News Aug 18, 2011 at 4:00 am

Is Gary Haugen Legally Crazy for Wanting Death over Prison?

Comments

1
I'm a BIG porponent for the death penalty!

That said, i feel that the U.S. should abolish it on both state and federal levels. Just like most other [apparently] civilized nations. It's pretty damned clear that WE are totally incapible of administering it in anywhere NEAR a fair manner.

All but 16 states have it, but noone really wants to use it, for the most part. The fact that OR has killed just two people since 1984 is indicative of this, because the same goes for many other states - even many Southern ones. Only Texas seems to kill someone every other year.

Also, why the death penatly should be abolished:

1. It's odd that a mother who murders her five small children (in TX of all places!) would get life, some guy in another state murders his wife and gets life, a woman in yet another state murders her daugther and gets NOTHING, religious parents in yet another state murder their daughter and the dad gets six monthes, but a guy in a different state allegedly kills a cop and gets sentenced to death. This seems extremely uneven.

2. And let's be real, only people of color and very poor whites are even eligible for this sentence.

3. Many imates will sit on death row for as much as 30 years, which is something of a life sentence anyways. The fact that ALL death sentences go to automatic appeal and that we allow the process to stretch out for decades again shows our extreme aprehension to using it.

4. Many imates sitting on death row now were put there by questionable evidence and sheer prejudice. Mumia Abu Jumal is only the most famous example of this, but he's by no means alone in this fact, or even that rare.

5. The only goddamned reason we still even cling on to a death penalty is b/c of the really, most fucked up cases, i suppose. But even that can't really be true because MOST of the worst murderers get life sentences. Gary Ridgeway (Green river killer) got life and probably killed 3 times as many women as Ted Bundy, who was executed. Both men oporated in pretty much the same area (NW), so why the disparity?

If Gary Haugen WANTS to die, then fine. Let it happen next week. He's ALREADY ON DEATH ROW, so i don't understand what the fuss is. If OR is nervous about executing a guy that the state sentenced, whom he himself insists on WANTING to die, then we should just abolish! Those 37 people sitting on OR's death row now - are they all really that much worse than Korena Elaine Roberts? That woman only got life!
2
For god's sake, if the man wants to die, let him die. Isn't that some kind of basic human right?
3
It IS, actually.
4
Fuck that shit....
To my way of thinking, I would want to die too, rather than face the remainder of my life in prison. He thinks that too. Let him rot in prison and think about how he got there for the rest of his life.
Also, the Death Sentance, with all the built in appeals and such, costs more to administer than life in prison.
And sometimes they finger the wrong person for a crime.
The Death Penalty - really the Shortened Life Penalty since we all die - should be abolished.
5
Right, considering that imates sit on death row an average of 20 years, is there really even a Hell of a difference b/t that and a life sentance? Gonna die in prison, anyways. It's really just a matter of 20 years, 40 years, 50, 60...

Like i said, either use it and use it RIGHT, or not at all.
6
Have you ever been to jail? If one has any intelligence at all it is torture. Some just shut down completely, some act out some are so medicated they don't/can't care. This poor soul has probably been driven mad by being in a place with incompetents, schizophrenics and just plain old dumb people. He killed his girlfriend out of Jealousy and is a passionate man isn't he? Go ahead F--ker you want to die be my guest. Obviously he's not getting out and if he stays he'll probably kill again and again.

Please wait...

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