Last year four countries accounted for nearly all executions worldwide: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
As my Irish grandmother used to say, you’re known by the company you keep.
The Mahablog
Politics. Society. Group Therapy.
Last year four countries accounted for nearly all executions worldwide: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
As my Irish grandmother used to say, you’re known by the company you keep.
Also, Cuba, China, and Iran are the only countries to ban flag desecration—but we’re trying real hard to join that cheerful bunch.
I am gonna give my comment here on the ‘wrong’ side.
Suppose Stephen Green is foud guilty of murdering a 5-yo girl and her parents, and then rape of the teen sister, and then murdering her. Suppose the eyewitness accounts are beyond question. Do you think the death penalty is extreme?
On the other hand, I do NOT think that the death penalty should be allowed without overwhelming proof. For example, the evidence against Scott Peterson was largely circumstantial. IMO, the death penalty was handed down because of the affair he was having and the lies he told the other woman. In other words, the prosecution proved he was a caloused jerk and a liar, but were fairly weak on linking him to the murder. Application of the death penalty should require proof absolute, not just beyond a reasonable doubt.
I won’t shed any tears for Scott; hitting on a chick while pretending to be conducting a desparate search for your pregnant wife is cold beyond my comprehension.
Suspending the death penaly because it’s not applied with perfect justice is an argument that could be extended to all penalties.Should all prison sentances be commuted upon conviction, with perhaps a stern warning by the judge, to avoid putting an innocent man in jail?
Doug — I’m opposed to the death penalty on religious and philosophical grounds under all circumstances. It doesn’t matter what the crime is.