Troy Davis execution

[Ideologue]

"Mr. Byrd didn't get to choose his last meal"?  Did Brewer force him to go to Arby's before he chained him to the back of his truck?

[CountDeMoney]

"Mr. Byrd didn't get to choose his last meal"?  Did Brewer force him to go to Arby's before he chained him to the back of his truck?

"Sure, we'll take you to Popeye's.  Hang on."

[Razgovory]

The problem with being against the death penalty is that the defendants aren't very likeable.  Even if there is reasonable doubt for the case they are being executed for, there is likely something in their background that makes them terribly unsympathetic.

so if you get arrested, we should cheer for you execution?  You don't strike me as very likeable, after all.  I don't like you, so I want you dead   It's a good argument as any for being pro-death penalty

I'm anti-death penalty .  My point is that it's hard to get popular support for saving the life of many of these people because they aren't pleasant people.

[Ideologue]

Viper: how do you justify life and very long-term imprisonment?  Is mere existence really that much more important?

[dps]

I'm sure that they could have been, but if the defense lawyers declined to do so, that's suggestive, isn't it?

Sure.  But I''m also having trouble with the state not supoenaing them.  Seems to me the prosecution would rather dismantle their recantations on the stand rather than just saying "these recantations are hokey."

No, if I'm the lawyer for the state, I've already got the testimony I wanted in open court.  No way I'd subpeona someone how might contradict that if I don't have to.

Or I guess more broadly what I'd like to know is what evidence the courts examined to determine the recantations were not credible.

Yeah, I agree with that.  I'd like to repeat that I'm not particularly convinced that what I read about the people who recanted not being willing to repeat it in court is accurate.

Georgia Executing Innocent men has cause Texas to up the ante. The condemned men will no longer get to choose their last meal.

The last meal and the ritual around the Death Penalty makes it all the more acceptible. But, shitting on the man about to die seems a bit over the top.

I can see imposing a cost limit or other restrictions, but this just seems petty.

[Viking]

Viper: how do you justify life and very long-term imprisonment?  Is mere existence really that much more important?

1 - It's cheaper than the death penalty
2 - It's crueler than the death penalty
3 - It allows for release if innocence can be proven
4 - It reduces social conflict around the issue of the death penalty where monstrous criminals somehow manage to become liberal heros

I'm actually for the death penalty, but I believe that it should be used only in special cases and should happen rarely enough that people can actually remember the names of the condemned. I think the cases of Death should be limited among other means by demanding a higher standard of proof.

[Neil]

See, and that's the problem with people these days.  It's not enough to just execute the criminals, you have to dehumanize them as well.

[Neil]

4 - It reduces social conflict around the issue of the death penalty where monstrous criminals somehow manage to become liberal heros

See, this is a good thing though, because it discredits liberal politics.

[MadBurgerMaker]

So in Texas, fast food is actually more expensive than a gourmet meal?  wow.   

  What?

[jimmy olsen]

For his last meal, Brewer requested a number of items, including chicken-fried steak and Bluebell ice cream, and then declined them all, saying he wasn't hungry, officials said.

Bluebell icecream?

[dps]

4 - It reduces social conflict around the issue of the death penalty where monstrous criminals somehow manage to become liberal heros

See, this is a good thing though, because it discredits liberal politics.

Darn, I was going to say that.

[Ed Anger]

So in Texas, fast food is actually more expensive than a gourmet meal?  wow.   

  What?

Let me translate for you:

[Habbaku]

For his last meal, Brewer requested a number of items, including chicken-fried steak and Bluebell ice cream, and then declined them all, saying he wasn't hungry, officials said.

Bluebell icecream?

Must be a Southern thing.  It's essentially premium ice-cream that you can buy in a store.

[MadImmortalMan]

I'm anti-death penalty .  My point is that it's hard to get popular support for saving the life of many of these people because they aren't pleasant people.

Can't really help it. It's like you're trying to make a perfectly rational point and a bunch of code pink wackos or somebody like that shows up to agree with you. You just wish they would die in a fire, but there they are with their big pink outfits sucking all the oxygen out of everything and making everyone associated with their cause look bad. I argue against these types more than I do against the actual people I disagree with. Annoys me to no end.

[Ideologue]

2 - It's crueler than the death penalty

Don't agree.  Would you rather be imprisoned for thirty years or outright killed?  Maybe it's a matter of personal taste.