Boston Marathon Bomber Sentenced To Death

[sandyRoe]

Is such a sentence kinder than one of life in maximum security?

[Pete65]

I mentioned three notorious murderers of the top of my head.
There are certainly many more who have killed themselves in the penal system.
The super-max prisons in the USA are designed to keep felons alive, and very little else.
The death penalty, or natural life without parole in a super-max?
Both very horrible indeed!

[nailit]

//However it's staring us all in the face that we are all from the same concious singularity and we will all end up back together//
Sounds a bit 'conspirituallatrial' but I am with you. Sandyroes idea of 'kindness' is far from my idea of kindness.
Ive been in prison with the ''worst' of them but seen the best of compassion and kindness in what society views as the scum of the earth. Ive known murderers who have had more compassion in them than anyone whove Ive known in 'normal' life on the outside.
Hard to explain if youve never bee there.

[ukanonymous]

Yeah well before you go on define murderer as there are plenty of them walking in our midst unpunished having never seen a prison.

[nailit]

Over to you UK, I can only recount personal experience.

[anneasquith]

I would like to know what the families/friends of the murdered people would answer this question.

[ukanonymous]

Am eye for an eye I presume. However that is the path opposite from true enlightenment. I think he should be made an example of. Punished for the rest of his life but at the same time helping in the world and at the same time having the chance to appreciate his own life. I can think of many ways to do this. However my opinions hold no significance apart from in my own eyes.

[Clanad]

I'm sure there are several considerations that came up during the jury's debate… not the least of which is that, although Tsarnev's death will be considered among many Jihadists as martyrdom the opposite is that the intervening years in prison (had he not received the death sentence) would inspire many of the same terrorists as an opportunity to hatch plans for attack.
Nothing has been in the news (I'm in the U.S., BTW) about where he would have been incarcerated, but the trial wasn't a Federal charge, but a State of Massachusetts murder charge, meaning that he would have likely been jailed locally, greatly increasing the opportunities for attack.

Numerous studies have shown that it's actually much more expensive to execute a convict than to put him/her to death. The appeals will be endless and the State is paying his defense and the extra guarding alone will be enormous costs. In addition he would have to be maintained in a solitary confinement wing of any prison, due to his notoriety.

The death penalty is clearly explained at the time of the deliberation for the penalty phase of the trial. Having sat as a jury member in a capital case, the basics of death penalties is not retribution, but justice… and there's a huge difference. I realize our European friends won't agree, but in some more heinous cases, justice is more clearly served by imposing the death penalty.

BTW, family members were allowed to present their opinions and it seems most were in favor of the death penalty, primarily due to the death of a child during the bombing… except that the parents of the child were against the death penalty a seen here: "... Now Bill and Denise Richards, parents of 8-year-old Martin Richards, the youngest victim killed in the Boston Marathon bombing, have added their voices and called on federal prosecutors to drop the death penalty in exchange for termination of all appeals in the case…"

[shoota]

//Numerous studies have shown that it's actually much more expensive to execute a convict than to put him/her to death. //

Erm.....?

[Clanad]

Thanks for that shoota (it was a test and you passed magnificently!) Obviously meant to say it's much more expensive to execute a prisoner than keep them locked up for decades...

[Khandro]

clanad; ^ That's what we thought you said! :0)

[-Talbot-]

Bomber Sentenced To Death

Is such a sentence kinder than one of life in maximum security?



You will be in support of the death penalty then, Sandy?

[Peter Pedant]

Yeah !

death sentence as a deterrent
that means by definition that it stops other people from doing it [ clearly it works to stop the same man from doing it again but so would imprisonment ] - because they see the giulty man being executed and think oops I dont want that to happen to me

it works so well
that is why there is no such thing as people who bomb places and kill themselves as well ( = suicide bombers )

oops sorry - something wrong with that argument .....

[-Talbot-]

I suggest you stop arguing with yourself then, PP.

[Zacs-Master]

PP, I don't think suicide bombers are particularly scared of the death penalty by default. Did you think that one thru?

[Peter Pedant]

// Obviously meant to say it's much more expensive to execute a prisoner than keep them locked up for decades...//

excuse me - the cost of a length of rope - is more than the cost of a bowl of porridge three times a day for fifty years ?

[Peter Pedant]

sorry my irony klaxon has bust ....

[Zacs-Master]

Not sure how you can operate your irony calzone whilst holding a pistol and shooting your metatarsals.

[Zacs-Master]

Claxon!

[chanel5]

We have wandered away from the question again - ie is the death sentence kinder than life for the Boston bomber? I think we need to define kindness before we try to answer that. What seems "kind" to one person will possibly seem "cruel" to another. It may seem kind to give a person food to prevent them dying. But does this seem kind to the recipient of the food? Ian Brady has been on hunger strike for years and is force fed through a tube. Is this "kinder" than putting him to death? We all believe that we have an objective understanding of the word "kind", but kindness is subjective, particularly so in the extreme situation of punishment for murder. The only person who could answer sandyRoe's question is the Boston bomber himself. We cannot speak for him.