I JUDGE YOU! FIFTY DOLLARS WITH TIME SERVED!
I'm not really sure what the point of the penultimate question is. Although, when I think of a person being kept alive by life support, I'm kind of thinking a vegetable anyway. But I'm thinking too, though that even if said person weren't a vegetable, they'd be in so much pain and whatnot that they'd probably not particularly wanna hang around much anyway. A more interesting question might be you or a 10 year old or something. But I don't know.
I think the Meth question is weird, too, and well, only makes sense the way you originally read it. I mean, jeez. "Well, if it's legal, it MUST be safe and would no longer make all my teeth fall out and make me look like I'm fifty years older than I am!" If jamming ice picks into my eyes were legalized, I wouldn't be doin' that, either.
As for the death penalty, I'm really torn on it; I think as an abstract, it's OK, but I do kinda fall into the whole "If one innocent is killed that's one innocent too much". And after reading
Surviving Justice, it kinda makes me leery given our (pretty idiotic) culture of "If we don't railroad people we are soft on crime!! CONVICTION AT ALL COSTS!!!". I'm kinda thinking that if we do have the death penalty, DNA testing should be MANDITORY in any case and if it is revealed that the case was mishandled, the prosecutor (and perhaps the police involved in the railroading) would be....
sorry, for some reason out my window, it sounds like the Chicken Lady is having an orgasm. Very, very odd.
...tried for attempted murder (if it was discovered before the person was executed) or murder (if not). And perhaps THEN be up for the death penalty themselves.
I think there are some situations where, as my mother says, "some people just need killin'", but I often kind of wonder as to whether or not the state (and, by extension, alla us) should be the one to do that.
I am definitely bothered by the whole executing retarded people thing that Bush seems to have no qualms with. At that point, it seems more like revenge rather than rehabilitation/compassion, which is poor basis for policy. In the case of the mother above, I would say that she should spend a VERY long time in a looney bin. Perhaps life. And perhaps sterilization wouldn't be too bad a plan either. But [and I am assuming that the temporary insanity is real and not just a cockamamie excuse from the defense] I think that execution in that case, again, gets a little bit to the revenge thing. Which, I am not saying is not TEMPTING -- for example, I just watched the documentary on the assassination of Harvey Milk (and Mayor Moscone), and I was all "Goddamn Dan White Should Get His Ass Killed" (which he ended up doing by his own hand when he got out, so there you go, I guess), which kinda bothered me, but that's what you get for gut reactions. It can sometimes reveal stuff you don't like about yourself. And, well, the whole purpose of the rational mind is to analyze the gut reactions and see whether or not they're correct. (Except in cases when you don't have that luxury of course, when there's an immediate threat. Then debating whether or not you should run when an axe murderer is after you is silly.)
WOW this is long and rambly.
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rufushonkeriv's journal
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