What an odd subject on a miniatures website. But here\'s my two copper\'s worth, then I\'m out of this discussion.
I voted \"yes, but with reservations.\"
The death penalty should never be removed from the table, simply because it _is_ a deterrent to some people. For the few that it doesn\'t deter, their life has just as little value as that of those that they would injure.
Personal experience aside- I missed by only two or three minutes a robbery/murder in Ogden Utah in the late 70\'s where the customers and staff of an audio store were forced into a store room, tied up and fed liquid drano. The perpetrators of this crime deserved to get a sentence of death.
Yes, sometimes innocent people are convicted of heinous crimes. That is why it takes fifteen or twenty years to finally execute death row inmates. They get appeal after appeal ad nauseum. Sometimes we forget why the inmate is getting the needle. Or the rope. Or the bullet.
Imprisonment means that a convict gets three square meals a day, an exercise period every day, cable tv, his own bed, and educational opportunities.
Better benefits than you or I can expect. And we the people pay for this.
Life imprisonment means that I\'m supporting that sorry person for the rest of my life. I can barely afford to keep my wife and child fed and clothed.
For a Capitol Crime, a death sentence is far cheaper to society. How much does 25 feet of rope cost? Or a box of 30/30 rounds (what Utah uses btw)?
Do you allow a housefly to buzz your dinnertable, or do you swat the thing (except my Bhuddist friends)?
Cold? yes. Christian? Not necessarily, but Biblical (thus the reservation). Cowboy? Yep, you betcha. Black and white worldview? Yes. I\'m a professional photographer, preferring b/w film. Long-winded? Yes. Very.
My compliments to all, for acting as adults on this touchy issue.
dgms. I\'m off my soapbox now. love ya, mean it. yes, even you, the sick mean bastard in the corner.
