Tulsa 'race attack' shootings

[mrveggieman]

cost the taxpayers to much money a rope is cheaper

Or better yet get some gasoline and matches from walmart. It shouldn't cost no more than a few bucks. Go back to the salem witchcraft trial days.

[tndcollectables]

rope is reusable though, they are guilty, many witness' why waste the money

[pghin08]

I believe in capital punishment in extreme cases. Such as a hate crime, crime against a child, mass murder or some type of cruel and unusual murder. I don't think that a guy that gets in an argument with some guy that he had a long standing beef with, finally goes off and kills him should get the death penalty (more like a long prison term) but all of the forementioned is worthy of death in my book.

I just don't believe in it at all. Besides the fact that it's totally archaic (and the US is one of the very few Westernized nations to do it), it's actually more expensive, when you consider the magnitude of the appeals process, than imprisoning someone for life. Plus, it doesn't exactly make me proud that the US, in 2011, executed more people than any other country besides China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Not the best company to keep.

[mrveggieman]

I just don't believe in it at all. Besides the fact that it's totally archaic (and the US is one of the very few Westernized nations to do it), it's actually more expensive, when you consider the magnitude of the appeals process, than imprisoning someone for life. Plus, it doesn't exactly make me proud that the US, in 2011, executed more people than any other country besides China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Not the best company to keep.

A better alternative would be duane's idea. If you are found guilty of a capital charge you have 1 year to appeal. If you are still found guilty on your appeal you are excuted within 24 hours. That would be much cheaper than running around in circles in the court system.

[pghin08]

A better alternative would be duane's idea. If you are found guilty of a capital charge you have 1 year to appeal. If you are still found guilty on your appeal you are excuted within 24 hours. That would be much cheaper than running around in circles in the court system.

But it doesn't address why we have it to begin with. It does nothing to deter crime. Though violent crime has decreased significantly over the past 20 years, we still have one of the highest homicide rates in the industrial world. So is our system actually working? I'd say no.

[hawk2618]

Are you saying capital punishment does not deter crime in gereral? Maybe, but I really think its defense lawyers that find loopholes in laws that feeds the crime rate.
Mischievous individuals just don't care anymore because there's a good chance they will get off and in most cases takes months,sometimes years to make trial.All that time in prison with the same luxuries as me outside. Tough living huh?
~~Dave C.

[mrveggieman]

But it doesn't address why we have it to begin with. It does nothing to deter crime. Though violent crime has decreased significantly over the past 20 years, we still have one of the highest homicide rates in the industrial world. So is our system actually working? I'd say no.

I don't what if anything will deter violent crime in today's day and time. However if you feel the need to take an innocent person's life for your "cause" don't get mad when the state wants to take yours.

[pghin08]

Are you saying capital punishment does not deter crime in gereral? Maybe, but I really think its defense lawyers that find loopholes in laws that feeds the crime rate.
Mischievous individuals just don't care anymore because there's a good chance they will get off and in most cases takes months,sometimes years to make trial.All that time in prison with the same luxuries as me outside. Tough living huh?
~~Dave C.

Yes, and above that, I think our entire system of incarceration is deeply flawed. The US accounts for less than 5% of the total global population, yet we're home to almost 25% of all of the world's prisoners. That's NUTS. The numbers vary on this, but most say that at least half of all prisoners in the US are incarcerated for non-violent crimes. Yet they sit in prisons and cause enormous hardship to the American taxpayer. In 2006 alone we spent nearly $70 billion on corrections.

I live in Pennsylvania, and we elected a new governor, Tom Corbett, in 2010. One of the first things he did as part of his new budget was to drastically slash money going to public schools and universities, to the tune of over half a billion dollars. While doing this, he (slightly) increased the amount of money spent on prisons and other correctional facilities. So basically, what Corbett is saying is that it's more important to imprison people than to educate them. I have a huge problem with that. Why?

According to 2007 Data, in the US, it costs approximately $28K per year to keep someone behind bars. It usually costs between $10-12K to educate a child for a year. So why should I imprison one nonviolent criminal for a year, and take away the money used to educate 2 kids over that same period? The more you are educated, the less likely you are to be in prison. So if you decide to educate two first graders rather than put someone in prison, in 12 years, rather than spending massive amounts on a crappy prison system, you've probably turned two young people into..GASP!...taxpayers!

The system we have in place sucks, pure and simple.

[mrveggieman]

Yes, and above that, I think our entire system of incarceration is deeply flawed. The US accounts for less than 5% of the total global population, yet we're home to almost 25% of all of the world's prisoners. That's NUTS. The numbers vary on this, but most say that at least half of all prisoners in the US are incarcerated for non-violent crimes. Yet they sit in prisons and cause enormous hardship to the American taxpayer. In 2006 alone we spent nearly $70 billion on corrections.

I live in Pennsylvania, and we elected a new governor, Tom Corbett, in 2010. One of the first things he did as part of his new budget was to drastically slash money going to public schools and universities, to the tune of over half a billion dollars. While doing this, he (slightly) increased the amount of money spent on prisons and other correctional facilities. So basically, what Corbett is saying is that it's more important to imprison people than to educate them. I have a huge problem with that. Why?

According to 2007 Data, in the US, it costs approximately $28K per year to keep someone behind bars. It usually costs between $10-12K to educate a child for a year. So why should I imprison one nonviolent criminal for a year, and take away the money used to educate 2 kids over that same period? The more you are educated, the less likely you are to be in prison. So if you decide to educate two first graders rather than put someone in prison, in 12 years, rather than spending massive amounts on a crappy prison system, you've probably turned two young people into..GASP!...taxpayers!

The system we have in place sucks, pure and simple.

The system was designed like that on purpose. The do not want a society full of well educated individuals capable of critical thinking. They would rather keep us dumbed down so that we will not be smart enough to figure out how we are getting screwed over by the system.

[pghin08]

The system was designed like that on purpose. The do not want a society full of well educated individuals capable of critical thinking. They would rather keep us dumbed down so that we will not be smart enough to figure out how we are getting screwed over by the system.

You're decidedly more cynical than I am. I think we were actually FOUNDED to be a society full of well-educated individuals capable of critical thinking.