Not only would I sell the drug, I would personally inject each and every person who has been legally convicted and sentenced to death for their crimes. Without losing a minutes sleep over it.
If you can convince me that we’ve never executed an innocent person – not recently, not in the old days, not EVER (and we never WILL) – I might revise my opinion of capital punishment. How many innocent people are you willing to kill in the name of the State to ensure that none of the guilty ones escape it?
If you can convince me that nobody who’s ever been SENTENCED to death has ever been exonerated by later evidence (or evidence that was simply not introduced to the jury), then I might revise my thoughts on the necessity of the lengthy, expensive, and AUTOMATIC appeals process. (The death penalty is simply DIFFERENT, because once it’s been administered there’s no way back.)
If you can convince me that a death sentence was never sought for political reasons, or in response to public outcry, or simply because the defendant wasn’t “likeable”, and that there’s an objective, discernable, and defensible difference between criminals who receive the death penalty and those who don’t, again, I might revise my opinion.
Finally, if you can somehow show me how executing a murderer restores his victims to life, then heck yeah I’ll revise my opinion.
But if you believe that there’s a God in heaven who administers Perfect Justice after death, then the death penalty is superfluous as “punishment” – at best, you’re merely speeding the subject on his way. At worst, you’re killing an innocent (see above). Heaven rejoices in the arrival one redeemed sinner more than in a hundred who have never strayed. Do you believe no convicted murderer has ever repented after 20 years in prison? 30 years? 50 years? To execute a convict as soon as possible removes the POSSIBILITY that this soul might be saved. It used to be considered that wishing even your worst enemy be cut off from the possibility of salvation was itself a heinous sin. The death penalty is simply un-Christian, which you’d think the story of its founder would point out sufficiently for anybody.
Everybody who has the slightest doubt about the death penalty should watch “The Thin Blue Line” (the 1988 documentary, not the 1995 Rowan Atkinson comedy). An innocent man came thisclose to being executed for a cop-killing, because the real killers were juveniles and the Texas authorities wanted to kill SOMEBODY as payback.
True story: Two young men “Fred” and “Joe”, cousins, hold up a liquor store. Both are carrying guns, but only “Fred” fires his, killing the guy behind the counter. Both are caught, and are tried separately, both for capital murder (commission of a crime which results in homicide). “Fred” cooperates, and is given a 20 year sentence. As part of his deal, he testifies at “Joe’s” trial. “Joe” is found guilty and sentenced to death. So apparently trying to defend yourself in a court of law, which is a right guaranteed under the Constitution, is deserving of a harsher penalty than actually firing the gun.
Hillbillyman over 13 years ago
That’s like… damned if you do and damned if you dont.
Tue Elung-Jensen over 13 years ago
Ye, except in real life the outcome is that the company decides who they sell to, so they don´t sell the drug to prisons for said use :).
TheFinalSolution over 13 years ago
Only if you’re Muslim. Everybody knows that there isn’t a democrat alive who eats pork and is for the death penalty.
steelersneo over 13 years ago
Not only would I sell the drug, I would personally inject each and every person who has been legally convicted and sentenced to death for their crimes. Without losing a minutes sleep over it.
fritzoid Premium Member over 13 years ago
If you can convince me that we’ve never executed an innocent person – not recently, not in the old days, not EVER (and we never WILL) – I might revise my opinion of capital punishment. How many innocent people are you willing to kill in the name of the State to ensure that none of the guilty ones escape it?
If you can convince me that nobody who’s ever been SENTENCED to death has ever been exonerated by later evidence (or evidence that was simply not introduced to the jury), then I might revise my thoughts on the necessity of the lengthy, expensive, and AUTOMATIC appeals process. (The death penalty is simply DIFFERENT, because once it’s been administered there’s no way back.)
If you can convince me that a death sentence was never sought for political reasons, or in response to public outcry, or simply because the defendant wasn’t “likeable”, and that there’s an objective, discernable, and defensible difference between criminals who receive the death penalty and those who don’t, again, I might revise my opinion.
Finally, if you can somehow show me how executing a murderer restores his victims to life, then heck yeah I’ll revise my opinion.
But if you believe that there’s a God in heaven who administers Perfect Justice after death, then the death penalty is superfluous as “punishment” – at best, you’re merely speeding the subject on his way. At worst, you’re killing an innocent (see above). Heaven rejoices in the arrival one redeemed sinner more than in a hundred who have never strayed. Do you believe no convicted murderer has ever repented after 20 years in prison? 30 years? 50 years? To execute a convict as soon as possible removes the POSSIBILITY that this soul might be saved. It used to be considered that wishing even your worst enemy be cut off from the possibility of salvation was itself a heinous sin. The death penalty is simply un-Christian, which you’d think the story of its founder would point out sufficiently for anybody.
fritzoid Premium Member over 13 years ago
Everybody who has the slightest doubt about the death penalty should watch “The Thin Blue Line” (the 1988 documentary, not the 1995 Rowan Atkinson comedy). An innocent man came thisclose to being executed for a cop-killing, because the real killers were juveniles and the Texas authorities wanted to kill SOMEBODY as payback.
fritzoid Premium Member over 13 years ago
True story: Two young men “Fred” and “Joe”, cousins, hold up a liquor store. Both are carrying guns, but only “Fred” fires his, killing the guy behind the counter. Both are caught, and are tried separately, both for capital murder (commission of a crime which results in homicide). “Fred” cooperates, and is given a 20 year sentence. As part of his deal, he testifies at “Joe’s” trial. “Joe” is found guilty and sentenced to death. So apparently trying to defend yourself in a court of law, which is a right guaranteed under the Constitution, is deserving of a harsher penalty than actually firing the gun.