to what end??

[ice grillin you]

this seriously is effed up though

even if he is spared and i believe he will be....its still amazing how its even made it this far

im against the death penalty across the board...but even if youre a supporter you gotta say to yourself good god what is going on when you kill someone like this....enough is enough

[Phanatic]

I think Texas convicted and executed a 'mentally challenged' person a few years back. They are leading the way aren't they...

[Diomedes]

i agree. i'm not saying it should happen while the victim's body is still warm. but there is a place for it in a functioning society.

In a functioning theocracy, sure.  In a functioning dictatorship, sure.   In a democracy, no.

It's never okay for the government of a democracy to execute a citizen.  You cannot say that the citizens control the government AND that the government can kill citizens (under ANY circumstance).  The two are mutually exclusive.

If you want captial punishment, then you don't really want democracy.

by another tack:
The reason we have juries is because we recognize that an injured party cannot fairly mete out justice.  That's a human fact.  It is also a fact that, though governments mete out justice more fairly than mobs or injured parties, even the best governments get it wrong.  So, in the same way civilized societies agree that it's wise not to allow injured parties to deliver justice, civilized societies also agree that it would be best for everyone if the government policy does not deal death.

[Phanatic]

But you are tried by your peers and a jury decides if you get death. Not the judge or government. Doesn't make it right or wrong. Just saying...

[Diomedes]

You've described only the particular apparatus by which the killing is arranged.  That system--jury trial, jury death penalty sentence--operates only because the government allows capital punishment.  It is the government that kills the citizen, not the jury.  They're just playing a role in the government's killing routine.

[Phanatic]

I see what your saying, just not buying. There are lots of strange paths that this logic brings the argument too. No need to go there as I don't feel that strongly about being pro death penalty.

I do think the criminal justice system in general needs a good overhaul, just don't know what needs to be done as I'm just some shmo with a 'puter...

[ice grillin you]

Virginia Governor Delays Walton Execution

RICHMOND, Va. -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Thursday delayed the execution of a triple killer just over an hour before he was scheduled to be put to death amid claims he is mentally retarded and insane.

Kaine's decision came moments after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request for a stay of execution.

Percy Walton, 27, had been scheduled to die by injection at 9 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional Center for the 1996 murders of three neighbors in Danville.

Kaine delayed the execution for six months to allow for an independent evaluation of Walton's mental condition and competence.

"It would be imprudent to either proceed with the execution or grant clemency without further review," Kaine said.

Under the governor's action, Walton's execution will be delayed until Dec. 8.

The Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional to execute the insane and mentally retarded, but left it up to the states to define retardation. In their petition to the high court, Walton's attorneys argued that Walton is suffering from schizophrenia and is incapable of understanding the concept of death, therefore making him ineligible for execution. In a clemency petition to Kaine, they also argued that Walton is mentally retarded.

The Virginia attorney general's office has argued that intelligence scores taken when Walton was 17 and 18 place him above the accepted range for mental retardation, though other evaluations were conflicting. They also refute Walton's claims that he is insane.

Walton pleaded guilty in 1997 to the murders of Jessie and Elizabeth Kendrick, a couple in their 80s, and 33-year-old Archie Moore. The victims were robbed and shot in the head; Moore's body was found stuffed in a closet, his corpse doused in cologne.

Elizabeth Kendrick's sister, 85-year-old Irene Jurscaga, said she thinks Walton is faking his behavior in order to save his own life. She had planned to witness the execution.

"He must be taken out of society," Jurscaga said, sobbing. "He was sane. He was just on a rampage."

But the Kendricks' daughter, Barbara Case, 68, of Brandon, Miss., said she has forgiven Walton for murdering her parents and is ambivalent about his fate.

"I'd be just as happy if he spent the rest of his life locked up thinking about what he did each and every day," she said.

[Wingspan]

Virginia Governor Delays Walton Execution, Craved for a Whopper

[mussa]

 

Well at least he doesn't rot in jail for the rest of his life and rape poor young white guys

[Seabiscuit36]

Christ his name is Percy, Put him down....mEh

[bobbyinlondon]

You guys should try British justice on for size. They let hundreds of murderers, kidnappers, rapists, and paedophiles go free after minimum sentencing.

Hit and run drivers tha kill their victims? Try 6 months in prison, if that.

Paedophiles who rape their victims and torture them--maybe 2 years.

See over here, where most of the judges are senile old idiots, they pass the sentences, and the Home Secretary (sort of like Dept of Justice) reviews the sentences. Even though he's in charge of the law enforcement in the country, he DOES NOT have the power to lengthen sentences, which I find amazing.

There were only three high profile cases where murderers got a "life" sentence:

The Moors murders. This happened back in the 60s. Ian Brady and Myra Hindley would lure children into their car and then torture them and kill them.  She got life in prison and recently died; he's serving life in a secure mental institution.

Roy Whiting was convicted in 2001 of kidnapping 8 year old Sarah Payne, raping her and murdering her. He got a life sentence, with actual time served to be about 30 years.

Ian Huntley  lured two girls to his house, raped one, murdered both, and then burned their bodies beyond recognition. He got a life sentence with the minmum required time spent in prison at 40 years.

[PhillyPhreak54]

I think Texas convicted and executed a 'mentally challenged' person a few years back. They are leading the way aren't they...

Texas ad Florida lead the way.

I used to work on Texas Death Row and I support the Death Penalty. But I agree that the justice system needs some refining. Many of those iceholes deserve to die. Don't let what you read, and I'm not saying you personally, fool you. There are some real shteinbags on DR.

Remember those three white guys who chained up James Byrd to the back of their pickup in Jasper Texas in 1998 and dragged him until his head fell off? Two got the death penalty. James William King is one of the most despicable human beings I have ever run across. To say he is racist is an understatement. He was a total piece of trash. And his boy, Lawrence Brewer cried like a baby when he was first put on the row. He was a tough guy in the LT's office but when he was finally taken to his cell, he cried for his momma for two days.

Should a guy who axed his girlfriend TWENTY SIX TIMES deserve to die? You bet your ass he does. Why did he ax her? Because he wanted drug money to feed him habit. What about a guy who killed a kid and then crammed a baseball bat up his ass? Oh yeah, give him the needle too.

Retarded people and kids should not die though. Many guys in TX were spared when the Supreme Court said no one under 18 could get the juice.

A lot of people oppose the death penalty. That's fine. We all have our opinions. But if you strongly are against it, I only wish you could see these people up close and personal. See what they did. See how they are.

[Phanatic]

This board has a little too much reality of late. Damn!!

People like the ones you describe are why I still support the death penalty. My confidence in the system to carry out justice the right way is why I have my doubts. Tough line to walk.

[Wingspan]

Should a guy who axed his girlfriend TWENTY SIX TIMES deserve to die? You bet your ass he does.

WELL?! what did he ax her?

[rjs246]

Look, if you nag a man about his habits too much, you get the axe. I don't see what the big deal is.