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Post by stepho on Feb 17, 2006 16:38:45 GMT -6
I am a person who is against the death penalty 100% because i believe that it does not solve anything. I just have one question. If you had the ability and opportunity to change this law what would you do to change it. If you would pass any bills what type of bill would it be? how would it be affective?
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Post by SkyLoom on Feb 20, 2006 14:16:23 GMT -6
I am a person who is against the death penalty 100% because i believe that it does not solve anything. I just have one question. If you had the ability and opportunity to change this law what would you do to change it. If you would pass any bills what type of bill would it be? how would it be affective? On the federal level I think the most glaring problem is the disparity between and among states. By that, I mean that in one state a particular crime can be eligible for the death penalty while in another state the maximum sentence for the identical crime might be life without parole. To address this disparity, I'd appoint a commission to draft a model state law which individual states could use as the basis for re-writing and/or amending their own laws. Of course I'd prefer that this model law would not permit the death penalty under any circumstances and would enact a minimum mandatory penalty of ten or fifteen years with possibility of supervised parole after that time. On the state level, I believe the people are unaware of the serious problems that exist in the way the death penalty is administered. In states where it exists, I'd appoint a commission to carefully examine cases where the accused has been executed over the past twenty-five years. That means going back over all the evidence presented, but with new forensic testing, new interviews of witnesses where they are available, and a fresh look at the political situation in which those sentences were given, among other things. I would insist that the commission's findings be published in major newspapers, reported in news broadcasts and discussed on talk shows. I believe that when the people of a state are presented with the facts, while they still might favor capital punishment, they will agree that the administration procedures are so seriously flawed that it really cannot be done fairly or justly at all right now and there is really no way to "fix the system" to make it either fair or just. I do think that I have the power to change the law as an individual, though. Certainly I need to work together with others in my state who oppose capital punishment and volunteer to help in whatever ways I am able, but I can also talk to people, write letters to the editor, write or call my state representatives, call in to radio talk shows, attend meetings where I can learn more about the issues... and invite friends to come along, and even make copies of good articles and leave them in the rack at the local library. Remember that only about fifty years ago the "separate but equal" thing was considered fair and just. It took people who were willing to challenge that accepted "wisdom" to make a change, and make a change they did. The changes did not start at the federal or even the state level... they started with individuals who knew we all could do better. I don't count on any bills that legislators pass out of the goodness of their hearts because I don't ever see our legislators doing much of anything until the people make it harder for them to do nothing than to do the work and legislate the changes we want. Good luck, Stepho!
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Post by Elric of Melnibone on Feb 20, 2006 17:33:44 GMT -6
I would change the law this way. I would limit semi-trucks and trailers to 60 miles per hour on the highways. I would limit drivers to 8 hour days, 5 days a week...
As far as Death penalty, I would say no appeal to the federal level at all. The murder was in a state and the states should enforce justice...that would decrease the backlog in cases...
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Post by GlennF on Feb 21, 2006 16:53:11 GMT -6
I would make the death penalty mandatory for first degree murder, with the small possibility of LWOP in exceptional cases! I would also make it possible for the death penalty to be awarded in certain cases of attempted murder.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2006 18:12:34 GMT -6
I would change the length of time a man spends on death row. Instead of 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years, I would shorten it to 2 years and then thats it.
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Post by David1 on Feb 22, 2006 13:33:44 GMT -6
The problem is there is no uniform definition of what constiutes first degree muder, in New York it constitutes 13 categories of intentional muder, in California it encompasses all premeditated murder and certain defined felony murders like Carjacking resulting in death. In Texas, Capital murder is not necessarily defined solely by an intent to kill but by the type of muder eg "killing a police officer or a child under 6" although there is no strict "felony murder" rule such as in California or Florida. In all I would leave any changes in the Law to the state Legislatures or the people through Referenda. The best way this can be done is to remove the Federal petition of habeas Corpus and aim to execute inmates within 2-5 years, while giving states the option to extend the death penalty to other violent felonies, if that is what the people want.
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Post by Donnie on Feb 28, 2006 0:05:47 GMT -6
The problem is there is no uniform definition of what constiutes first degree muder That isn't a problem, it is a solution.
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