We're not quite as Bloodthirsty as Texas...
Last night State of Indiana executed its fifth person this year. We're not quite on pace with Texas, which has had 13 thus far, but I think we're actually ahead of them if you view it on a per capita basis. I still do not understand why we need a death penalty and why the American public holds such similar views to countries like China and Iran. Until the Supreme Court put a stop to it, we were the only country in the world to execute juveniles.
What Alan Matheney did was terrible, but isn't life in prison without parole enough of a stiff sentence?
5th execution might be Indiana’s last in 2005
MICHIGAN CITY – The execution of Alan Matheney on Wednesday for the beating death of his ex-wife was the state’s fifth this year, the most since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s.
Matheney’s execution also might have been the state’s last for at least several months.
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
What Alan Matheney did was terrible, but isn't life in prison without parole enough of a stiff sentence?
5th execution might be Indiana’s last in 2005
MICHIGAN CITY – The execution of Alan Matheney on Wednesday for the beating death of his ex-wife was the state’s fifth this year, the most since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s.
Matheney’s execution also might have been the state’s last for at least several months.
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
posted by torporindy at 9/29/2005
5 Comments:
I think deep down, Americans are just more comfortable with the Old Testament than they are with the New Testament or even the Enlightenment.
If we got the right guy, I don't particularly mind his being executed. My problem with the death penalty is that it's not fool proof. One innocent person killed by the State is far too many.
You might take a look (in your copious free time) at this film. It's done by the same fellow who animated "The Elements" (I have a link to it on my blog) and the site is called privatehand.com.
It's about death row inmates' last meals and is powerful stuff.
Americans like to pick and choose which parts of Leviticus they use, alas. It is more expensive to execute someone than to keep them in prison forever.
oh bother! I got the link wrong. Privatehand.com/flash/request.html
Thanks for the link! I'll check it out.
Last week I was running later than usual, so by the time I checked out of the Science Museum, the regular day staff had ended their shift and I found a different person behind the counter when I stopped to sign out and get my parking validated.
The night attendant was a college student who told me she was studying Criminal Psychology among other subjects.
I asked her what the academecians were saying about dealing with Axis II Personality Disorders. Was therapy better than punishment?
She said there was no question that therapy was preferable. The problem is, it's hard to train therapists, and easy to train jailers. We choose punishment over therapy because our population is too stupid to learn therapeutic methods.
The scandals at Abu Ghraib reveals how easy it is to find plenty of qualified jailers.
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