NEWS: Five Death Row Inmates Hold Hunger Strike

A hunger strike is being waged by five death row inmates to protest thier living conditions. Calling it "inhumane and tantamount to psychological torture" the inmates in Connecticut are seeking the ability to recreate together and end thier solitary confinement. The protest is being publicized by a group that opposed the death penalty. The inmates have stated that thier protest is not related to Michael Ross who's execution is currently on hold.



Really now, perhaps we should also make sure they have a plasma TV with a surround sound system. Let us not forget that these guys are not on death row for boosting a stereo or some Girl Scout cookies. They all killed someone. Quite frankly, they seem to have a fairly good life and if the solitary confinement is hard to handle then thats just too bad. It will be interesting to see if the hunger strike gets them anywhere. I predict feeding tubes in their future.

Does anyone else see the humorous irony in those condemed to die doing something that will harm their health as a barginning tool? No, just me? I guess I'm just sick then.

Cool! First we save our tax dollars spent on their food, plus we save tax dollars by not having to have a guard go and deliver the food to them - plus we don't have to spend any money on the lethal injection juice.

Seriously now, how ludicrous, just kill them already.

Originally posted by Jonna
Does anyone else see the humorous irony in those condemed to die doing something that will harm their health as a barginning tool? No, just me? I guess I'm just sick then.

Its actually a good form of protest. ITs non violent, and I think that the state has a obligation to keep them health untill execution, otherwise that is cruel and unusual punishment.

Understandable and silly protest. I'm against the death penalty. Should put them to work for Martha.

Off-topic question: Can a death row inmate ask to die or would his/her mental health be in question?

they can attempt to speed up the process but starving themselves in protest is hysterical in my opinion.

Originally posted by swintersVT
Off-topic question: Can a death row inmate ask to die or would his/her mental health be in question?

I think that they can. The inmate in CT who execution is off again waived all his appeals to speed up the process, but his lawyers keep puttin on the breaks.

Originally posted by FredT


I think that they can. The inmate in CT who execution is off again waived all his appeals to speed up the process, but his lawyers keep puttin on the breaks.

Yeah I hear about that guy in the news all the time up here. The guy killed like 8 women I think he should have been dead along time ago.

I wonder if any of their victims though what happend to them was "cruel and unusual? Boo-Hoo..

wow you americans are so blaze about death.

Originally posted by zekimro
wow you americans are so blaze about death.

Care to add something of importance? Question for ya...If I raped and murdered YOUR mother, would you worry about what my living conditions were? Get real man...

Frankly, they don't deserve anything, but bread and water. They killed someone and that is that. I have no pity for them.

Are they allowed to do this? That is so weird.

Only in Americah....

It is arguable that indefinite periods between conviction and execution alone constitutes "cruel and unusual" punishment.

It actually now cost you $2 million dollars more on average to execute a prisoner than it does to give them life imprisonment, and to clear the current backlog you'd have to execute one person a day for the next 25 years. Not to mention the countries you share your death penalty records with (Iran, Democratic republic of Congo to name a couple)

From the death penalty arguments seen on ATS Americans don’t even seem to see it as a form of justice anymore, simple as a form of revenge. Revenge as a form of justice is historically the act of the morally corrupt. As far as I’m aware “revenge” isn’t the reason for the legal existence of the death penalty in the US, nor the basis of any laws.

I could argue the death penalty all day but the best statement on it I have ever heard was by the last English hangman Albert Pierrepoint who personally hanged "some hundreds".
(And enjoyed his work for years)

This is what he had to say on his retirement in 1956:

I have come to the conclusion that executions solve nothing, and are only an antiquated relic of a primitive desire for revenge which takes the easy way and hands over the responsibility for revenge to other people… It is said to be a deterrent. I cannot agree. There have been murders since the beginning of time, and we shall go on looking for deterrents until the end of time. If death were a deterrent, I might be expected to know. It is I who have faced them last, young lads and girls, working men, grandmothers. I have been amazed to see the courage with which they take that walk into the unknown. It did not deter them then, and it did not deter them when they committed what they were convicted for. All men and women whom I have faced at that final moment convince me that in what I have done I have not prevented a single murder.

[edit on 3-2-2005 by kegs]

Originally posted by kegs
It actually now cost you $2 million dollars more on average to execute a prisoner than it does to give them life imprisonment

I don't know where this statistic comes from, but if it is accurate, whatever makes it so, needs to be fixed. It should not cost more to execute a capital criminal than it does to feed and house him for the rest of his days. Personally, I'd rather have death than life in prison, anyway.

[edit on 05/2/3 by GradyPhilpott]

Grady, First link I could find with backup:

www.deathpenaltyinfo.org...

There's probably better with a little searching, I don't have time just now.

Grady and Kegs,

I will track down some statistics, but by the time you factor in the court costs etc. It is more expensive to execute somebody than life. But to the taxpayers that decide by voting if a state has capital punishment, most do not care if its more or not (I could care less)

And I agree with Grady in that it does cost too much to execute someone on death row and that could be trimmed down etc.