RE: Is the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment by definition?
January 18, 2014 at 12:09 am
Having not rea the entire thread, there's my thoughts. "Cruel and unusual" is kind of vague (although there are court decisions that solidify its meaning). I do support the death penalty. However, it should be limited to murder and the very most heinous, debilitating rapes. Some folks just don't deserve to live.
Having said that, I do not think the death penalty should be a state question, but a federal one. It's odd to me that in Utah, you can be executed, but in Hawaii, you cannot. I do believe in states' rights for some things, but the DP is not one of them.
As well, the method should change. The five various modes of execution employed in the U.S.A. cost various amounts of money to use. Utah still has the firing squad for those convicted before a certain date, as well as at least one guy who successfully contested that lethal injection was cruel and unusual. I'd simplify that even further and advocate a single gunshot to the back of the head. Simple, cheap, probably painless, but scary to contemplate.
Having said that, I do not think the death penalty should be a state question, but a federal one. It's odd to me that in Utah, you can be executed, but in Hawaii, you cannot. I do believe in states' rights for some things, but the DP is not one of them.
As well, the method should change. The five various modes of execution employed in the U.S.A. cost various amounts of money to use. Utah still has the firing squad for those convicted before a certain date, as well as at least one guy who successfully contested that lethal injection was cruel and unusual. I'd simplify that even further and advocate a single gunshot to the back of the head. Simple, cheap, probably painless, but scary to contemplate.
"For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan
