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Thread: Texas abolishes last meal request

  1. #26
    Banned Eric Stoner's Avatar
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    Default Re: Texas abolishes last meal request

    Quote Originally Posted by dlabtot View Post
    Any thinking person realizes that no system is perfect, therefore capital punishment will inevitably result in the execution of some innocent people.

    Keep that in mind when considering this issue....
    We've been executing "innocent" people in this country for centuries.

    Technically, it is not unconstitutional to execute an "innocent" person so long as they got a fair trial free from prejudicial error. Georgia, Texas and a number of other death penalty states have gone on record ( in their briefs and in oral argument before Federal courts ) that it is not unconstitutional to execute an innocent person. Scalia, Roberts, Alito and Thomas have all put a higher value on finality than on innocence.

    In many states like Virginia it is virtually impossible for a convicted murderer to get a new trial based on new evidence.

    Some studies show that it is cheaper to give murderers life without parole than to execute them.

    The only country in Europe to retain the death penalty is Russia and they have currently suspended all executions.

    All of Latin America except for Cuba has abolished the death penalty.

    Japan and India have it but rarely use it. Japan hangs about 3 criminals a year.

    Countries retaining the death penalty include many Arab countries, Iran, Pakhistan, Thailand, Malaysia, North Korea and few countries in Africa. Sort of puts us in fine company.

    Canada and Mexico have abolished capital punishment.

    The last person executed by Israel was Eichmann 50 years ago.

    Surveys in the U.S. show the death penalty to be losing support.

  2. #27
    Banned Eric Stoner's Avatar
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    Default Re: Texas abolishes last meal request

    Quote Originally Posted by DesuvsDeath View Post
    That's... a bit of a ridiculous request and probably shouldn't have been fulfilled in the first place.

    "Most US states have a last meal tradition but differ in its implementation. Some have a menu, others, like Florida, impose a cost restriction."
    ^^^Seems like a more reasonable approach in the first place.


    I've never really understood the reasoning behind the 'last meal' anyway.
    I mean... why do they need fed a lavish last meal before they're put to death for raping/murdering/torturing/whatevering someone?
    Is it like a consolation prize? You're about to be killed... but here's a tasty steak! Are they a dog? That they're being rewarded with food? I don't get it.
    I have an even sillier irony for you: In states that use lethal injection, why do they swab the injection site with alcohol ? Just to make sure the prisoner doesn't get a last minute infection ?

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    Default Re: Texas abolishes last meal request

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie View Post
    it is undoubtedly far more expensive for a state to keep a convicted murderer incarcerated / fed / medically cared for over the course of the next 30+ years of their life than for a state to provide one extravagant / wasted 'last meal' but then cut the state's future prisoner related expenses to zero. This is just a simple statement of economic facts !

    It actually costs more to execute a person than keeping them on death row for the rest of their life.

    "A capital-eligible case in which prosecutors unsuccessfully sought the death penalty will cost
    $1.8 million, $700,000 more than a comparable case in which the death penalty was not sought.
    Prison costs are about $950,000, and the cost of adjudication is $850,000, more than three times
    higher than in cases which were not capitally prosecuted.
    An average capital-eligible case resulting in a death sentence will cost approximately $3 million,
    $1.9 million more than a case where the death penalty was not sought. In these cases, prison costs
    total about $1.3 million while the remaining $1.7 million are associated with adjudication."

    Source:
    http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411...th_penalty.pdf


    Did a paper on this for my Ethics class.

    Not sure if I have to state this but this is not a political opinion, this is just a simple statement of economic facts :p

    But just to be clear, you did say the last meal was cheaper than keeping this person in prison for the rest of their life. Agreed, the meal is cheaper, the process and execution itself is not.

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    Default Re: Texas abolishes last meal request

    ^^^ I would only comment that the folks at urban.org must never have been in a Texas courtroom !!! Agreed that in NY or CA, high priced attorneys, 'defendent friendly' state judges, etc. can indeed lead to a seemingly never-ending series of appeals which keep the AG's office busy for years. Texas has 'streamlined' this process a bit, which undoubtedly reduces the associated costs of litigation !!!

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    Default Re: Texas abolishes last meal request

    I'm going to do some research on the costs in Texas and get back to you on that.

    Am I allowed to say whether I'm for or against the death penalty? Or is that against the rules?

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    Default Re: Texas abolishes last meal request

    ^^^ I would think that clearly constitutes a 'political' opinion.

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    Default Re: Texas abolishes last meal request

    Oh cool well this isn't political at all. This is all a moral opinion, and in my opinion (based on my morals) I find the death penalty to be an appropriate punishment in some cases.

  9. #33
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    Default Re: Texas abolishes last meal request

    This news article brought back the memory of an article I read in an Indian newspaper few months ago. The article informed its readers about the death of India's lone executioner. In a country of one billion people, they had only one executioner and to make the matter worse, no one wanted to fill the vacancy after his death. Article even went on to suggest that the job of execution should be outsourced to Texas.

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    Default Re: Texas abolishes last meal request

    Personal support or disapproval of the death penalty aside, I'm more bothered by the use of tax payer dollars to maintain this prisoner for who knows how many years, notthe wasteful nature of his excessive final meal. Furthermore, I found Tinkerbell's link interesting. :-)
    Behind every bitch is a girl who got tired of being broken and used.

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    Default Re: Texas abolishes last meal request

    Quote Originally Posted by Eric Stoner View Post
    I have an even sillier irony for you: In states that use lethal injection, why do they swab the injection site with alcohol ? Just to make sure the prisoner doesn't get a last minute infection ?
    My understanding: part professionalism, part avoidance of 'cruel and unusual punishment' by using a dirty or infected instrument or allowing contaminants at the site, and part coverage of the potential that there will be a last-minute reprieve before the actual drugs are injected.

    As for last meals, if it was me, I'd ask for fugu.
    ED E’ SUBITO SERA

    Ognuno sta solo sul cuor della terra
    trafitto da un raggio di sole:
    ed è subito sera

    --Salvatore Quasimodo--

    =============================

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