(settles in to wait for own state to get cranium out of rectum)
As long as justice is being determined by fallible human beings, mistakes will be made. Emotions will be played on to the detriment of logic, witnesses will point the finger at someone who looks a lot like the guilty party whether it's truly the culprit or not, defense lawyers will mount poor defenses and prosecutors will play on fear to get convictions, judges will fail to take mitigating circumstances into account in setting sentences.
As long as that is the case, it's more than likely that innocent people will be imprisoned and executed. As long as that's the case, I will stand firm against the death penalty. A man who has been unjustly imprisoned may at least be set free and given some form of compensation for his travails; a man who has already been executed cannot.
If more people understood that, I think support for the death penalty would dissipate significantly.
I've known someone unjustly tried and sentenced to prison. He spent seven years of his life behind bars despite the fact that he could prove he was several hundred miles away from the scene of the crime, and despite the fact that every shred of evidence in any way connecting him with the crime came from a man who had a long prison record, a reputation for not wearing out the truth through overuse, and a much better reason to commit the crime.
The good news is my friend wasn't convicted of a capital offense. He did his time, he kept his nose clean, and he was released at the earliest opportunity. He will probably never get justice for what he went through, but at least he's alive to put his life back together again as best he can.
no subject
(settles in to wait for own state to get cranium out of rectum)
As long as justice is being determined by fallible human beings, mistakes will be made. Emotions will be played on to the detriment of logic, witnesses will point the finger at someone who looks a lot like the guilty party whether it's truly the culprit or not, defense lawyers will mount poor defenses and prosecutors will play on fear to get convictions, judges will fail to take mitigating circumstances into account in setting sentences.
As long as that is the case, it's more than likely that innocent people will be imprisoned and executed. As long as that's the case, I will stand firm against the death penalty. A man who has been unjustly imprisoned may at least be set free and given some form of compensation for his travails; a man who has already been executed cannot.
If more people understood that, I think support for the death penalty would dissipate significantly.
I've known someone unjustly tried and sentenced to prison. He spent seven years of his life behind bars despite the fact that he could prove he was several hundred miles away from the scene of the crime, and despite the fact that every shred of evidence in any way connecting him with the crime came from a man who had a long prison record, a reputation for not wearing out the truth through overuse, and a much better reason to commit the crime.
The good news is my friend wasn't convicted of a capital offense. He did his time, he kept his nose clean, and he was released at the earliest opportunity. He will probably never get justice for what he went through, but at least he's alive to put his life back together again as best he can.