You call this justice ? It is a joke and an extremely expensive one. Facts concerning the Death Penalty are almost infinite, so I will state just a few in order to emphasize the matter. They may not be accurate, but are sufficient to outline this ridiculous affair. There are about around 3,200+ inmates on Death Row in America at present of which California has a massive 724. The total national cost of Death Row since 1978 must be astronomic and in the tens of $Billions. California is a shambolic judicial disgrace having spent $4 Billion of taxpayers money since 1978 on their Death Row circus, with only a mere 13 executions to show for it. That is $308 Million per execution. Not a good return on investment. Expenditure is reckoned to reach $9 Billion by 2030. There has not been an execution in California for around 10 years - so long that they have forgotten how to do it, all those nasty needles and drugs. The national average stay on Death Row in the US is around 15-17 years, with 10 years being almost a minimum. Executions under 10 years are very rare. We have young killers committing a crime who then become old killers eventually paying the price. A high majority of inmates die of natural causes during the 20 years or so they languish in jail. Death Row in America is like an old peoples care home with all the trappings of comfort and care. Expense is no object to keep the little darlings happy. Although not perfect by any means, Texas sets at least a respectable example in carrying out executions. Their efforts show some job enthusiasm, but even Texas is not free from being hampered by the armies of parasitic defense lawyers who grow fat on the enormous proceeds of trying to keep these killers alive for nearly 1/4 of a Century. Defending killers and criminals is an industry within the US legal profession. Without this lucrative means of guaranteeing their luxurious lifestyles, over 50% of the fat-cat US legal profession would be in the nearest job queue. No expense is spared to prolong the lives of these killers or how long it takes. Nobody gives a crap about their victims, who no longer have a life to enjoy. My conclusion ? The US capital punishment system is a shameful debacle. Take a look at the Middle East, Far East, Africa and above all - China. THEY know how to dispense justice extremely efficiently and VERY quickly indeed. No good soaking their taxpayers, they have no money to soak, so get it over the quicker, the better eh ? Is the Death Penalty a deterrent ? Well, if it is so be it, but it is a PENALTY not some psychological nonsense or a scheme for appeasing our Human Rights nutters. It sure deters some, probably many and for those who get caught it is one big deterrent. If or whenever the big day comes, it takes just a few minutes to eternity and they will never kill again. How is that for a deterrent ? Now, I throw the matter over to the wolves to shake about. Said my bit.
I think the 10 year minimum was established to make sure the criminal was truly guilty. I agree some people could be despatched much quicker. As for the cost, it's not exactly right to use stats like that. Jails spend something like 10 bucks a day per prisoner, if that. It's the administration that costs millions per prison. Here we get similar stats on accidents where every death on our roads costs 1.4 million dollars, which, imho is crap. 80% of the cost is the cost of doctors, nurses and admin that would be hired whether we have car accidents or not. If we have 300 crashes they divide up the cost of everything by 300 and claim that's how much it costs but in reality if we have less fatal crashes it would be considered even dearer per accident. Take off the cost saving of just 1 accident and that's the real cost of accidents. In the same vein if you take away the saving by not housing/feeding the criminal, you will get the real cost, less than 10 grand a year. The other 1.2 million is spent on legal fees and employees. Now that I cleared that up will add that I do think America seems to enjoy locking people up. I believe jail often creates bigger crims and the USA is in a bad cycle atm.
Well as an AMERICAN you should give a shit - YOU ARE PAYING FOR IT !! and I don`t give a shit about what YOU think. Me ? It is ME that does not give a shit about your loving care home attitude to killers, YOU pay the taxes needed to keep these worthless scumbags in comfort and enjoying a life of luxury, everything found. WOW ! What a generously humane lot you are ! I am deeply humbled. The pathetic US justice system, which I may add condemns many innocent people to a life in jail or even death, takes a ludicrous amount of time and every single court case of a murder trial costs on average ONE million bucks ! And it all comes out of YOUR pocket. The total US legal fiasco must cost $Billions. The best legal system in the Western world was seen in WW1, where a Courts Marshal was held one day and the condemned person shot at dawn the next. No fuss, no nonsense and no expense. AND certainly NO fat-cat lawyers. You like giving viscous killers a comfortable life in a cushy cell with TV, computers, everything found and a Teddy Bear to cuddle in bed at night ? You must be mentally perverted. And as far as foreigners making comments about American activities, let me tell you straight - America sticks their ugly nose in everybody else s business, so why is it wrong for us to stick our nose in your`s ? We have as much right as you do to comment and criticise American behaviour, which I may add, often results in some gigantic cock-up. Come of it, you can`t have your cake and eat it.
I get to vote on the California death penalty in a couple weeks. Most of your facts on the costs are off, but nonetheless those of us in California get to vote on whether or not to keep the death penalty or abolish it and sentence those persons to life in prison without parole. It just seems you would be better served ranting about your own country's position on the death penalty than ours. You are free to have your opinion on our death penalty, as everyone is, I was just wondering why I, or anyone, should care. From your posts in this forum it would appear you have little better to do than share your uninformed opinions about the politics in America. You come off as a bit of a twit.
You amaze me ! YOU are actually going to vote in California on whether to keep the Death Penalty !!!!!!! Where have you been these last 3 decades and you obviously have not understood a word of what I have already stated. Now READ this very carefully :- "The gang who have run Californian state affairs since 1978 and certainly over the past 10 years ALREADY DECIDED TO ABANDON THE DEATH PENALTY UNILATERALLY and without any input from you voters." So don`t waste your time voting, the Californian managing upper crust decided the issue over 3 decades ago. Nice ran chum. My posts on this Forum are a million times more well constructed and factual for debate than 80% of others I have read. Why don`t you post your juvenile comments generally on the Forum so that everybody gets a slap on the wrist for having nothing better to do than attempt to be clever. Look at some of your own posts and have a real belly laugh at literary crap. With over 7,000 posts to your name, you have the audacity to infer I have nothing better to do than piddle around posting on this Forum. Coupled with your complete inability to understand a word of what people say, it is unbelievable. You must sit on your idle fat butt all day and night doing nothing else but write yourself stupid posting your own unintelligent comments for the world to bear. To call your obvious intellectual and literary superior a TWIT, displays the mentality of a children's playground. If you cannot beat them, call them names. PLEASE, if you find it utterly impossible to write something that is intelligent, observant, debatable and constructive but most of all civil, I suggest you find another futile hobby other than trying to play with the big boys in matters and subjects you obviously have no ability to comprehend. Now behave yourself and be a good boy or I`ll tell my buddy David Cameron and he`ll send a Gunboat.
And, as if on queue: Another declaration of intellectual superiority. How quaint. I'm sure most of the English readers of this forum are cringing right about now.
Oh dear, my old critic Obamafan has erupted again and gone into his frenzy of juvenile criticism on just about everything everybody says, especially me who he regards a major threat to his previous verbal domination of the Forum. A real one-man nuke of ultra-critical diarrhea. Ah well, I still luv ya Obamafan, keep up the good work. It is always a pleasure to see the sheer artistry of a super-duper amateur self appointed Genius and literary pathologist at work, staggering to achieve notoriety for his outstanding but bungling barrage of misguided wisdom. Don`t forget to vote for your idol Obama when the time comes. PSSSSST - I hate to mention it, but this thread is not a "Let`s all crap on John Bull" thread, it is about the Death Penalty fiasco in America. I am sure the OP would appreciate your obvious unique talents diverted to that subject for a few seconds, if at all possible.
Hypocrisy is defined as :- When someone pretends to believe something that they do not really believe or that is the opposite of what they do or say at another time. I see no conflict at all, there should be no vote on the Death Penalty, it should be a mandatory part of decent social legislation. You take a life - you die for it. There is a misguided conviction amongst society that the taking of human life is evil and often conflicts with religious beliefs. Hence most of the world have replaced the Death Penalty for what is jokingly called "Life imprisonment" - usually 25 years and often reduced to as little as 12 years if the killer is a good boy. Or they are let out on parole to kill again. This passive attitude costs Governments countless billions of dollars. aggregating from expensive trials of a million dollars each or more to the enormous cost of keeping these killers in comfort for over a quarter of a Century. The total cost is astronomic, it must be many billions of dollars. As I have said previously, California alone has spent over $4 Billion since 1978 in keeping these scum alive. Every penny at the taxpayers expense. With such a righteous attitude displayed by many nations, including many states in the US, it is unbelievable that the very same Governments allow their military Rambo`s to go around killing whoever they wish. the "enemy" whoever they may be and countless thousands of innocent civilians included. The cost of a life :- A killers victim = nothing. Keeping killers in jail = Countless billions of dollars with no end in sight. Military killing = the lowest cost is what a bullet costs, varying up the selected killing scale to sophisticated weapons. Quite frankly the whole social attitude towards the Death Penalty is one big hypocritical nonsense and the supporters of Life terms for killing should seriously see a head shrink. They are a curse to logical, intelligent, comparative and rational thinking and inflict a life of suffering on the victims entire families who never receive the justice they rightly expect or deserve. I have often heard said - "What is the point in executing these people, it will not bring the victim back". Well my answer is "No it will not bring the victim back, but it feels bloody great".