VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4 ]
Subject: Re: The Death Penalty


Author:
Vivien
 		[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
Date Posted: 11:00:33 06/11/01 Mon
In reply to: Chuckie 's message, "Re: The Death Penalty" on 08:45:49 06/11/01 Mon
 >Vivien:
>>Again, I draw a
>>distinction between a pre-viable foetus and an adult
>>human being, the same way as I see a world of
>>difference between killing in self-defence and placing
>>an individual in an electric chair and flicking a
>>switch.
>
>I will agree with you, Vivien, about the distinction
>between a pre-viable foetus and an adult. Of course,
>then you have to get into the whole, "When is does a
>foetus turn into a person?" argument that I'm not
>going to get into - for the same reason I don't argue
>about angels dancing on the head of a pin.
>
>But I wish you hadn't thrown in the electric chair.
>We don't do that anymore, do we? Didn't we
>finally decide that was "cruel and unusual
>punishment" and do away with it? (I don't remember if
>Florida finally did do away with that or not.
>Regardless, nearly every state has done away with any
>other method but lethal injection.) Progress may be
>slow, but the wheels do turn.

Regardless of the method used, execution is a very “cruel and unusual punishment”.

>>So exactly what purpose is served by executing Timothy
>>McVeigh or anyone else?
>
>Pro: He doesn't get out and do it again. He doesn't
>become a permanent spokeman for his compatriots. He
>elicits yet more discussion on the death penalty.
>
>Con: He becomes a martyr for those people (though
>most of them are avoiding association with him because
>even they think he went too far). He drives a wedge
>between people who otherwise get along.

I'm sorry, but I don't think any of these reasons has any real validity whatsoever. It's interesting, family members of the victims of the Oklahoma bombing have spoken today about the lack of closure they feel despite watching Timothy McVeigh die. One mother said she would not find closure until the day they closed the lid on her coffin. A father said he hoped that McVeigh's death would have eased his pain, but it had not.

To me, McVeigh's execution was little more than vengeance dressed up as justice.
[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:
Subject Author Date
Re: The Death PenaltyChuckie13:08:08 06/11/01 Mon

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.