5stringJeff
Senior Member
mattskramer said:If there were a person accused of the crime, and if such a person really did the crime, I would want him to be executed. Unfortunately, many people sentenced to death row are eventually released due to irrefutable proof that they didnt commit the crime for which they were convicted. I would rather have 1 million people who were convicted of murder spend life in a harsh prison environment than execute a truly innocent person.
I never said that I would be willing to let the scumbag spend the rest of his life in a cozy cell with 3 squares a day on my tax dollar. I think that the prisons sentences resemble paid vacations to too much of a degree. I would remove televisions, elective surgeries, and many similar conveniences that convicts enjoy. I would also put convicts to work so they could, to a small degree, earn some of their keep.
In summary, I would do what I could to have convicts pose as small a tax burden as practically possible without taking the risk of executing an someone who is not guilty.
Matt, I think the reason we are seeing an upswing of people being released from death row is the introduction of DNA testing, and its ability to prove whether or not blood, hair, etc., is really from the "right" person. I think that as DNA evidence becomes more and more common, death penalty advocates will be able to withstand such arguments.