Petition Against The Death Penalty

[tisucre]

To: All Government Officials
We oppose capital punishment and the U.S. application of it. The United States is the only Western democracy that still uses the death penalty. It is one of only two nations in the world (Iran is the other) to execute juveniles. The death penalty is racist, economically biased, ineffective, expensive, and immoral. Great leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have tried to lead this country away from violence; in signing below, we affirm that we too call for nonviolent solutions to the problems of violence in our society.

Sincerely,

if you want to sign the petition please click on this link:

http://www.petitiononline.com/idaw2003/petition.html


Thank you
Tisucre

[thisdude]

why is the death penalty racist?
it's expensive? is it more expensive than housing, feeding, medical care for prisoners, the cost of the gaurds, the cost of new prisons as the population inside gets bigger?

[janyn]

I am pro-life. I believe that only God who is the giver of our life has the right to take it away.

I will sign it. But not because I think it is racist and expensive but because I think that it is immoral to do so.

[bosse_s]

The death penalty is expensive, because of the extensive and time-consuming process it involves.

Historically, the use of the death penalty in the States can be interpreted as racist. Most people on death row are black, and it is used more extensively against lower classes and ethnic minorities. AI has pointed out that the extensive process that a case dealing with death penalty brings, and the fact that those tried are often people without any money, people who are tried for death penalty in the States are usually given lawyers unskilled for that kind of trials: Cases which involves death penalty is time consuming and is not likely to bring any cash to the law-firms. This have created a bias in the trials, which basically goes - if you are accused of a crime that involves the risk of getting the death penalty and don´t have the money to get your own lawyers, you are less likely to get a fair and just trial. (Compare with the O.J case for instance)

People probably spend on average at least 8-10 years on death row after judgment is delivered, so the costs for housing, feeding, medical care, costs of guards and the cost of building new prisons for a growing prison-population is still there.

So, there is no money to save - only lives to waste. And the privatisation and commersalisation of the American criminal justice system is definitely not a way to "save" tax-money for the American people. Keeping more than 1/100 of the population in prison means big bucks for the "institutes" and all the entrepenours that are around to handle the "extra costs", and whos interest is not to make things more efficient - rather more time and money consuming.

I hope that answers your questions, dude.

[thisdude]

thanks boss for a more detailed reason
im for the death penalty,,but now i can understand why some one would say it's expensive.. altho i dont mind spending money to make sure the people on death row are absolutely beyond the shadow of doubt guilty.. but you do bring in a good point that, when you can afford your own lawyer you have a better chance for a fair trial...
so you have given me food for thought.. but i still dont see the connection between the death penalty and racism..
i think that arguments very weak... i dont think it can be called "racist" just because the majority of people on death row is black,white or what ever color...

[bosse_s]

Hi Dude... The argument could be that many black people in American live below the "median", and are those who seldom have own resources to defend themselves in a trial. As the OJ case showed, money does talk and if OJ was an "ordinary" bloke, I am pretty sure the outcome of that trial would have been different.

I don´t have more information than to speculate about "racism" in death penalty use. It is used more extensively against blacks and minorities, but that MIGHT be in correlation with that these groups are over-representated in crimes that is punishible by death, I don´t know. The "racist" argument might be a bit "out-dated", but there is quite clear evidence that it has been more extensively used (historically) against blacks and non-white Americans.

However, for me it is not of any greater importance since I am against the death penalty no matter if it is racist or not.

[thisdude]

ok
i think you have a point if you look thru histiory on it.. but like you said that argument is outdated..
you hit the nail right on the head with oj... but that to me shows that the judiscial system is not racist... well not against color of skin anyways.. its more economically biased