Texas set to execute man despite possible mental disability

reply to post by Kryties


being in jail you can make phone calls, watch tv, work out, get an education, go outside, play football basketball etc, make friends, your being fed every day, you have a bed to sleep on.... in reality these ppl have more luxuries than ppl who are "free" yet giving them access to all this is a great punishment....

Originally posted by haarvik
Well, to better punish to fit the crime, let's just hang them on a cross like the romans did until they die from exposure and starvation. That way they feel more pain than did the people they murdered. I think execution is much more humane. It is also a deterrent if they realize they cannot tie up the legal system for 20 years exhausting appeals.

i can't tell if this is sarcasm but i like the idea. steal something cut off the hand type of stuff. i'd bet a lot of money that there would be less crime.

reply to post by blair56


Riiiiight....so your saying you would prefer to live the rest of your life with guards breathing over your shoulder controlling everything you do and being locked in a cell 23 hours a day going stircrazy?

Methinks you'd last a month before you were screaming for someone to execute you.

Originally posted by haarvik
Well, to better punish to fit the crime, let's just hang them on a cross like the romans did until they die from exposure and starvation.

They died of suffocation. If you are going to refer to older methods of execution at least get it right.

Having read the article, and subsequent articles about Milton Mathis and his case the following can be stated:
Most people, when growing up, be they having a high or a low IQ, have heard the following and know don’t do drugs, don’t kill people, don’t steal. These are taught to children and can be seen as lessons that are imparted from the time the child goes to church and to school. The evidence that is given against him, to present about Milton’s lifestyle is one that is partial at best, however, most of what is shown, is that due to heavy drug use it affected his ability to function. But what stands out, is that he went into a home, killed and attempted to kill people, steal and then drove off. The fact that he drove off in a vehicle that is not his own, shows some form of intelligence that would indicate that he could comprehend the difference between right and wrong. As much as it is a sad testament to our state of society that he was executed, there are things that make this case stand out. The first is what is considered mentally challenged, and does it affect the safety of everyone around us? People who suffer that condition, do we lock them up and prevent them from harming themselves and others, or do we treat them as individuals, with the full rights and protections under the laws of the country? While executing someone who is mentally challenged may not seem to be the humane thing to do, however, when the crime that is committed is so heinous such as the murder and arson and attempted murder, what do you do with said individual? Who is to blame for his criminal behavior? And who is to pay the price?
The questions keep piling on and raising up, and then there are the what if questions and would it matter questions?
There have been too many ridicolus defenses in the past that have allowed people who commit henious crimes to go unpunished, perhaps it is time to start to disallow them. A low IQ is not a free pass, nor is being high on a Twinkie, or being guilty by reason of insanity.
Having met several people with low IQ, and who would be classified as mentally handicapped, they showed a complete knowledge of right and wrong, knew that stealing and murder was wrong, along with drugs.
This man knew what he was doing, no matter what the state of his mental capacity at the time, and was dangerous. In this case, it would have to justify the sentence that was carried out.

reply to post by Kryties


did i say i wanted to be in jail?? please when you post don't make stuff up to prove a point. But yes there actually are a lot of people who like to go to jail because it is much easier than being in the real world. I actually work with quite a few. They'd much rather live there then on the streets or in the "homes" they have in the real world.

reply to post by blair56


I was making the point that a life sentence being bullied by guards and staring at a wall is more than enough punishment for anyone who commits murder.

Those people you talk of, I bet none of them would willfully go to jail if they knew they were never coming out, except after they died of old age in a coffin.

Originally posted by Kryties
reply to post by blair56

 

Riiiiight....so your saying you would prefer to live the rest of your life with guards breathing over your shoulder controlling everything you do and being locked in a cell 23 hours a day going stircrazy?

Prisoner's aren't even in their cell for 23 hours. That's only true for the most extreme idiots in the USA that end up in those supermax prisons.
Everywhere else? They can leave their cells for hours, can do workout, play some sports, do something.
Like the one above said: They have a better life than a lot of people who struggle to make ends meet.

I'm all for the death sentence. Get rid of the idiots that plague our planet.
In Germany it's always in the news: Criminals getting out of jail and immediately commiting the same crimes again. We should save ourselfs from this scum (think about the children)
So kill them all i say, they don't deserve their life.

Judging from the posts here, 90% of us favor execution. I would say that is a fair estimate of the populaces sentiment. So, based on that 90% of American's favor execution so be done with it!

reply to post by Kryties


they do willfully go to jail because they don't want to come out ever. One example, a client of mine goes to jail, gets out and goes directly to a restaurant that he is not allowed at. they call the cops he sits on the curb and they pick him up for another 6 months. This has been going on for 3 years now. and keep in mind that's just one example. For me personally jail would suck but there are thousands of people out there where jail would be much better for them than there home.

And it's not being bullied by guards and sitting on a bed staring at a wall. Actually unless its some county jail out in the boondocks most guards are not a problem unless you yourself are a problem. and again there is much much more than just sitting in a cell.

reply to post by blair56
reply to post by ShadowAngel85

Originally posted by ShadowAngel85

Prisoner's aren't even in their cell for 23 hours. That's only true for the most extreme idiots in the USA that end up in those supermax prisons.

I don't see pot smokers or shop burglers being locked up 23 hours a day - murderers and rapists yes.

I'm all for the death sentence. Get rid of the idiots that plague our planet.

One might say that anyone who advocates the death penalty is an idiot - and should they also therefore be subjected to execution?

In Germany it's always in the news: Criminals getting out of jail and immediately commiting the same crimes again. We should save ourselfs from this scum (think about the children)
So kill them all i say, they don't deserve their life.

I never said there wasn't issues with the penal system. In fact if anyone had have asked I would say that the money spent executing people could be instead spent on fixing the problems in the prisons. But nooooo........too many psychopaths circle-jerking each other and fighting for who gets to throw the switch prevent this from happening.

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reply to post by haarvik


LOL you are comparing the six or so people here to the entire populace of the United States being in excess of 300 million? Let alone a world population of over 6 billion?

Wow, you really are clutching at straws now.......

Originally posted by blair56

your one to talk sir, you seem to have some fascination with circle jerking. You're starting to me me uncomfortable now

I only started using that term when the advocates started getting all excited thinking about 'flicking the switch' themselves and saving the effort of trials and juries.

You are also starting to clutch at straws.

If you research into the background of the majority of death row inmates, most are below average IQ level and have a history of being severly abused as children.

Reagan closed down many of the state run mental institutions when he was president and in order to commit someone now, for the most part, you need a lot of money.

With our son that was ADHD and in a gang, in order to save his butt it took us taking out another $150,000 second mortgage we are still paying off to have had him "mentally readjusted"............the insurance coverage was for like two weeks was laughable.

The $150,000 was worth it because he has become a productive, law abiding member of our society.

But, all three of my children were poisoned by our enviroment (I believe) and that contributed to the first one being ADHD and the second two being functioning autistic.

Again, if you do your research on prison inmates, most are below average intellegence and or have other mental defects and many come from really bad home backgrounds.

I guess this is how humanity is weeding out the dumb and mentally defective.

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reply to post by Thwax


Yep, that would be about the size of it

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