Aphie....I will admit I am a bleeding heart liberal, but I do disagree with you. Murder deserves the death sentence. I think there is no other way to deal with it. One of the reasons our prisons are so overcrowded is that the sentences for drug possession are way too long. I think the easier way would be to sentence them to having to take some anti-abuse pill which makes them sick if they take the drugs or alcohol again. No one likes to barf. Or make drugs legal and collect taxes on them. Sell them in liquor stores? I see so many people wasting their lives being stoned on one thing or another. We are not going to stop it by throwing them in jail for it. Now if they steal or murder while stoned, they are responsible for the act. Throw them in prison please.
U.S.: Incarceration Rates Reveal Striking Racial Disparities (New York, February 27, 2002) Human Rights Watch today released the first state-by-state incarceration rates for whites, blacks and Latinos based on actual correctional facility counts. The figures, compiled from census data for the year 2000, reveal the high percentage of blacks that are behind bars and dramatic racial disparities in the incarcerated population. "This data demonstrates clearly the marked racial disparities in the US prison population," said Jamie Fellner, Human Rights Watch's US program director. "It is astonishing that in some states, one in ten black men is behind bars." Among the findings: Blacks and Hispanics make up 62 percent of the incarcerated population, though comprising only 25 percent of the national population; Between ten and fifteen percent of black men are incarcerated in twelve states (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming); Black women are incarcerated at rates between ten and thirty-five times greater than the rates of white women in fifteen states (Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming); and Hispanic youth are incarcerated at rates seven to seventeen times greater than those of whites in Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, while the incarceration rate for black youth is between twelve and twenty-five times greater than those of whites in Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, and New Jersey. The figures compiled by Human Rights Watch include racial breakdowns for each state of the percentage of adults incarcerated; the percentage of men aged 18-64 incarcerated; the percentage of women aged 18-64 incarcerated; the percentage of juveniles incarcerated; the percentage of juveniles in detention; and the percentage of state population versus incarcerated population. "There are striking differences among the states in terms of racial disparities," said Fellner. "States need to look at their policies to figure out what is causing the problem." The U.S. Census Bureau, as part of the census, compiles figures on the number, race, and age of persons confined in state, federal, local and other correctional institutions and facilities in each state. Human Rights Watch used these figures and census population data for state residents to derive rates of incarceration by race for each state. http://hrw.org/press/2002/02/race0227.htm
Yeah, well let me say something that will certainly cause an uproar on this board: Maybe, just maybe those groups commit more crimes per capita than white people? Of course you'll never hear that on the liberal news. Minorities are incapable of that kind of behavior, of course, or it's because the white man has oppressed them all these years. Spare me the statistical bullshit.
Shouldn't there be a remarkable difference between a woman who is high and accidently hits a person with her car, freaks out and leaves him to die vs. a guy who runs into a bank, shoots the teller and makes off with the money? The major component lacking in this murder is the "intentional" aspect. She never intended to kill anyone. Certain CEO's of major corporations that have since gone bankrupt have done far more damage to many more people's lives than this woman, yet they still walk freely in society.
Aphie....there is no difference to the person who died. Except that she let him die a slow agonizing death which in my mind is really cruel and inhumane. Stoned or stupid.......how would you feel if it was you dying in someone's garage? That she was less guilty of killing you?
I just don't know all the facts. If he was screaming and moaning while gargling in his own blood while in the garage, that is very heartless. However the defense medical examiner said the guy most like received a huge concussion and was out the entire time until death. Honestly, it really isn't in my place to decide or even try to argue the case, since I know much less than what was said in the courtroom. My mind is merely filling in the gaps. I still don't like the way our criminal system operates, though.
The accounts vary on what happened. I heard he was awake and begging her to help him when it happened. I do agree our justice system is out of whack. There are far too many people in prison. And too many criminals out walking the streets. Something is not working. While I am at it, the government is in need of a big change too. I can't believe the stuff that goes on. Makes me feel cheated when I pay taxes.
Agreed. Treating the symptoms, (read: band-aids for show, rhetoric and wasting tax $$$) will not help the public. Changes are needed at the root of the problem, and that is another huge can of worms.
Which category do you fall into? Stoned, stupid or both? What it means is that sometimes the WRONG people go to prison. DUH:eek: :eek: