Reminds me of why I oppose death penalty in Texas

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by RevDWW

It has been proven that the death penalty cuts down on the recidivism rate for those on which it is carried out!

yep. Very subtle comment RevDWW.

[James Griffin]

Originally Posted by augustianian

Concerning falsely condemned men on death row:

Couldn't the same case be made for the punishment of any crime?? Because there are those who are falsely condemned of all crimes, we shouldn't punish anybody??

So what?? The death penalty curbs crime. It's a fact. For those who disagree...the perpetrator who is executed...does it curb his crime??

Where is the abdication of the death penalty commandment in the NT??

You better thank God for the death penalty...without it there would be no propitiation. (ironic isn't it?)

a

The difference being if the person in the original article (which the latest posters obviously have not read) were executed although he has now been proven innocent...

And ironically enough, Singapore, near bottom in executions and yet still safe. While Texas still ranks near the top in both.. Hmmm.

If you guys want to start and pro-government sanctioned death thread. Might be time to move to forum instead of NEWSROOM.

The point of thread (once again for those who obviously jumped in without reading it), was not the morality of the death penalty. It was the execution of the innocent because of the flaws in the system.

[Cindy]

JG, do you think the reason the system in Texas especially is having this problem because many Texans are for the death penalty? And so don't really want to change or try to fix the problems? The Harris County problem alone will take years to untangle. As well as Dallas. And a lot of smaller counties send their evidence to the labs in cities like Dallas, and Houston don't they?
It could take decades to go through all those case by case.

[James Griffin]

Originally Posted by cneasttx

JG, do you think the reason the system in Texas especially is having this problem because many Texans are for the death penalty? And so don't really want to change or try to fix the problems? The Harris County problem alone will take years to untangle. As well as Dallas. And a lot of smaller counties send their evidence to the labs in cities like Dallas, and Houston don't they?
It could take decades to go through all those case by case.

Honestly no, Texas is not particularly high in number of persons sentenced to death. Just number of those carried out.

Highest criminal court in Texas The Court of Criminal Appeals (not the Texas Supreme Court) has gone so far as to rule that a defense attorney sleeping during a trial could be considered a defense strategy. There are many other examples. The US Supreme Court tries to stay out of state issues as much as it can, but it is not impossible that it may reach a point that they grant a complete moratorium in Texas.

The reason not fixed. Apathy more than anything else and the public cynicism that is this high tech age mistakes are possible.

Don't know current situation but DNA in murder cases was being sent to DPS crime lab in Austin for a time while Houston was under investigation.

Many of thousands of cases under review are drug cases, where the lab techs deliberately falsified results, or never did the tests but published results. But at least if they falsely get life in prison there is a possibility of getting out.

Solutions? How do you overcome apathy?
One solution in Texas would be for legislature to pass a law making life without parole a possibility. Right now it is not an option. Cost effective. And mistakes can be remedied.

[embonpoint]

Originally Posted by James Griffin

The difference being if the person in the original article (which the latest posters obviously have not read) were executed although he has now been proven innocent...

And ironically enough, Singapore, near bottom in executions and yet still safe. While Texas still ranks near the top in both.. Hmmm.

If you guys want to start and pro-government sanctioned death thread. Might be time to move to forum instead of NEWSROOM.

The point of thread (once again for those who obviously jumped in without reading it), was not the morality of the death penalty. It was the execution of the innocent because of the flaws in the system.

Uummm!
Your Title for the thread is "Reminds me of why I oppose death penalty in Texas" followed up in your next post by

Originally Posted by James Griffin

CNEASTTX,

I personally believe all death penalty administered by human government is wrong......

...Yes I oppose the death penalty generally.

Everyone should oppose the death penalty as administered in Texas.

I know I'm slow, but surely you can understand where some would think the point was whether the death penalty is just or moral.

[augustianian]

Originally Posted by James Griffin

The difference being if the person in the original article (which the latest posters obviously have not read) were executed although he has now been proven innocent...

And ironically enough, Singapore, near bottom in executions and yet still safe. While Texas still ranks near the top in both.. Hmmm.

If you guys want to start and pro-government sanctioned death thread. Might be time to move to forum instead of NEWSROOM.

The point of thread (once again for those who obviously jumped in without reading it), was not the morality of the death penalty. It was the execution of the innocent because of the flaws in the system.

I started a thread titled "CT's top ten Religious Stories of 2007" that turned into a discussion about David Beckham's wife.

Go figure.

Although I must remind you of the title of this thread..."Reminds me of why I opposed death penalty in Texas."

a

[Neck]

Originally Posted by James Griffin

By PAUL J. WEBERWed Jan 2, 11:55 PM ET

A man convicted of raping a woman in 1981 and sentenced to life in prison has been cleared by DNA evidence and will be released, according to attorneys who have helped free 14 other wrongfully convicted inmates in Dallas County.

Charles Chatman, 47, is expected to be released Thursday after spending more than 26 years behind bars, said Natalie Roetzel of the Innocence Project of Texas.

"I never lost hope," Chatman told The Associated Press. "I always believed I would get out. I didn't know when or how, but I kept believing."

Chatman would be the 15th inmate convicted in Dallas County and later exonerated by DNA evidence, the most of any prosecuting office in the nation, according to the Innocence Project.

"Charles has always maintained his innocence," said Michelle Moore, a Dallas County public defender.

Since 2001, DNA tests have exonerated at least 30 wrongfully convicted inmates in Texas, the most of any state, according to the Innocence Project, a New York-based legal clinic that seeks to uncover wrongful convictions.
Jamille Bradfield, a spokeswoman for the Dallas County District Attorney's Office, confirmed that there will be a court hearing Thursday morning at which Chatman is expected to win his release.

Chatman was 20 when the victim, a young woman in her 20s, picked him from a photo lineup, Moore said. His nearly 27 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault will make him the longest-serving inmate in Texas to be freed by DNA evidence, she said.

Chatman said he was already in jail on an unrelated burglary when he was charged. He said he lived five houses down from the victim for 13 years but never knew her. At the time the woman was assaulted, Chatman said he didn't have any front teeth; he had been certain that feature would set him apart from the real assailant.

Moore said Chatman applied for DNA testing in 2004 but was told the process could be risky. The only evidence containing DNA was from a swab from the victim, Moore said, and a single test would consume the entire sample. An inconclusive test would exhaust all evidence.

Despite the risks, Chatman reapplied for testing early last year.

"This is a guy who's had to face horrible decisions," Moore said.

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has started a program in which law students, supervised by the Innocence Project, are reviewing about 450 cases in which convicts have requested DNA testing to prove their innocence.
___
Associated Press writer Jeff Carlton contributed to this report.

But when they found Human heads in Jeffrey Dahmer's freezer here in Milwaukee.

We had to use our own form of the Death Penalty, since WI does not have it.

It was called look the other way guards as Michael Scarver Killed Jeffrey Dahmer and Jesse Anderson with a bar from a workout bench....

Do you know Jeffrey Dahmer did not have wounds on his arms.

He did not raise his arms while he was being beaten to death.

He was quoted as saying I deserve this....

[Encryptus]

Originally Posted by Neckstadt

But when they found Human heads in Jeffrey Dahmer's freezer here in Milwaukee.

We had to use our own form of the Death Penalty, since WI does not have it.

It was called look the other way guards as Michael Scarver Killed Jeffrey Dahmer and Jesse Anderson with a bar from a workout bench....

Do you know Jeffrey Dahmer did not have wounds on his arms.

He did not raise his arms while he was being beaten to death.

He was quoted as saying I deserve this....

First- its sad to glory in anyone's demise.

Second- having just caught up it looks like previous threads had to to with "state sponsored executions"

Third- Christian equals vengeance and retribution? Now that's a witness to the world.

[Neck]

Originally Posted by Encryptus

First- its sad to glory in anyone's demise.

Second- having just caught up it looks like previous threads had to to with "state sponsored executions"

Third- Christian equals vengeance and retribution? Now that's a witness to the world.

I just stated the Jeffrey Dahmer himself stated as he was dying, I deserve this....

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by Encryptus

First- its sad to glory in anyone's demise.

Second- having just caught up it looks like previous threads had to to with "state sponsored executions"

Third- Christian equals vengeance and retribution? Now that's a witness to the world.

First -- Agree.
Second -- Yes, especially in Texas where this happened.
Third -- Some christians are for and some are against.