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Post by VA Justice on Apr 8, 2010 10:43:31 GMT -6
What is your earliest memory of the death penalty? What case, either thru personal experience or media coverage first raised your awareness of it and sparked your interest?
Example: I first remember becoming aware of the death penalty circa 1983 or 1984, when Georgia conducted it's first or second post-Furman executions. At that time, as executions were relatively novel events, their occurrence was covered as stories in local news media across the country, such as Action News in Philadelphia, PA. I distinctly remember seeing stock footage of Georgia's first electric chair (which was painted white) in the new chamber at GDCC in Jackson.
I didn't have a full grasp of the circumstances at that age, but it certainly didn't look like somewhere I'd want to end up.
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Post by Rev. Agave on Apr 8, 2010 11:51:06 GMT -6
Great question, but I can't say. My first awareness of the death penalty was probably around the time of my first awareness of rainbows. I knew what an electric chair was at a very early age, and by first grade the class would play the word game "hangman." We had class discussions about the DP in Mr. Erickson's 4th grade class, and I remember watching the fake electrocution and gassing scenes from "Faces of Death" over and over as a child. When I was a kid, I took for granted that the DP was the right punishment for murderers. I questioned that position as teen during my "anti establishment" phase when I had a general distrust of police and the judicial system. In my first years of college, I was a passive anti in that I thought the DP was theoretically justifiable, but that it was unnecessary because justice could be achieved through LWOP. I also questioned whether the DP did the MVS more harm than good because of the lengthy appeals process. During around my sophomore year of college, I started researching it a bit and looking at boards such as this one. After a few months doing that, I came to believe that the DP is absolutely the best option for murderers and far superior to the alternatives. I have since become obsessed with capital punishment and execution methods. I am still frustrated by the appeals system, and I don't think the death penalty in the USA is nearly as effective as it could be. Since following executions since around 2004, I can't think of a single stay that deserved merit, nor can I think of a single execution that was questionable. I am not saying ALL appeals are frivolous, but at least 90% of them seem to be. In short, I'd really like to speed up the process and to apply the DP to all acts of murder. But that is way off topic. To briefly answer your question, I have been aware of the DP for as long as I can remember, and that awareness has developed throughout my life.
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Post by Rev. Agave on Apr 8, 2010 12:04:43 GMT -6
For the record, I imagine that most American children become at least vaguely aware of the concept of executions when they are first taught the story of Jesus' crucifixion.
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Post by whitediamonds on Apr 8, 2010 12:38:55 GMT -6
For the record, I imagine that most American children become at least vaguely aware of the concept of executions when they are first taught the story of Jesus' crucifixion. The Catholic Church never spoke of the DP directly, although yes, one did become vaguely aware thru the teaching of Jesus'crucifixion. The public schools nor my parents do I remember any talk of the DP even indirectly. Listening to news and conversations, of horrible crimes and the punishment, no comments as to the sentencing. Like it was appropriate and no concerns as to a DP verdict. Excepted and expected feelings. Living and growing up in the small suburb in Illinois, SW of Chicago, was a very rich community, and upper middle class and the outskirts had low income to poor. Quite a mix in such a small area, mostly rich or upper though. I had friends from all areas of income and found problems existed in all familys some much more then others, but income level did not matter there. As growing up I believed in the DP, by the world around me not a source to pull me one way or the other, not a topic either just expected for heinous crimes done to others. Then later in life thru sources I went anti DP, until I heard the same spill over and over. I grew up and saw many on the poor side, have problems abuse neglect, etc, it did not for them which I still know today(small town close to many thru yrs) do crimes as some say is due to a bad childhood. I also saw where they had it all and more, and still abuse and tough life rich but poor in a sense. It did not from my life experience or view have a darn thing to do with having or not having, bad childhood or not, if one commited a heinous crime. So, I have a problem when " some" antis use this debate. I also find many antis never give thought to the victims, but much thought to the criminal. Much sympathy also. Which is fine to an extent for me. Not all commited or gone so far is take a life, nor ever would. Those who will be back out in society that never hit DR, LWOP is where the concentration needs to be, to help those come back and make postive support available and to more constructive behavior for us all when let out that gate. Some are not hard core as many believe. But those who are I believe the killing "by them" has to stop no matter what their addy (meaning prison) is not enough, the DP should always remain in tact for them. Peanut
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forgesfire
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Post by forgesfire on Apr 8, 2010 12:52:33 GMT -6
I first became aware of the death penalty when McVeigh was executed, probably one of the most famous executions ever, I was only 8 or so, but I remember watching the news with my parents and I believe they were showing an aerial shot of the prison. The most influential moment was when John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death, as I was living in northern Virginia and my school wouldn't let us out to recess during his murder spree.
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Post by Matt on Apr 8, 2010 17:07:06 GMT -6
When Utah shot that dirtball in 1977. I was 10. I remember cheering.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2010 19:06:04 GMT -6
In 1986, When two Australian drug smugglers were executed in Malaysia. I wondered why the execution wouldn't be shown live of on TV.
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Post by The Tipsy Broker on Apr 9, 2010 4:49:37 GMT -6
Being brought up so near to castles and dungeons it was very early. I was lowered into a 'bottle' dungeon (oubliette) on a school trip around 9 and loved it. On a visit to Pembroke castle my teacher said the marks on the dungeon walls were medieval prisoners blood. Of course it wasn't but I thought that very cool. Those experiences plus the play 'Into Barbarians' got me well interested in executions. I used to hang my Star Wars figures with Darth Vader as executioner
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Post by Rev. Agave on Apr 9, 2010 5:06:19 GMT -6
I used to hang my Star Wars figures with Darth Vader as executioner LOL! I used to do hangings with Star Wars toys too and my cousin's Barbie Dolls.
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Post by ltdc on Apr 9, 2010 13:50:17 GMT -6
can't put a finger on it but hell, every western you ever saw had horse thieves being hung. basic fact of life it seemed to me.
my first personal contact was when I was eighteen a girl I had gone to school with for 12 years was raped and murdered. two of the three scum got the DP and were eventually executed.
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Post by honeyroastedpeanut on Apr 9, 2010 15:37:30 GMT -6
I used to hang my Star Wars figures with Darth Vader as executioner I built some damn fine gallows from lego to replay western movies, with trap door and everything. Boys are fascinated by violence, I guess.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2010 15:37:48 GMT -6
Like LTDC I saw hangings in movies while growing up. I saw them in historical films. I don't remember which murderer was being executed the first time I noticed a real one.
I think the most shocking deaths I viewed in my early years were when John F Kennedy was assassinated, and then when Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald - they were in the news on tv. Murder is much more shocking and traumatic than executions, and so harder to forget, for me at least.
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Post by Rev. Agave on Apr 9, 2010 15:43:18 GMT -6
I used to hang my Star Wars figures with Darth Vader as executioner I built some damn fine gallows from lego to replay western movies, with trap door and everything. Boys are fascinated by violence, I guess.
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Lady
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Post by Lady on Apr 9, 2010 16:47:59 GMT -6
When I was in 7th grade ,Gary Gilmore 's execution was all over the news . I just thought of it as another news story , not really thinking much about what it all meant . Heck I was only 13 yrs old when he was executed .
In 1987 , my best friend was murdered . The DP wasn't an option for his murderer, because Wisconsin didn't have the DP , so I still wasn't fully aware of the extent of what the DP meant , even though most people felt he should of been given the DP . I always leaned more towards anti than pro .
My first real awareness of the DP came the day I sat in court and listened as my brother was sentenced to death . I remember sitting there shaking ,but yet kind of numb to the whole thing , because it was just too much to deal with . I looked over at the victims wife, sitting on the other side of the courtroom , and she was crying . I felt so horrible for her . She looked over at me and I mouthed the words " I'm sorry " ,and she nodded at me . The rest of it was sort of a blur and I just sat there on the bench for the longest time . To this day I still can't remember how I got out of there . Later on when I did get the courage to contact the victims wife ,she told me how she felt so bad for me ,sitting there all alone. She said " I wanted to come over and talk with you ,but I didn't want to cause you any pain ." This woman is amazing , she was concerned about me , even though it was my brother who caused her pain and took her husband from her . I can't even begin to explain the connection we have ,but we are still in touch with each other to this day . She moved to Florida a few yrs ago but every now and again we get in touch with each other . She's a good person, who didn't deserve what happened to her, because of my brother . Her husband should be growing old with her, but he isn't ,because of my brother .
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Post by Rev. Agave on Apr 9, 2010 17:22:39 GMT -6
I think we are all born with an awareness of the Death Penalty. It is natural, and I think most of us are born with a sense that murderers should be executed. As we age, some of us lose touch with nature and rebel against our instincts. But many of us come to realize that human nature is unchangeable, and in turn, we embrace those moral truths are so deeply ingrained in our psyches since birth.
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Post by Kay on Apr 9, 2010 17:22:53 GMT -6
The first murderer I recall hearing about was Richard Speck, I remember hearing how the nurses had hidden and was frightened.
The first execution I recall hearing about was Ruth Ellis, she was put to death the year I was born.
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Post by dude on Apr 9, 2010 18:49:48 GMT -6
Hmmm. I think my earliest exposure to the DP was reading Scholastic News, a magazine, in my homeroom. I remember vaguely that their main story was on the DP. On the cover was a mockup, mostly in white, of a guy in an electric chair. I think there was some sort of glowing or other special graphics to get across that the man was being executed.
I remember being very pro-death penalty at the time, as I still am. But at the same time, I had a bit of trouble focusing because looking at the cover photo, I realized the gravity of an execution (sort of).
I think this was around 1984. I'm not sure if SN's story was because of any particular DP case. But thenceforth I became fascinated with the DP, and the step-by-step, calculated, professionalized nature of it.
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Post by Californian on Apr 9, 2010 21:01:46 GMT -6
It was in the late 1950s in Ohio, when I was in grade school. I remember a newspaper article about some murderer (don't even remember who it was) and the article had a picture of the electric chair.
There was quite a bit of controversy at the time because the governor, Mike Disalle, had a habit of commuting death sentences and it was widely believed that cost him re-election.
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Post by Woody on Apr 10, 2010 1:03:07 GMT -6
But many of us come to realize that human nature is unchangeable, Human nature is the ability to change things.
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Post by SubSurfCPO(ret) on Apr 10, 2010 1:18:20 GMT -6
It is hard to pin down when I became aware or cognizant of the DP. I grew up close to Florida's death row and most likely heard about it from my father or grandfathers. My interest became "sparked" after sitting on a capital trial jury.
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mike5
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Post by mike5 on Apr 10, 2010 9:10:18 GMT -6
My first exposure was watching the old movie Santa Fe Trail on television as a kid. It's a highly fictionalized account of the raid on Harper's Ferry. I remember the execution being very solemn.
Now I see that it has entered the public domain and you can download it for free off the internet. I'll have to see if it is anything like I remembered it.
Back then the murderers they idolized, though deserving execution, at least had truly noble causes instead of being some punk who raped and strangled (and not necessarily in that order) some little old lady who was nothing but kind to everyone.
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Post by ichy on Apr 10, 2010 11:48:42 GMT -6
I'd always been aware of it, but it became an issue I was passionate about a couple of years ago as I began to learn more about the Warren House Motel killings in Baltimore. The Vernon Evans case was all over the news for months as he weaseled his way out of being executed, and the more I learned about what he and Anthony Grandison did the angrier I got. They've been on death row since I was born, and I hope that someday I'll get the pleasure of reading a newspaper article about their executions.
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Post by kingsindanger on Apr 10, 2010 16:09:32 GMT -6
I first became aware of the death penalty when McVeigh was executed, probably one of the most famous executions ever, I was only 8 or so, but I remember watching the news with my parents and I believe they were showing an aerial shot of the prison. The most influential moment was when John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death, as I was living in northern Virginia and my school wouldn't let us out to recess during his murder spree. It was also McVeigh for me as well. When the bombing happened in 1995, I was in high school. We had a massive debate about the death penalty. That case convinced me of the need for the death penalty. Since then, dozens of cases have reaffirmed that position.
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Post by josephdphillips on Apr 10, 2010 16:31:31 GMT -6
But many of us come to realize that human nature is unchangeable, Human nature is the ability to change things. Erick is correct. Human nature cannot change itself. Human nature is immutable.
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Post by Rev. Agave on Apr 10, 2010 17:01:17 GMT -6
I first became aware of the death penalty when McVeigh was executed, probably one of the most famous executions ever, I was only 8 or so, but I remember watching the news with my parents and I believe they were showing an aerial shot of the prison. The most influential moment was when John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death, as I was living in northern Virginia and my school wouldn't let us out to recess during his murder spree. It was also McVeigh for me as well. When the bombing happened in 1995, I was in high school. We had a massive debate about the death penalty. That case convinced me of the need for the death penalty. Since then, dozens of cases have reaffirmed that position. But I think VA justice was asking when we first realized that there was a death penalty or our first memory of it. You probably knew what executions were by at least 4th grade. I mean, we all played "hangman" in elementary school, and I'm sure you knew what an electric chair was used for well before 1995.
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Post by Tracy on Apr 10, 2010 18:46:27 GMT -6
When my cousin was murdered when i was 13 years old, i always thought that executing his murderer would be the only real justice.
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Post by kingsindanger on Apr 12, 2010 0:04:45 GMT -6
It was also McVeigh for me as well. When the bombing happened in 1995, I was in high school. We had a massive debate about the death penalty. That case convinced me of the need for the death penalty. Since then, dozens of cases have reaffirmed that position. But I think VA justice was asking when we first realized that there was a death penalty or our first memory of it. You probably knew what executions were by at least 4th grade. I mean, we all played "hangman" in elementary school, and I'm sure you knew what an electric chair was used for well before 1995. You are correct on both points but it was that bombing that really got me seriously thinking about the death penalty. Understanding 'what' is a little different than understanding 'why'.
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Post by wrench on Apr 12, 2010 13:41:25 GMT -6
my first execution is was aware of was gary gilmore. i was 13 and the story of him saying "let's do it" was riveting to me. guess i've been pro ever since.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2010 14:06:08 GMT -6
In a previous life.
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Post by VA Justice on Apr 12, 2010 15:05:35 GMT -6
can't put a finger on it but hell, every western you ever saw had horse thieves being hung. basic fact of life it seemed to me. my first personal contact was when I was eighteen a girl I had gone to school with for 12 years was raped and murdered. two of the three scum got the DP and were eventually executed. That was the Hi-Fi case in Ogden, I presume?
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