Thursday, February 1, 2007
Death Penalty
Legislation proposed by Gov. Blunt to make the death penalty mandatory for convicted cop killers is unconstitutional under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent. The court ruled in 1976 that laws requiring the death penalty and taking away any discretion by courts or juries to impose lesser sentences violates defendants’ 8th Amendment protections. The high court reaffirmed that ruling in 1986. In a Jan. 26 story by The Associated Press, several legal experts and constitutional scholars said the governor plan, if enacted into law, is virtually guaranteed of being overturned.
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2 comments:
I believe there needs to be a serious change in the discussion about sentencing as it is. The death penalty is such an uncivilized and uneducated penalty. Too many people think of prison sentences as "punishment"... as much as vengence may feel good when someone we know has been hurt, on a broader scale the real problem here is poverty, poor education, and mental instability. I'm not sure what the exact cost of keeping and maintaining prisoners is, but given that MOST sentences are not truly "life" (or death, for that matter) I think our money could be much better spent on a college education for inmates that would prepare them for re-entry into the world. Maybe that's a bit radical, and there are obvious issues. But anyway, I say all this just to say I believe our entire way of looking at crime and punishment needs a revision, the death penalty is extremely primitive and unhelpful.
Thanks for having this blog, it's good to see our elected officials taking advantage of technology to connect with the people. ~ Josh
Here are the links to current bills dealing with the death penalty:
http://www.house.mo.gov/bills071/bills/hb445.htm
http://www.house.mo.gov/bills071/bills/hb258.htm
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