Boston Marathon Explosions

[commando]

that is quite the defense. his brother made him do it. i say amputate his arms and legs and give him to the prison population for life.

[Mavric]

Sentenced to death.

[StPaulHusker]

Adios you vile piece of sh#t.

[Hammerhead]

Sentenced to death.

 

Far too kind of a punishment.

[zoogs]

I may be an outlier, but I'm starting to not support the death penalty.

 

It provides a sense of justice, maybe, but it seems to be more about vengeance. It does not seem completely healthy to take a life to satisfy bloodlust. Obviously he did something extremely wrong, but taking his life won't return any of those lost. For many of the aggrieved, it won't provide satisfaction. If it does provide satisfaction, isn't that a little...disturbing? Isn't it kind of a dark transformation that we've allowed to take place within ourselves? He's already locked up forever. It should be enough to pay him no mind. And he, as a human being caught up in some terrible path, maybe he would have eventually seen how inhuman he had become. Perhaps he would have sobered up and repented years, decades down the road -- at least, he is young enough for the transformation that took him down this road not to have been the last one of his life. But now he will die believing in the righteousness of killing Americans.

 

That's the other thing. He's also been (all along) elevated to martyr status. He's not being treated as some deranged criminal (which many other mass murderers in history were, whether their countries had the death penalty or not). He can become a more powerful symbol in death than some dumb kid could ever have done in life. I wish we could avoid all that, and not attribute to his crime any undue glory.

 

I guess the genesis for this is recently reading about some French and Australian drug dealers who were executed in Indonesia. Yeah they could have ruined lives, but it sure puts a different feel when it's a foreign government using their judgment to execute. Catch them and let them rot. If they rehabilitate, that's one more human being who ends his or her time here at peace. If not, they are locked away already...

 

I don't know. There's just a brutal finality here that is hard to accept coming from state judgment. And I can think of no reason to not cap things at "life in prison" other than to indulge in the pleasures of hate exercised.

[Bball1091]

I may be an outlier, but I'm starting to not support the death penalty.

 

It provides a sense of justice, maybe, but it seems to be more about vengeance. It does not seem completely healthy to take a life to satisfy bloodlust. Obviously he did something extremely wrong, but taking his life won't return any of those lost. For many of the aggrieved, it won't provide satisfaction. If it does provide satisfaction, isn't that a little...disturbing? Isn't it kind of a dark transformation that we've allowed to take place within ourselves? He's already locked up forever. It should be enough to pay him no mind. And he, as a human being caught up in some terrible path, maybe he would have eventually seen how inhuman he had become. Perhaps he would have sobered up and repented years, decades down the road -- at least, he is young enough for the transformation that took him down this road not to have been the last one of his life. But now he will die believing in the righteousness of killing Americans.

 

That's the other thing. He's also been (all along) elevated to martyr status. He's not being treated as some deranged criminal (which many other mass murderers in history were, whether their countries had the death penalty or not). He can become a more powerful symbol in death than some dumb kid could ever have done in life. I wish we could avoid all that, and not attribute to his crime any undue glory.

 

I guess the genesis for this is recently reading about some French and Australian drug dealers who were executed in Indonesia. Yeah they could have ruined lives, but it sure puts a different feel when it's a foreign government using their judgment to execute. Catch them and let them rot. If they rehabilitate, that's one more human being who ends his or her time here at peace. If not, they are locked away already...

 

I don't know. There's just a brutal finality here that is hard to accept coming from state judgment. And I can think of no reason to not cap things at "life in prison" other than to indulge in the pleasures of hate exercised.

While I agree with the majority of what you are saying and I commend you for your humane spirit. I also think your perspective would be different if it was one of your family members injured during the bombing. For example, if it was my fiancé, mom, dad, etc. who was injured, it would be extremely difficult for me to forgive and I don't think I could honestly say that I wasn't happy that person was getting the death penalty...but if you could then to each their own

[zoogs]

Yeah, I have never been put to that test. If I had been, I'd probably be inclined to wish I could take matters into my own hands, as anyone would. Definitely would not wish them to escape consequences. Not sure how I'd feel about others feeling no satisfaction without having him killed. Logically it has the added benefit of "_we_ still consider the taking of human life wrong, and haven't been driven over the edge by the likes of _you_". Side note, there's probably some Batman influence here.

 

Although perhaps it's just my own flavor of preferred punishment. I think being locked away for eternity and living with that level of societal condemnation is as severe as anything. More so than a quick death that lets the killer go out smug and defiant.

 

The Tsarnaev case hits a little close to home for me, since I'm pretty much from that area, but not too much. Boston I consider kind of my city; I'd met kids who went to Cambridge Latin, I know people who were at MIT or BU during those days, and I definitely know people exactly in the situation of the graduate student from China (but not at BU) who was killed. I knew someone who ran the race, actually, but didnt know that at the time. It was harrowing in a weird way, but of course was never really that close. I do wonder how I'd have reacted if one of my friends studying in Boston had been among the victims. Though, I think it is not too hard for any of us to place ourselves in that situation.

[Bball1091]

Yeah, I have never been put to that test. If I had been, I'd probably be inclined to wish I could take matters into my own hands, as anyone would. Definitely would not wish them to escape consequences. Not sure how I'd feel about others feeling no satisfaction without having him killed. Logically it has the added benefit of "_we_ still consider the taking of human life wrong, and haven't been driven over the edge by the likes of _you_". Side note, there's probably some Batman influence here.

 

Although perhaps it's just my own flavor of preferred punishment. I think being locked away for eternity and living with that level of societal condemnation is as severe as anything. More so than a quick death that lets the killer go out smug and defiant.

 

The Tsarnaev case hits a little close to home for me, since I'm pretty much from that area, but not too much. Boston I consider kind of my city; I'd met kids who went to Cambridge Latin, I know people who were at MIT or BU during those days, and I definitely know people exactly in the situation of the graduate student from China (but not at BU) who was killed. I knew someone who ran the race, actually, but didnt know that at the time. It was harrowing in a weird way, but of course was never really that close. I do wonder how I'd have reacted if one of my friends studying in Boston had been among the victims. Though, I think it is not too hard for any of us to place ourselves in that situation.

Ya I understand what you are saying and I in no way meant my post as a dig against you...I just don't blame others that were directly affected to feeling different than u and I (which I think you agree with)

[BigRedBuster]

And this is why our justice system doesn't have relatives of the victims decide the punishment.