Capital Punishment In Colorado?

The Denver Post has been hinting about the Dems in the statehouse ending it. Think it will happen since they have the majority?

Unfortunately, it might.

Although I support capital punishment in principle, it's hard to support in its current form.

Capital punishment costs a ton, and it provides little, if any deterrence. I think the state should save itself a lot of money, and put a 5 year moratorium on the AG advocating the death penalty.

Like BB says, the current code of expensive appeals makes it cheaper to hand out life imprisonment. And after a couple very public examples of the wrong people getting convicted it just makes sense to give prisoners a sentence than can be revoked.

I think that we have dumbed down tradition yet again. The real effect of capitol punishment is to do it in public and display the body. A good public capitol punishment can have such an effect as to start entire religions and can be remembered, written and talked about for 1000's of years. We should be proud of our collective decision and show it off, even put a sign that this was done by all the people of Colorado, otherwise we should not do it.

We also should not let one person or some small group do the act in hiding, people from the same group that decided that the death was appropriate, should do the killing and have their identity known. There cannot be shame in killing another human being in the name of society, every last aspect of it should be public and there should not be one citizen that disagrees - for both the good of us knowing what we are demanding take place, perhaps even being assigned to do the deed and for the good of the effect of the punishment.

I support public floggings for misdemeanors.

Can you even begin to imagine the outcry if executions were made public? I'm pretty sure the FCC wouldn't allow a live broadcast of an execution and every anti-death penalty nut, fruit, and flake would find a way to file lawsuits against the State for the emotional stress and trauma they have suffered from all of the public executions.

I don't disagree with you On That Note, I'm just pointing out that the point in time for public execution being acceptable to the public has come and gone. We live in a world where there are very few real bad guys that deserve a punishment that fits their crime, now there are people who commit crimes but as we get to know them through the press they become people with mental disorders, bad childhoods, and people that just made a series of bigger and bigger mistakes. Somehow what formed the Criminal's person and caused them to commit the crimes becomes more important than applying the appropriate punishment for the crime.

When laws are in place that allow for a sliding scale of punishment for crimes like murder it becomes a matter of the Defendant being able to either outright disprove the accusation with facts or (without admitting guilt) work the Legal system and exploit every loophole, hire the most effective lawyers, and potentially get a minimal sentence and maybe even walk away from the case altogether.

If the time for public executions have come and gone then the time for govt. executions has come and gone. It the trauma the public would feel that I AM going for. It is what will stop the killings. Its the suppression of any kind of trauma that started them.

otisptoadwater wrote: Can you even begin to imagine the outcry if executions were made public? I'm pretty sure the FCC wouldn't allow a live broadcast of an execution and every anti-death penalty nut, fruit, and flake would find a way to file lawsuits against the State for the emotional stress and trauma they have suffered from all of the public executions.

I don't disagree with you On That Note, I'm just pointing out that the point in time for public execution being acceptable to the public has come and gone. We live in a world where there are very few real bad guys that deserve a punishment that fits their crime, now there are people who commit crimes but as we get to know them through the press they become people with mental disorders, bad childhoods, and people that just made a series of bigger and bigger mistakes. Somehow what formed the Criminal's person and caused them to commit the crimes becomes more important than applying the appropriate punishment for the crime.

When laws are in place that allow for a sliding scale of punishment for crimes like murder it becomes a matter of the Defendant being able to either outright disprove the accusation with facts or (without admitting guilt) work the Legal system and exploit every loophole, hire the most effective lawyers, and potentially get a minimal sentence and maybe even walk away from the case altogether.

Back when we had public hangings people would travel to view the event, but it is said, seldom did people view another hanging. Blood lust quenched? Or once you see it, you lose your taste for it.

I once watched a poorly run bullfight in Jalisco. I had wanted to see a bullfight, but don't have much desire to see another one.