The financial crisis is leading some states to reconsider the death penalty, according to Amnesty International as quoted by AFP. (You can read the entire AFP story on the death penalty embedded below, and you’ll see Alabama and other Southern states led the way in executions.) According to the AFP story, “While US opinion polls for years have shown a two-thirds support for lethal injections, this year the financial crisis has stressed the 10-to-one cost of execution compared to life imprisonment and made 10 states also consider its abolishment. Anti-death penalty activists are hoping these states can tip the balance to more than half of the 50 states abolishing capital punishment in order to legally trigger its review on a national level.”

Anyone who would abolish capital punishment on financial grounds totally misunderstands the point of punishment. We don’t punish people for utilitarian reasons; we punish people because they deserve to be punished. Punishment is rendered not because people are safer when criminals are in jail (though they are). Punishment is executed because justice demands it.

Let us hope Alabama never becomes so crass as to decide justice based on the price to execute it.

7 thoughts on “Death penalty & Alabama (the state)”

  1. Amnesty International has long since surrendered any objectivity on the death penalty. Why on earth do they fight so hard to protect criminal scum? It makes absolutely no sense and is complete foolishness.

  2. If they confess, and there is no doubt of the crime. Fry em that day.

  3. I agree Ballplay. If there is no doubt at all, why not just get it over with soon as the guilty verdict is handed down. And why do they swab a guy with alcohol before the lethal injection? Like it is making it more humane so the convicted don’t get an infection or something.

  4. My philosophy has always been, and always will be the same as many of history’s greatest leaders and philosophers: A eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. Lieniency or Life in Prison should be used only in special or extenuating circumstances. And if someone harms one of my loved ones in a manner which would merit the death penalty, and the system does not punish them severly enough – then I will carry out justice myself. Of course this post will provoke various smartass responses. Whatever. Do you really think I give a damn?

  5. E.G. White…….The only reason anyone would be less than cordial to you would be because of the way you started out your posts on this blog. But seriously. Since youve toned down the bullcrap and I can read 3 words without seein a curse word, Ive noticed that you and I dont think that much differently concerning social issues. And I agree, forgiveness of something doesnt mean that the person who committed a crime shouldnt pay the earthly sentence for that crime.

  6. Well I think my diddy with Omnipresent over Obama might belie your language assesment a little. However, even if he won’t admit it – he started the character assassination. I think if you’ll look fairly at even my nastiest posts you’ll see that I never strike the first blow. I’m always retaliating to defend Bama or myself. I got sick of the unmittigated slander and down right lies about Bama that permeate the Barner, Vile, Corndog, Jaw Jaw and Lizard forums. And it doesn’t stop there. Ya’ll go on each others and national forums and spew out the same crap – and before anybody from Bama says anything about anybody. Ya’ll start it. Then one day I ran across Capstone Report, and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t as bad, or worse on one of our own forums! Well I just wasn’t gonna put up with it. I haven’t backed off in my tenacity to defend Bama from you guys. I’m just taking a break from beating my head against a stone wall. Anyway thanks. Oh by the way, I think Omnipresent was more than a little disappointed that you didn’t blindly take up for him.

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