting. After his execution in 2004 the state of Texas determined it wasn't even arson.


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[Mudinyeri]

By a court? Probably not.

Courts, pardons ... not a one since 1976.

Yes, there have been posthumous exonerations over the course of U.S. history.  However, despite the concerted efforts of numerous anti-death penalty groups, not a single "modern" posthumous exoneration.

[Husker_Fan]

There have been over a dozen. You seem to not want to count them because they were not done by courts or granted pardons. The problem is that courts won't hear posthumous appeals so you won't get one of those.

The pre-76 pardons came 60 to 100 years after the fact. You seem to think the lack of a posthumous pardon in the last 40 years means it hasn't happened. That's like refusing to acknowledge that the sky is blue because a unicorn hasn't told you it is.

To argue that no one has been wrongfully executed when 144 death row inmates have been released as innocent (4% of the death row convicts since 76) defies logic.


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[Mudinyeri]

There have been over a dozen. You seem to not want to count them because they were not done by courts or granted pardons. The problem is that courts won't hear posthumous appeals so you won't get one of those.

The pre-76 pardons came 60 to 100 years after the fact. You seem to think the lack of a posthumous pardon in the last 40 years means it hasn't happened. That's like refusing to acknowledge that the sky is blue because a unicorn hasn't told you it is.

To argue that no one has been wrongfully executed when 144 death row inmates have been released as innocent (4% of the death row convicts since 76) defies logic.


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I'm just stating facts.  Do you have a citation for your "over a dozen"?