Saddam Hussein Hangs
I saw on TV this morning that Saddam Hussein's Hanging was video taped. How long until the Saddam Hanging Video appears on You Tube? Maybe they are on vigilant watch for it so they can delete it when it appears. That's an opportunity for all those You Tube wannabe sites out there. Exclusive Saddam Execution...
I am actually anti-capital punishment, but not really for the reasons you'd think. It's just too expensive to kill someone because of this litigious environment in which we live. It costs more than ten times as much to put someone to death than it does to keep them alive in prison for the rest of their lives. If it were double maybe it would be worth it for revenge reasons. Deterrence is a myth. If you add to that the rate of failure and the obvious racial bias in the application of capital punishment, it adds up to a pretty easy conclusion for me.
I guess I understand why people feel Saddam had to be put to death. (That sounds better than "killed" but worse than "put to sleep.") I mean, you're not exactly going to prevent someone from becoming a brutal dictator because they are frightened of the death penalty, but in the case of a national leader who might someday return to power should the right combination of events occur, this certainly is the only sure-fire way to prevent that from happening.
Posts
6 comments:
That is exactly why I think the death penalty is a good thing.. it makes sure murderers can not EVER get out on bail and do it again.. I do agree that the way it is instituted now though sucks badly..
Bail is what you get when you are in jail before you have been convicted of anything. I think you are talking about parole from prison. It's simple enough to convict murderers to life without parole.
I agree duggle our legal system is too messed up for the death penalty. DNA clearing people 20 years later, the racial inequalities and the disadvantage to defendants that have to use public defenders because they have no money. No parole is the answer. I don't care how much you changed in prison, the person you killed can't comeback to life for good behavior. I am all for putting to death leaders that commit genocide though.
Why does it cost 10 times more to put someone to death than it does to keep them in jail for life?
Because you have to exhaust every appeal before you execute, and the legal system in this country is Ex-pen-sive with a capital E.
If the turnaround time in the States was as fast as the appeal process for Hussein, I think you would see more proponents of the penalty......
Post a Comment