12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty Oct 22,2011 in Austin Texas

[White Eagle]

I have been a member of the Texas Moratorium Network and the Innocence project for some time. I have in a prior life been a supporter of the Death Penalty, but after joining these 2 groups I get first knowledge of the insanity that the death penalty has become. After Troy Davis' murder this week something has to be done to get rid of this madness.
If you are interested you might be able to join this march.

http://marchforabolition.org/

12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty Oct 22,2011 in Austin Texas
Oct 22,2011 in Austin Texas

Exonerated Death Row survivors from seven states will be taking their powerful message against the death penalty across Texas from October 12th through 19th. They will also be rallying support for the 12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty in Austin,TX on October 22.


Witness to Innocence is the nation’s only organization composed of,by and for exonerated death row survivors and their loved ones. Witness to Innocence members bring a human face to the death penalty,illuminating the unfairness and immorality of capital punishment.

--snip--

March to Abolish the Death Penalty:

Each October since 2000,Texans and their supporters have gathered in Austin to oppose the death penalty. Once again in 2011,activists,family members of people on death row,community leaders,exonerated former prisoners,family members of murder victims,leaders of faith communities and all those calling for repeal of the Texas death penalty will come together at the Texas Capitol. Join us! Visit marchforabolition.org for more information and to sign on as a sponsor of the 12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty. Come help build the statewide coalition that will eventually repeal the death penalty in Texas.

 

[T-Rexx]

Honorable, but fruitless.

Texas is a Republican state. Republicans have a taste for blood.

They will insist on death, even though life imprisonment would save you folks $ billions.

Big government is a good thing when it kills people off.

 

[CowboyBob]

This is state sanctioned murder. As T-Rexx stated, republicans feel the need for revenge by taking a life for a life. When bloodthirsty republican Perry boasted of his body count, there were cheers in the audience.

Republicans condemn Iran and China for their lack of human rights. Texas is no better than them in this regard.

Are they really the "party of God", as they like to claim they are?

 

[justapixel]

After Troy Davis' murder this week something has to be done to get rid of this madness.

Something has been done about this madness.

Texas has dropped the 'last meal'. Sanity has been restored to Texas.

Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, wrote Thursday that he opposed the practice of providing a last meal of choice to the condemned.

"It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege. One which the perpetrator did not provide to their victim," Whitmire wrote.

The Democrat, who represents Houston and parts of north Harris County, said "enough is enough" after Lawrence Russell Brewer ordered two chicken fried steaks smothered in gravy with sliced onions, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelet with other ingredients, a large bowl of fried okra with ketchup, three fajitas, a pint of Blue Bell ice cream and a pound of barbecue with a half-loaf of white bread.

The meal request also included a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts, a pizza and three root beers.
No more death row 'last meals' in Texas

Brewer declined to eat the last meal Wednesday, said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/22/justice/texas-last-meal/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

 

[White Eagle]

Well, you are as sick as they are if you believe that.

 

[ChickenGuy]

I completely agree with White Eagle, T-Rexx, and CowboyBob's comments.

Two questions:

Would there ever be the possibilty of Congress signing a federal law/bill outlawing the death penalty?

Could a legal case ever go to the Supreme Court where they could overturn the death penalty?

 

[Sausy]

On the same day Troy Davis was executed,so was in Texas,for that matter one of those white supremacists who dragged James Byrd to his death,without mercy or humanity for his suffering.Is that man's death justice or equally abhorrent?If Troy Davis was not guilty of his crime,if the genetic testing doubts were really of such a nature to require holding off and re-looking at his case....his execution was a travesty.But the white supremacist executed there were absolutely NO such doubts of his guilt or responsibility...is the death penalty ALWAYS wrong,even if the person executed is no doubt responsible for the crime?

 

[T-Rexx]

Would there ever be the possibilty of Congress signing a federal law/bill outlawing the death penalty?

It is theoretically possible, but highly unlikely. Republicans dominate the House. And even most Democrats prefer such matters to be decided by the individual states.

Could a legal case ever go to the Supreme Court where they could overturn the death penalty?

It has happened many, many times that such issues have been addressed by the court. In 1972, the Supreme Court actually ruled that the death penalty (as it was then being implemented in 40 states) was, indeed, unconstitutional. The court ruled that death was being imposed arbitrarily by juries, and that that was not fair.

That ended the death penalty across the USA for about ten years. Then, states started issuing mandatory sentencing guidelines, so that the death penalty could be brought back in a less arbitrary fashion. That has been considered constitutional, so far.

The usual argument against the death penalty in court is that it is "cruel and unusual punishment," a phenomenon which is considered unconstitutional. So far, the court has held that death is not cruel and unusual, although the court has stated in the past that this opinion must be considered in the context of the times in which the penalty is being enforced. In other words, it could be constitutional now, but not in the future, since what is regarded as "cruel" and "unusual" is always a function of the times.

It is rather an absurd argument, however. What could be a more cruel and unusual punishment than death, in any time?

 

[White Eagle]

Originally Posted by Sausy

Default Re: 12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty Oct 22,2011 in Austin Texas
On the same day Troy Davis was executed,so was in Texas,for that matter one of those white supremacists who dragged James Byrd to his death,without mercy or humanity for his suffering.Is that man's death justice or equally abhorrent?If Troy Davis was not guilty of his crime,if the genetic testing doubts were really of such a nature to require holding off and re-looking at his case....his execution was a travesty.But the white supremacist executed there were absolutely NO such doubts of his guilt or responsibility...is the death penalty ALWAYS wrong,even if the person executed is no doubt responsible for the crime?

Ok, you have forced me to change my mind. If I'm gonna say that it was wrong to execute Troy Davis, then I have to say the white supremest should not have been executed. If I'm going to be against the Death Penalty, then I have to be against all of them.
Thanks for waking me up.

 

[jackoroe]

Ok, you have forced me to change my mind. If I'm gonna say that it was wrong to execute Troy Davis, then I have to say the white supremest should not have been executed. If I'm going to be against the Death Penalty, then I have to be against all of them.
Thanks for waking me up.

Lawrence Brewer was on of the white supremacists who murdered James Byrd. Mr. Byrd, who was black, was chained and dragged behind a pickup truck. Byrd's body was nothing more than a bloody chunk of meat and couldn't be identified except by fingerprints.

Mr.Brewer was executed for his crime, and the world is a better place for him no longer fouling it with his presence.

And I defy any of you to argue that he didn't deserve to die.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Hate-crime-killer-executed-2182684.php

 

[ChickenGuy]

And I defy any of you to argue that he didn't deserve to die.

He didn't deserve to die.

What makes YOU think that it's within you or your country's right to take another human being's life - and YES, he is STILL a human being, no matter WHAT he did.

Does he deserve to be tortured? Does he deserve to be beaten? Does he deserve to be raped?

What level of pain, cruelty, and suffering will satisfy you and your DESIRE to commit the SAME CRIME as the criminal does?

You completely debase and degrade yourself, and bring yourself down to HIS depraved world.

Is THAT what you want?

 

[jackoroe]

He didn't deserve to die.

What makes YOU think that it's within you or your country's right to take another human being's life - and YES, he is STILL a human being, no matter WHAT he did.

Does he deserve to be tortured? Does he deserve to be beaten? Does he deserve to be raped?

What level of pain, cruelty, and suffering will satisy you and your DESIRE to commit the SAME CRIME as the criminal does?

You completely debase and degrade yourself, and bring youself down to HIS depraved world.

Is THAT what you want?

Human beings do not drag other human beings chained to the back of a pickup trucks. When you engage in such behavior, you forfeit your humanity. Mr. Brewer wasn't beaten, tortured or raped. He was treated humanely and executed in an humane fashion.

He wasn't chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for such a long period that he was decapitated and made to resemble 100lbs. of ground meat.

Justice has been served.

 

[ChickenGuy]

When you engage in such behavior, you forfeit your humanity.

And when you execute him, you forfeit a part of yours.

Justice has been served.

Your desire to kill him has being served.

That isn't justice, that's revenge.

Justice is served by giving him a life sentence in a maximum-security prison with the barest of provisions.


EDIT:


Jackoroe, I want you to SERIOUSLY consider this question, and then answer it TRUTHFULLY for me....


....if I put you in a room with Lawrence Brewer and gave you a loaded gun, would you pull the trigger?

 

[White Eagle]

jackoroe
Before Cameron Todd Willingham, Troy Davis and others I'm sure, what you say would be what I think.
However, Willingham and Davis were more than likely innocent. To make sure it does not happen again, we need to make the death penalty unconstitutional. It is, in my opinion right now.
What you say is like the crowds at the Republican debates, they yell clap and loudly approve of Perry's murdering human beings. But you, being a Republican, I can understand your blood thurst.

 

[Mariatenebre]

He didn't deserve to die.

What makes YOU think that it's within you or your country's right to take another human being's life - and YES, he is STILL a human being, no matter WHAT he did.

Does he deserve to be tortured? Does he deserve to be beaten? Does he deserve to be raped?

What level of pain, cruelty, and suffering will satisfy you and your DESIRE to commit the SAME CRIME as the criminal does?

You completely debase and degrade yourself, and bring yourself down to HIS depraved world.

Is THAT what you want?

If you commit a violent crime and are indeed guilty of it you forfeit your right to live as a human being as well as your rights. It is not committing the same crime. The crimes were violence against an innocent human being. Execution is punishing the guilty. You are not going down to their level you are meeting out punishment deserved and giving them a taste of their own medicine. By these foolish hippie leftists standards since you can't end a life because you are violating someone's rights then by the same standard you can't punish a guilty person at all because you are violating their rights.

Once you commit violent crime you lose your right to liberty and your life. I am for the death penalty as if you do not respect innocent life yours does not deserve to be respected either. Also if you aren't willing to kill someone then you can't protet anyone.
This Brewer guy was treated humanely and in fact better then he should have been and given a peaceful death. Really someone like him should have been treated far worse. As he said justice has been served.

And when you execute him, you forfeit a part of yours.




Your desire to kill him has being served.

That isn't justice, that's revenge.

Justice is served by giving him a life sentence in a maximum-security prison with the barest of provisions.


EDIT:


Jackoroe, I want you to SERIOUSLY consider this question, and then answer it TRUTHFULLY for me....


....if I put you in a room with Lawrence Brewer and gave you a loaded gun, would you pull the trigger?

Justice is revenge it is taking recompence for injustice against you. This Brewer guy was a punk who deserved what he got a White Supremacist piece of shit.

Further more if it was me in the room with Lawrence Brewer I would let the authorities handle him. Otherwise if they didn't I would cut his head off and put it on a pike. They don't call me an Amazon for nothing.

 

[jackoroe]

jackoroe
Before Cameron Todd Willingham, Troy Davis and others I'm sure, what you say would be what I think.
However, Willingham and Davis were more than likely innocent. To make sure it does not happen again, we need to make the death penalty unconstitutional. It is, in my opinion right now.
What you say is like the crowds at the Republican debates, they yell clap and loudly approve of Perry's murdering human beings. But you, being a Republican, I can understand your blood thurst.

Contrary to what you may think, I don't have a blood thirst. I'd have not executed Davis, had I had the power not to. At least pending some further review. It could have waited just a while longer.

I'm sure you'd agree, you really have to earn the death penalty, even in Texas. All murders don't qualify as Capitol murders. There's only a handful of offenses that even qualify as Capitol murders.

http://law.onecle.com/texas/penal/19.03.00.html

The bottom line is that the law is the law. If you don't kill anyone else, you aren't likely to be exposed to the death penalty. So just don't do it. The Constitution allows the states to execute people. Not all states do, but that's their choice to make.

I'd prefer that people not kill other people. But there are circumstances under which they should be executed. And Brewer was a poster child for the death penalty, if ever there was one.

 

[Mariatenebre]

I assume like most people, you are familiar with the following:

R.I.P.

What does it stand for?

All the death penalty achieves is to 'release' the guilty.

Death is not a release, death is the end of our experience of life on this Earth in essence we must say goodboy to conciousness and the joys of life. Death serves to rob the guilty of the right of existence which if said guilty people have no care for the existence of others they deserve no respect either.

Contrary to what you may think, I don't have a blood thirst. I'd have not executed Davis, had I had the power not to. At least pending some further review. It could have waited just a while longer.

I'm sure you'd agree, you really have to earn the death penalty, even in Texas. All murders don't qualify as Capitol murders. There's only a handful of offenses that even qualify as Capitol murders.

http://law.onecle.com/texas/penal/19.03.00.html

The bottom line is that the law is the law. If you don't kill anyone else, you aren't likely to be exposed to the death penalty. So just don't do it. The Constitution allows the states to execute people. Not all states do, but that's their choice to make.

I'd prefer that people not kill other people. But there are circumstances under which they should be executed. And Brewer was a poster child for the death penalty, if ever there was one.

I agree with what you are saying said person certainly deserved the death penalty and the fact that executing evil people gets you called blood thirsty by these mindless sheep on this forum shows just how far their liberal moral compass has sank. By their logic since all humans have rights irregardless of whether they abuse other people's rights by their same logic you can't punish guilty people at all because you are violating their rights. If you kill someone in a violent crime your right to life ceases to exist. Just like if you commit other lesser crimes your life of living freely and unconfined ceases to exist.

These Liberal sheep would let people like Hitler, Manson or Bin Laden live even after their crimes against humanity. When you take an innocent life you forefeit your own it is that simple. Life is a priviledge with one requirement and that is to respect the lives of innocent people. You don't respect the lives of innocents and take them you lose this priviledge.

 

[jackoroe]

And when you execute him, you forfeit a part of yours.




Your desire to kill him has being served.

That isn't justice, that's revenge.

Justice is served by giving him a life sentence in a maximum-security prison with the barest of provisions.


EDIT:


Jackoroe, I want you to SERIOUSLY consider this question, and then answer it TRUTHFULLY for me....


....if I put you in a room with Lawrence Brewer and gave you a loaded gun, would you pull the trigger?

You know, I've thought about this for about 20-25 mins now. Seriously? If I was tasked with shooting him, I'd be able to do it. Would it effect me for the rest of my life? Sure it would. Anybody who tells you different is either a liar or psychopath. Would I do Davis who was executed last week in Georgia? Absolutely not. There would always be that doubt in my mind.

 

[White Eagle]

jackoroe
I'm sorry you have that feeling about it. Making the penalty life without a chance of parole will do just fine. Executing stops their thinking about what they have done. Let them rot in a prison cell.
You are doing them a favor by execution.
Thirst! of course, my spell check said thurst was wrong, but I went with it.

 

[jackoroe]

WhiteEagle, you're onto something here. Life sentences don't actually mean life. 7 out of 10 prisoners sentenced to life actually get released.

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/VOSPATS.PDF

Life without parole is also a similar misnomer. I think if we had actual life sentences, you'd see less support for the death penalty. As it stands now, there is no appeal of death.