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The Annoyed Man wrote:The death penalty, IF the accused is guilty, serves justice; and that is all the justification it needs.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

brainman wrote:I'm generally all for the death penalty. But Koolaid, you do make an excellent point. I have no idea how to reconcile that, though.

12 non-governmental people make the decision. That's a big difference.

Chas.

12 non-governmental people who are guided by a court and a district attorney and generally listening to the testimony of law enforcement officers and government employees (lab-workers and such). By and large, those are all good people, but one can't deny that there are a lot of corrupt, stupid, and/or wrong-headed ones out there. And let's not forget that the intelligence of the average person (and thus the average juror) leaves a lot to be desired. Just look at how people voted in the last election. I don't want them judging me for anything, much less deciding on my (or anyone else's) death.

Recently, I read a posting on facebook of someone who was complaining about hard it is to be on a jury when you're hearing is bad. She said she couldn't hear anything anyone was saying and after asking the judge to have them repeat stuff several times and getting dirty looks, she decided just to stay quiet and "do her civic duty." Another person in the same set of postings, there was another woman who said she finds it so difficult to make the decision on guilt and affect someone's life. She said, "I watched what they said and I'm just not sure if he's guilty, but I followed everyone else." I know that's not a statistically significant sample, but that's two folks who completely missed the point of jury duty and I'm willing to bet there are a LOT more jurors out there just like them.

Having said that, I think I still believe in the death penalty. I just don't know how to reconcile koolaid's excellent point and what I just said with my opinion that the folks that deserve the death penalty definitely deserve the death penalty.

I'm generally all for the death penalty. But Koolaid, you do make an excellent point. I have no idea how to reconcile that, though.