Author Topic: Do You Support The Death Penalty?  (Read 168169 times)

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Do You Support The Death Penalty?
« Reply #150 on: October 23, 2007, 01:13:21 am »
Doctors in fertility clinics everyday dispose of viable zygots, because they have have used the ones they needed, and dispose of the rest..should we then carry this to the next step and force him to implant them or be tried for murder...This is an issue to be decided by the individual..in spite of the strong rhetoric that has been expressed here
that the government interferes in our every day life to our bodies...They shouldnt even tho they do..and they
certainly shouldnt in this case....Now I have extreme issues with partial birth abortions...I think it should only be
done in case of the mothers life or the childs.
.if you cant figure out what to do before that..you are stuck..as far as
im concerned...have the child and then place it for adoption if you are unwilling or unable to care for the child...its the
best for the child...

One of the things I learned when reading who exactly is it that gets partial birth abortions is that a percentage of the women who got them - aside from the birth defects and health issues - were simply too poor.  When asked why they waited so long, their answer was "I didn't have the money until now."   :-\

Offline HerrKaiser

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Re: Do You Support The Death Penalty?
« Reply #151 on: October 24, 2007, 11:17:05 am »
This society desperately needs its own Beccaria. I wish I could advocate my position as elegantly and intelligently as he; instead, I feel like I'm just talking in circles. I know ultimately we will have to agree to disagree, and hopefully can do so in as respectful a manner as possible.

Let me leave you with this one thought: While anguishing over the cruelties of others, be mindful of the potential cruelty that resides within yourself, and do not let it steer your life into a hell of your own creation. Hate begets hate, and love mirrors love. And it is never inappropriate to respond with love.




Getting back to to the original topic for a moment or so....

Given the sentiment of the quote above, which is arguably a very Christian, conservative teaching, and which I sense those who oppose the death penalty embrace, I am curious how this view was exemplified relative to the killers of Matthew Shepard? I recall only cries for vengeance and the death penalty. 

Or, how should the killer of Jack Twist (hypotheically since I'm one who believes that scene was an illusion) have been treated if caught?

How would 'love mirrors love' resolved the issues in these cases?


moremojo

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Re: Do You Support The Death Penalty?
« Reply #152 on: October 24, 2007, 11:27:13 am »
For the record, I am not a Christian, nor am I conservative. I do find much to admire in the teachings and example of Jesus, who demonstrated that is better to be killed than it is to kill. Read Flannery O'Connor's (who was a Christian) story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" for a great literary treatment of this theme.

Though I believe it is better to be killed than it is to kill, I recognize how very difficult it is to follow through with this line of thinking. How many of us have the courage and strength to follow Jesus's example? I am not at all sure that I could do it, though that doesn't negate the great spiritual attainment of those who have.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Do You Support The Death Penalty?
« Reply #153 on: October 24, 2007, 11:45:04 am »
Given the sentiment of the quote above, which is arguably a very Christian, conservative teaching, and which I sense those who oppose the death penalty embrace,

I'm not sure I'm following you, but if you're saying that all death-penalty opponents believe that people who deserve heinous crimes deserve love, I disagree.

I'm a death-penalty opponent, and to say I would love someone who tortures a child to death, for example, would not be true except in the most abstract imaginable sense -- the idea that all living things deserve love -- and probably not even then. Hate is too weak a word for how I feel toward those individuals. If there is a god or gods, and if he/she/they want to love people like that, then fine, more power to him/her/them. But as a human, I'm bound by human emotions (emotions presumably instilled in me by the Creator, assuming there is one), which do not incline me to love people who commit evil.

My opposition to the death penalty is not based on sympathy for the perpetrators of heinous crimes, it's based on a belief that it's immoral for the state to do it, that it's ineffective in reducing violent crime and in fact exacerbates it, and that inevitably it will result in some innocent people being killed.

Quote
I am curious how this view was exemplified relative to the killers of Matthew Shepard? I recall only cries for vengeance and the death penalty. 

Well, were those cries coming from people who are normally death-penalty opponents, making an exception in this one case? Or did they come from people who never have a problem with the death penalty, whose views you heard because they happened to provide news-bitey quotes?

Remember that people who say things like, "Those killers deserve to be tried in a court of law and, if found guilty by a jury of their peers, to be sentenced to life in prison without parole" are less likely to get into a newspaper or newscast than someone who says "I want to see them fry" or whatever.






Offline Shakesthecoffecan

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Re: Do You Support The Death Penalty?
« Reply #154 on: October 24, 2007, 12:06:43 pm »
This has all been very enlightening to me.  It has helped crytsalize how I feel on the subject.  Thank you.

Having read thru this thread that I had been avoiding I think I can most closely agree with what Scott said. It has helped be crystalize my thoughts some more, but I find these issues ones that I cannot resolve between my heart and my head.

Going back to the original issue of Capitol Punishment. I only ask for mercy for my own killers if that is in fact how I die. I ask it for no one else but me and expect no great change in the course of history from it. It only gives me some satisfaction that somehow I am better than the person would would want to kill me. Should someone I love be killed, I do not know. I hope I never have to cross that bridge and at this point make the decision to not worry about it.

As to Abortion. We come to one of the worst inigmas on conundrums in all of humanity. It begins with the basic biological injustic that women are the ones who have to carry the baby and give birth. There is no getting around that. I once held the opinion that with that being the case perhaps the queston of Abortion should be left entirely to women to decide, but I remembered in many cases there is a father who cares about the baby, and he cannot be left out, I do believe that.

I do believe that it is far easier to prevent a pregancy than to terminate one, and I also know contraception is not fullproof. I cannot reconcile any of it. So I will take the cowards way out and embrace my non breeder status and leave it up to someone else. Sorry if I wasted your time.
"It was only you in my life, and it will always be only you, Jack, I swear."

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Do You Support The Death Penalty?
« Reply #155 on: October 24, 2007, 12:24:13 pm »
the basic biological injustic that women are the ones who have to carry the baby and give birth.

And remember, this could easily be restated as "women are the ones who get to carry the baby and give birth."

Quote
I will take the cowards way out and embrace my non breeder status and leave it up to someone else. Sorry if I wasted your time.

Not at all! Anyone is entitled to an opinion. But those who don't expect to be directly involved either way are most entitled to opt out of this thorny -- and perhaps ultimately unresolvable -- debate.


Offline Shakesthecoffecan

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Re: Do You Support The Death Penalty?
« Reply #156 on: October 24, 2007, 12:28:33 pm »
And remember, this could easily be restated as "women are the ones who get to carry the baby and give birth."


Good point.


[/quote]
Not at all! Anyone is entitled to an opinion. But those who don't expect to be directly involved either way are most entitled to opt out of this thorny -- and perhaps ultimately unresolvable -- debate.


[/quote]

Thank you.
"It was only you in my life, and it will always be only you, Jack, I swear."

Offline Mikaela

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Re: Do You Support The Death Penalty?
« Reply #157 on: October 24, 2007, 01:44:57 pm »
Given the sentiment of the quote above, which is arguably a very Christian, conservative teaching, and which I sense those who oppose the death penalty embrace, I am curious how this view was exemplified relative to the killers of Matthew Shepard? I recall only cries for vengeance and the death penalty. 

Or, how should the killer of Jack Twist (hypotheically since I'm one who believes that scene was an illusion) have been treated if caught?

How would 'love mirrors love' resolved the issues in these cases?


I firmly oppose the death penalty based on a Humanist and strictly atheistic outlook, and I would not call myself a Conservative - certainly not in the US sense of the word.

Being a foreigner I did not follow the news at the time of Matthew Shephard's death, but I do trust that American Humanists did not clamour for his killers' death. If they did, that truly disappoints me. Those guys, and the hypotetical killers of Jack Twist, do not deserve the death penalty. Noone does, - they are humans and their lives should be respected as such however despicable and horrific their acts. But I have no quarrel with countries who would deem that the very worst crimes deserve a full life sentence, without chance of parole, if under reasonably humane conditions.


Offline Shakesthecoffecan

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Re: Do You Support The Death Penalty?
« Reply #158 on: October 24, 2007, 01:57:47 pm »
I firmly oppose the death penalty based on a Humanist and strictly atheistic outlook, and I would not call myself a Conservative - certainly not in the US sense of the word.

Being a foreigner I did not follow the news at the time of Matthew Shephard's death, but I do trust that American Humanists did not clamour for his killers' death. If they did, that truly disappoints me. Those guys, and the hypotetical killers of Jack Twist, do not deserve the death penalty. Noone does, - they are humans and their lives should be respected as such however despicable and horrific their acts. But I have no quarrel with countries who would deem that the very worst crimes deserve a full life sentence, without chance of parole, if under reasonably humane conditions.



Along these lines, I have the text of Dennis Shepard's speach at the sentancing of his sons killers. I think it has been posted on bettermost before, but wtf, here it goes, it is a powerful thing.

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Your honor, members of the Jury, Mr. Rerucha:

I would like to begin my statement by addressing the jury. Ladies and gentlemen, a terrible crime was committed in Laramie thirteen months ago. Because of that crime, the reputation of the city of Laramie, the University of Wyoming, and the State of Wyoming became synonymous with gay bashing, hate crimes, and brutality. While some of this reputation may be deserved, it was blown out of proportion by our friends in the media. Yesterday you, the jury, showed the world that Wyoming and the city of Laramie will not tolerate hate crimes. Yes, this was a hate crime, pure and simple, with the added ingredient of robbery. My son Matthew paid a terrible price to open the eyes of all of us who live in Wyoming, the United States, and the world to the unjust and unnecessary fears, discrimination, and intolerance that members of the gay community face every day. Yesterday’s decision by you showed true courage and made a statement. That statement is that Wyoming is the Equality State; that Wyoming will not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation; that violence is not the solution. Ladies and gentlemen, you have the respect and admiration of Matthew’s family and friends and of countless strangers around the world. Be proud of what you have accomplished. You may have prevented another family from losing a son or daughter.

Your honor, I would also like to thank you for the dignity and grace with which this trial was conducted. Repeated attempts to distract the court from the true purpose of this trial failed because of your attentiveness, knowledge, and willingness to take a stand and make new law in the area of sexual orientation and the “Gay Panic” defense. By doing so you have emphasized that Matthew was a human being with all the rights and responsibilities and protections of any citizen of Wyoming.

Mr. Rerucha took the oath of office as prosecuting attorney to protect the rights of the citizens of Albany County as mandated by the laws of the state of Wyoming, regardless of his personal feelings and beliefs. At no time did Mr. Rerucha make any decision on the outcome of this case without the permission of Judy and me. It was our decision to take this case to trial, just as it was our decision to accept the plea bargain today and the earlier plea bargain of Mr. Henderson. A trial was necessary to show that this was a hate crime and not just a robbery gone bad. If we had sought a plea bargain earlier, the facts of this case would not have been known and the question would always be present that we had something to hide. In addition, this trial was necessary to help provide some closure to the citizens of Laramie, Albany County, and the state. I find it intolerable that the priests of the Catholic Church and the Newman Center would attempt to influence the jury, the prosecution, and the outcome of this trial by their castigation and persecution of Mr. Rerucha and his family in his private life, by their newspaper advertisements, and by their presence in the courtroom. I find it difficult to believe that they speak for all Catholics. If the leaders of churches want to comment as private citizens, that is one thing. If they say that they represent the beliefs of their church, that is another. This country was founded on separation of church and state. The Catholic Church has stepped over the line and has become a political group with its own agenda. If that be the case, treat them as a political group and eliminate their privileges as a religious organization.

My son Matthew did not look like a winner. After all, he was small for his age—weighing, at the most, 110 pounds, and standing only 5’2” tall. He was rather uncoordinated and wore braces from the age of 13 until the day he died. However, in his all too brief life, he proved that he was a winner. My son—a gentle, caring soul—proved that he was as tough as, if not tougher than, anyone I have ever heard of or known. On October 6, 1998, my son tried to show the world that he could win again. On October 12, 1998, my first-born son—and my hero—lost. On October 12, my first-born son—and my hero— died 50 days before his 22nd birthday. He died quietly, surrounded by family and friends, with his mother and brother holding his hand. All that I have left
now are the memories.

It’s hard to put into words how much Matt meant to family and friends and how much they meant to him. Everyone wanted him to succeed because he tried so hard. The spark that he provided to people had to be experienced. He simply made everyone feel better about themselves. Family and friends were his focus. He knew that he always had their support for anything that he wanted to try.

Matt’s gift was people. He loved being with people, helping people, and making others feel good. The hope of a better world free of harassment and discrimination because a person was different kept him motivated. All his life he felt the stabs of discrimination. Because of that he was sensitive to other people’s feelings. He was naive to the extent that, regardless of the wrongs people did to him, he still had faith that they would change and become “nice.” Matt trusted people, perhaps too much. Violence was not a part of his life until his senior year in high school. He would walk into a fight and try to break it up. He was the perfect negotiator. He could get two people talking to each other again as no one else could.

Matt loved people and he trusted them. He could never understand how one person could hurt another, physically or verbally. They would hurt him, and he would give them another chance. This quality of seeing only good gave him friends around the world. He didn’t see size, race, intelligence, sex, religion, or the hundred other things that people use to make choices about people. All he saw was the person. All he wanted was to make another person his friend. All he wanted was to make another person feel good. All he wanted was to be accepted as an equal.

What did Matt’s friends think of him? Fifteen of his friends from high school in Switzerland, as well as his high school adviser, joined hundreds of others at his memorial services. They left college, fought a blizzard, and came together one more time to say good-bye to Matt. Men and women coming from different countries, cultures, and religions thought enough of my son to drop everything and come to Wyoming—most of them for the first time. That’s why this Wyoming country boy wanted to major in foreign relations and languages. He wanted to continue making friends and at the same time help others. He wanted to make a difference. Did he? You tell me.

I loved my son and, as can be seen throughout this statement, was proud of him. He was not my gay son. He was my son who happened to be gay. He was a good-looking, intelligent, caring person. There were the usual arguments, and at times he was a real pain in the butt. I felt the regrets of a father when he realizes that his son is not a star athlete. But it was replaced with a greater pride when I saw him on the stage. The hours that he spent learning his parts, working behind the scenes, and helping others made me realize that he was actually an excellent athlete—in a more dynamic way—because of the different types of physical and mental conditioning required by actors. To this day I have never figured out how he was able to spend all those hours at the theater, during the school year, and still have good grades.

Because my job involved lots of travel, I never had the same give-and-take with Matt that Judy had. Our relationship at times was strained. But, whenever he had problems we talked. For example, he was unsure about revealing to me that he was gay. He was afraid that I would reject him immediately, so it took him a while to tell me. By that time, his mother and brother had already been told. One day he said that he had something to say. I could see that he was nervous, so I asked him if everything was all right. Matt took a deep breath and told me that he was gay. Then he waited for my reaction. I still remember his surprise when I said, “Yeah? OK, but what’s the point of this conversation?” Then everything was OK. We went back to a father and son who loved each other and respected the beliefs of the other. We were father and son, but we were also friends.

How do I talk about the loss that I feel every time I think about Matt? How can I describe the empty pit in my heart and mind when I think about all the problems that were put in Matt’s way that he overcame? No one can understand the sense of pride and accomplishment that I felt every time he reached the mountain top of another obstacle. No one, including myself, will ever know the frustration and agony that others put him through because he was different. How many people could be given the problems that Matt was presented with and still succeed as he did? How many would continue to smile—at least on the outside—while crying on the inside to keep other people from feeling bad?

I now feel very fortunate that I was able to spend some private time with Matt last summer during my vacation from Saudi Arabia. We sat and talked. I told Matt that he was my hero and that he was the toughest man that I had ever known. When I said that, I bowed down to him out of respect for his ability to continue to smile and keep a positive attitude during all the trials and tribulations that he had gone through. He just laughed. I also told him how proud I was because of what he had accomplished and what he was trying to accomplish. The last thing I said to Matt was that I loved him, and he said he loved me. That was the last private onversation that I ever had with him.

Impact on my life? My life will never be the same. I miss Matt terribly. I think about him all the time—at odd moments when some little thing reminds me of him; when I walk by the refrigerator and see the pictures of him and his brother that we’ve always kept on the door; at special times of the year, like the first day of classes at UW or opening day of sage chicken hunting. I keep wondering almost the same thing that I did when I first saw him in the hospital. What would we have become? How would he have changed his piece of the world to make it better?

Impact on my life? I feel a tremendous sense of guilt. Why wasn’t I there when he needed me most? Why didn’t I spend more time with him? Why didn’t I try to find another type of profession so that I could have been available to spend more time with him as he grew up? What could I have done to be a better father and friend? How do I get an answer to those questions now? The only one who can answer them is Matt. These questions will be with me for the rest of my life. What makes it worse for me is knowing that his mother and brother will have similar unanswered questions.

Impact on my life? In addition to losing my son, I lost my father on November 4, 1998. The stress of the entire affair was too much for him. Dad watched Matt grow up. He taught him how to hunt, fish, camp, ride horses, and love the state of Wyoming. Matt, Logan, dad, and I would spend two to three weeks camping in the mountains at different times of the year—to hunt, to fish, and to goof off. Matt learned to cook over an open fire, tell fishing stories about the one that got away, and to drive a truck from my father.

Three weeks before Matt went to the Fireside Bar for the last time, my parents saw Matt in Laramie. In addition, my father tried calling Matt the night that he was beaten but received no answer. He never got over the guilt of not trying earlier. The additional strain of the hospital vigil, being in the hospital room with Matt when he died, the funeral services with all the media attention and the protesters, [and] helping Judy and me clean out Matt’s apartment in Laramie a few days later was too much. Three weeks after Matt’s death, dad died. Dad told me after the funeral that he never expected to outlive Matt. The stress and the grief were just too much for him.

Impact on my life? How can my life ever be the same again?

When Matt was little, I used to take showers with him, just to teach him not to be scared of the water. Later, Matt helped me do the same thing with Logan. Anyway, Matt and I would be in the shower spitting mouthfuls of water at each other or at his mother, if he could convince her to come into the bathroom. Then he would laugh and laugh. We would also sing in the showers. I taught him the songs “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”; both “Brother John” and its French version, “Frère Jacques”; and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Matt would sing loud and clear. Now, that voice is silent, the boat has sunk, Jacques is no longer frère, and the little star no longer twinkles.

Matt officially died at 12:53 a.m. on Monday, October 12, 1998, in a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. He actually died on the outskirts of Laramie tied to a fence that Wednesday before, when you beat him. You, Mr. McKinney, with your friend Mr. Henderson, killed my son.

By the end of the beating, his body was just trying to survive. You left him out there by himself, but he wasn’t alone. There were his lifelong friends with him—friends that he had grown up with. You’re probably wondering who these friends were. First, he had the beautiful night sky with the same stars and moon that we used to look at through a telescope. Then, he had the daylight and the sun to shine on him one more time—one more cool, wonderful autumn day in Wyoming. His last day alive in Wyoming. His last day alive in the state that he always proudly called home. And through it all he was breathing in for the last time the smell of Wyoming sagebrush and the scent of pine trees from the snowy range. He heard the wind—the ever-present Wyoming wind—for the last time. He had one more friend with him. One he grew to know through his time in Sunday school and as an acolyte at St. Mark’s in Casper as well as through his visits to St. Matthew’s in Laramie. He had God.

I feel better knowing he wasn’t alone.

Matt became a symbol—some say a martyr, putting a boy-next-door face on hate crimes. That’s fine with me. Matt would be thrilled if his death would help others. On the other hand, your agreement to life without parole has taken yourself out of the spotlight and out of the public eye. It means no drawn-out appeals process, [no] chance of walking away free due to a technicality, and no chance of lighter sentence due to a “merciful” jury. Best of all, you won’t be a symbol. No years of publicity, no chance of communication, no nothing—just a miserable future and a more miserable end. It works for me.

My son was taught to look at all sides of an issue before making a decision or taking a stand. He learned this early when he helped campaign for various political candidates while in grade school and junior high. When he did take a stand, it was based on his best judgment. Such a stand cost him his life when he quietly let it be known that he was gay. He didn’t advertise it, but he didn’t back away from the issue either. For that I’ll always be proud of him. He showed me that he was a lot more courageous than most people, including myself. Matt knew that there were dangers to being gay, but he accepted that and wanted to just get on with his life and his ambition of helping others.

Matt’s beating, hospitalization, and funeral focused worldwide attention on hate. Good is coming out of evil. People have said “Enough is enough.” You screwed up, Mr. McKinney. You made the world realize that a person’s lifestyle is not a reason for discrimination, intolerance, persecution, and violence. This is not the 1920s, 30s, and 40s of Nazi Germany. My son died because of your ignorance and intolerance. I can’t bring him back. But I can do my best to see that this never, ever happens to another person or another family again. As I mentioned earlier, my son has become a symbol—a symbol against hate and people like you; a symbol for encouraging respect for individuality; for appreciating that someone is different; for tolerance. I miss my son, but I’m proud to be able to say that he is my son.

Mr. McKinney, one final comment before I sit, and this is the reason that I stand before you now. At no time since Matt was found at the fence and taken to the hospital have Judy and I made any statements about our beliefs concerning the death penalty. We felt that that would be an undue influence on any prospective juror. Judy has been quoted by some right-wing groups as being against the death penalty. It has been stated that Matt was against the death penalty. Both of these statements are wrong. We have held family discussions and talked about the death penalty. Matt believed that there were incidents and crimes that justified the death penalty. For example, he and I discussed the horrible death of James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper, Texas. It was his
opinion that the death penalty should be sought and that no expense should be spared to bring those responsible for this murder to justice. Little did we know that the same response would come about involving Matt. I, too, believe in the death penalty. I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney. However, this is the time to begin the healing process. To show mercy to someone who refused to show any mercy. To use this as the first step in my own closure about losing Matt. Mr. McKinney, I am not doing this because of your family. I am definitely not doing this because of the crass and unwarranted pressures put on by the religious community. If anything, that hardens my resolve to see you die. Mr. McKinney, I’m going to grant you life, as hard as that is for me to do, because of Matthew. Every time you celebrate Christmas, a birthday, or the Fourth of July, remember that Matt isn’t. Every time that you wake up in that prison cell, remember that you had the opportunity and the ability to stop your actions that night. Every time that you see your cell mate, remember that you had a choice, and now you are living that choice. You robbed me of something very precious, and I will never forgive you for that. Mr. McKinney, I give you life in the memory of one who no longer lives. May you have a long life, and may you thank Matthew every day for it.

Your honor, members of the jury, Mr. Rerucha, thank you.


"It was only you in my life, and it will always be only you, Jack, I swear."

Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Do You Support The Death Penalty?
« Reply #159 on: October 24, 2007, 03:29:45 pm »
Along these lines, I have the text of Dennis Shepard's speach at the sentancing of his sons killers. I think it has been posted on bettermost before, but wtf, here it goes, it is a powerful thing.


Powerful indeed. I've read it before, skipped it another time when it was quoted, but reread it now. I was in tears the first time I read it, and I am in tears now. I have three children and I don't even want to try to imagine....
 :'(