Performing execution

[paramedicmike]

Do a search on the Illinois Death Penalty Moratorium Project. I think it was through Northwestern University. There's a lot of info out there. This will include info on how people were found to be wrongly convicted.

As for cost, there's a lot of info out there on this, too. Generally, extra costs come in the form of extra appeals, time, personnel etc. It's a lengthy, in depth and costly process.

There's been a lot of recent media attention paid to this, too, with the stories of the guy in Virginia who was sentenced to death after DNA evidence that could have proven or disproved his involvement was thrown out by a court clerk and the guy in California who was the founder of one of the big gangs out there (krypts?). There will be a lot of discussion on both sides of this story recently available and referenced.

-be safe.

[Guest]

Yea i heard about the founder of the crips. That is a freakin joke. Look at what that man started, there is nothing he can do to make it go away either.

Aside from that, We are the ones that made executions expensive. But before we get to far off topic. i am going to leave it at that. thanks Mike for the reference material i will look at it.

[Dustdevil]

I think anybody who falls for that old "it costs more to execute them than to give them life in prison" line is incredibly naive. First of all, the appeals don't figure into imprisonment costs. That's like figuring prosecution costs into convictions and saying it's cheaper to just let people go rather than prosecute them in the first place. It's idiocy.

And second, it assumes that those who are sentenced to life in prison are not also filing appeal after appeal for the next twenty years, which you KNOW they are, at pretty much the same cost.

So yeah, they did fail math. But unfortunately, they learned just enough statistics to spin them. :roll:

[Just Plain Ruff]

Racemedic, I have really thick skin, that's what happens after working in this field for 14 years.

True the costs of the appeals stop after they get the juice but that might not happen for 20-25 years. So we are still talking huge amounts of money.

I also think the government missed the boat by not limiting the amount of appeals but it's our justice system and it's flawed but the best one out there.

I do believe that if someone is innocent then they should be given every opportunity and I mean every opportunity to prove their innocence and if that means a million appeals then so be it. I cannot fathom putting someone to death who was truly innocent.

If you want to see a truly jaw dropping movie that made a hard nosed paramedic cry, go rent Life of David Gale.

[Ridryder 911]

If the state would provide " fair & speedy trial.. then the cost could be down. I do not see the need for automatic appeal if was like I had given situation. Volunteer admission and videotape of murder. Cases like that should not be given the right for appeal. The guilty already have more rights than the victims they have killed...

Be safe,

R/R 911

[Guest]

If the state would provide " fair & speedy trial.. then the cost could be down. I do not see the need for automatic appeal if was like I had given situation. Volunteer admission and videotape of murder. Cases like that should not be given the right for appeal. The guilty already have more rights than the victims they have killed...

Be safe,

R/R 911

I agree, once they have been proven guilty...and I mean totally proven guilty...then sentence them without any appeals. If they are guilty..even if they admitted to the crime....why prolong it? OK maybe I can agree to letting them have one more chance to appeal "maybe" depending on the crime and motive. But after if had been denied, thats all they need to put him down. Why give him 10 or 20 more chances and they all be denied and then put him down. The case in the first place takes months and years to come to the conclussion that the guy is guilty. Thats all I would need to say lets exicute.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Dust, I normally agree with you but you are wrong on the cost. I was putting all the costs together.

It does indeed cost more to put someone to death than to house them. I don't have the references or links since I'm in Detroit and live in KC MO but my math is correct. Let me get those links and references when I get home and I'll show em to ya.

And I'm not naive and I did not fall for them, I have the facts at home.

[Guest]

Ruff..been in the field for close to 13 yrs. I have seen the Life of David Gail ... went to the theater to see it. your right great movie. will never admit to crying at any movie besides old yeller, Cried like a freakin baby for that dog .......

But if i remember the movie right, he assisted with her suicide. that to is illegal, may not be punishable by death but is a prison term none the less, not to mention withholding information, failure to report a death, tampering with a crime scene and the numerous other charges that easily could have come from what they did in the movie. Not to mention the abuse he would have received had they found out he made everyone look stupid before they executed him.

don't get me wrong i didn't think of all this during the first time i watched the movie. I really do like it even still but i have a habit of tearing apart movies when i watch them more than once.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Race, I agree, he was guilty of a lot of things but the jist of the movie and it's underlying premise is that they were trying to prove, and they did in the movie, that it was possible to execute a man who didn't commit that crime. that was what their movement was all about, do away with the death penalty because this type of thing could happen.

But he was guilty of a number of things, just not anything that warranted the death penalty.

Can we execute innocent people? Sure we could but that is what the appeal process is for and that is why DNA is so important. I still am a staunch supporter of the Death penalty, even if the possibility of executing a person who might be innocent is out there.

[paramedicmike]

If the state would provide " fair & speedy trial.. then the cost could be down. I do not see the need for automatic appeal if was like I had given situation. Volunteer admission and videotape of murder. Cases like that should not be given the right for appeal. The guilty already have more rights than the victims they have killed...

Be safe,

R/R 911

Well, we have this thing called the Fifth amendment to the Constitution. It has this little clause regarding due process of law and how no one will be deprived of life, liberty or property without it.

I will agree that the rights of criminals are many times greater than that of the victims (referencing all crimes here not just capital crimes). However, due process is what helps protect all of us from becoming a society of heathens who will to try, convict and carry out sentence simply on the word of another person (think Salem witch trials).

There has to be due process of the law. The alternative would associate us with the likes of Saddam or Hitler (drastic associations, yes, but not as far fetched as your gut reaction to disagree would have you think). We fought to defeat that both on our own soil and overseas. And it's important that it remain as part of our judicial system.

-be safe.