Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Amnesty International: Death penalty on decline worldwide, you can officially include Illinois. Still the US is in the top 5




It is now official, Illinois has joined the ranks of those outlawing the death penalty!

The last fifteen death row inmates in Illinois will live out their days in jail cells, instead of dying on a execution gurney, now that capital punishment has officially ended in the state. What are your thoughts on that? The ban took effect on Friday, July 1st But the state Department of Corrections began emptying the death row cells in Pontiac in March. The prisoners have been evaluated and moved to other maximum security facilities throughout Illinois, department spokeswoman Stacey Solano said.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a ban on the death penalty on March 9, saying it was impossible to fix a system that had wrongly condemned at least 20 innocent men. Illinois death row inmates moved to regular jail cells

China, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, and the United States lead the world in carrying out the most death sentences. Amnesty International: Death penalty on decline, US in top 5 That's quite the company to be proud of isn't it?

What do you think about the death penalty? My thoughts below;
Thirty-four states, including Virginia and Maryland, allow capital punishment. All use lethal injection, and, until recently, most had used a three-drug cocktail: sodium thiopental to render the condemned unconscious, pancuronium bromide to paralyze the prisoner and potassium chloride to stop the heart. They can no longer get their hands on it. What do you think about the death penalty? My thoughts below

states with the death penalty

Alabama Missouri
Arizona Montana
Arkansas Nebraska
California Nevada
Colorado New Hampshire
Connecticut North Carolina
Delaware Ohio
Florida Oklahoma
Georgia Oregon
Idaho Pennsylvania
Indiana South Carolina
Kansas South Dakota
Kentucky Tennessee
Louisiana Texas
Maryland Utah
Mississippi Virginia
Washington
Wyoming
US military
US Government


States now without the death penalty


Alaska
Hawaii
Illinois
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Dakota
Rhode Island
Vermont
West Virginia

Wisconsin
Dist. of Colombia

If you read my stories in the past on this you know I have mixed feelings on the death penalty. Often times a person may be arrested and sentenced to death knowing they were innocent just to further someone's career or to quell the public. Now that we have DNA testing we are finding too often we have the wrong man. We have seen it too often

I do believe the death penalty is justified as in the case of the Fort Hood shootings and the Jared Loughner shootings where they should be put to death immediately with no trial. They should not have a venue to plead their case. Sane or insane they did it wantonly and publicly, that is all that matters. Cases like those aside I am no longer comfortable with the death penalty being justified because of the horror of the crime because we can not be certain we have the right person unless we actually see them do it.

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com

7 comments:

Ranch Chimp said...

Good Morning Jim ... I noticed you excluded Texas from the list, oddly in this post ... Texas is a state of the USA, although it was a state of Mexico at the time before. And Texas I would guess probably still has the most on Death Row, probably around 400 or so. The Death Penalty was so abundant in the last decade in this state, that many Texan's including myself have became desensitized to it, I mean, it was common to be with the familia eating dinner and the 6:00 news on the tele saying "so & so" was being executed as we ate ... no biggie here, the mentality got to the point in Texas that ... well ... if we get 9 out of 10 right were okay ... heh, heh, heh, heh, heh :) I have even done a couple posting's or so on this, here in Texas. Why? ... because I have had contact with several DR inmate's, including some of the notorious one's in America, such as Richard Ramirez (the Nightstalker), Charlie Manson, and Damien Echols, etc ... Charlie had his sentence swithed over to life ... and YES ... I believe that Charlie is innocent, because society label's him a serial killer, but he never was convicted of killing anyone (long story), Damien I am sure with his two partner's DID NOT commit the offenses either, Rick's story ... completely different, and I wont discuss it in an open forum. Texas just executed a guy from Mexico last week of course that brutally raped/ murdered a teen, etc.(and I frankly didnt give a shit what Mexico or the UN thinx, f them too. In Texas I feel it should be indefinitely suspended, because so many trial's that had state apointed defenses, the attorney's fell asleep, didnt cover the case right, DNA wasnt used, etc ... such a long list of fault's in this state and I know that innocent's have been killed here, bottom line. I never wasw against it, but it is NOT working efficiently, at least here. Last week's Texas execution resulted in the UN of course threatening Texas now. Lot's I could add on this Jim , but I'll leave it, good posting Guy!

I did hear here in Texas that because of budget cut's, they are going to use some left over doses of what tey were using to euthanize animal's with :) (True)

Demeur said...

I have to disagree with you there. Every person deserves their day in court no matter the crime. Otherwise it's a hang em first ask questions later justice system.
Interesting to note that now all of the companies that make the lethal injection drugs are not in this country and those that do are refusing to sell us the drugs. So our penal system is now buying drugs that are used on animals to the objection of even those companies.

Ranch Chimp said...

My mistake Jim, you DID mention Texas.

jmsjoin said...

RC, Governor Perry now running for President knowingly executed an innocent man

Bush too as you know was a Texas governor and executed so many was known as the Texecutioner

Perry wanted Texas to secede and I think we should let them and attack them for their oil.

jmsjoin said...

Demeur sometimes it is not even hang em first and question later sometimes as in Fort Hood and Tucson it is simply "Hang em"

Ranch Chimp said...

Thanx for your honesty at least Jim, so I have a clearer view now on what you think about Texan's and Texas.

jmsjoin said...

Not all Texan's my friend, Politician's primarily.I have family there and some really good friends like you and Wease He grows a few chickens and grows a bit trying to get prepared for the future. Plus a couple Women who are really cool. They found each other blogging and then realized they were next door neighbors and friends. Cool huh!