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In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

washingtonpost.com

21–30 of 49 posts

Re: In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

#21
This seems like an odd article to be posted here. The author has stopped posting comments and around the same time started just posting links to articles.

Also he isn't posting any comments to any of the articles he is posting....

His twitter feed isn't mentioning anything like this...

I wonder if his account is still under his control?

Re: In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

#23
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm a native Texan, which I point out solely to rebut the assertion that all--or even many--Texans are in favor of the death penalty When it comes to an action as permanent as killing a person, disapproval without preventative action (i.e., abolition) is tacit approval. So long as Texas keeps executing people, I don't see what difference it makes how many Texans are in favor of it.

What would you like techsupporter to do? Drive down to the prisons and personally tear down the bars? "So long as Texas keeps executing people, I don't see what difference it makes how many [Americans] are in favor of it."

>What would you like techsupporter to do? Drive down to the prisons and personally tear down the bars?

The perceived inability of one does not excuse the lack of action by the many, especially if the techsupporter's assertion is true -- that not many Texans support the death penalty.

I suspect that, given California couldn't even replace it with life imprisonment (it failed 52-48 with Prop 34 in 2012), the considerably more conservative state of Texas has at least a simple majority support for the death penalty.

>"So long as Texas keeps executing people, I don't see what difference it makes how many [Americans] are in favor of it."

I agree wholeheartedly.

Re: In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

#24
I am neither Texan nor American, so this is an outsiders perspective:

What I do not get is how the EU can just blatantly ignore this. When one of our politicians travels to an Arab country or to China and does not address the human rights situation clear enough, he or she will be bashed. When Turkey starts talking about reintroducing capital punishment the instant reactions are that this will end the negotiations about EU membership. Capital punishment is a hard line for the EU, if your country has it, it is not considered to value human rights and is out, no further questions asked.

The only people really criticizing the US here (in Germany) are usually haters, who glorify Russia.

It cannot be about the money either, because China is an important partner, too. They have to put up with our obligatory human rights talk every time, while the US has not.

Re: In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

#25

I'm a native Texan, which I point out solely to rebut the assertion that all--or even many--Texans are in favor of the death penalty, and I very much oppose the death penalty for reasons exactly such as this. Maybe this man committed a crime; it sure seems like he did. But maybe he didn't. Or maybe he didn't in the way that the state, or the psychiatrist, or the eyewitnesses claim he did. That's the problem with the…

1) According to the best available evidence, a sizable majority of Texans favor the death penalty.

2) If you strongly oppose the death penalty, can you provide examples of what you've done to reduce it? You've already noted that you chose to live in a way that provides financial support for the death penalty.. what are you doing to offset that? What organizations do you donate to, or volunteer with? What have you done beyond write a comment on HN? If the answer is 'nothing', then you find the death penalty disagreeable, but you are, on net, supporting it.

Re: In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

#27
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm a native Texan, which I point out solely to rebut the assertion that all--or even many--Texans are in favor of the death penalty When it comes to an action as permanent as killing a person, disapproval without preventative action (i.e., abolition) is tacit approval. So long as Texas keeps executing people, I don't see what difference it makes how many Texans are in favor of it.

What would you like techsupporter to do? Drive down to the prisons and personally tear down the bars? "So long as Texas keeps executing people, I don't see what difference it makes how many [Americans] are in favor of it."

Honest question: how many people are actively protesting against the death penalty in Texas? A cursory search shows one annual march and protests on the day of executions, with turnouts in the low tens.

From the outside looking in, it seems that most Texans who oppose the death penalty are either indifferent or resigned to the issue. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I find very little evidence of a credible abolition movement. Without sustained political pressure, disapproval counts for very little.

Re: In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

#28
I think if he's found not guilty he deserves some kind of compensation. You can't just keep somebody in limbo like that, knowing they will "die soon" for years. It is mental torture. What he's going through now is arguably worse than being found guilty. You can't justify that. They're punishing him and his family repeatedly.

I think this is a perfect example of the US completely getting it wrong. If states can't get it right, I think the ability to arbitrarily punish serious crimes should be dissolved to upper government. Why it makes a difference what state you're in is beyond me. I thought it was something they were phasing out of.

Re: In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

#29
post #3

>Legal experts say his case is rare, even in Texas, the execution capital of America — and a state that allows capital punishment for people who did not kill anyone or did not intend to kill. Forty six US states have Felony Murder statutes. I don't think this is all that rare for states with capital punishment. According to the wiki "...the death penalty may be imposed if the defendant is a major participant in the u…

Correct! I'm not sure why Texas is being singled out here. California has this statue as well.

If you participate in the commission of a felony crime and someone dies, then you are guilty of felony murder. They have something similar in the EU (e.g. Germany has "with deadly outcomes") where you receive an extended sentence even if you never intended for that person to die.

Re: In Texas, a man who didn’t kill anybody is about to be executed for murder

#30

I'm a native Texan, which I point out solely to rebut the assertion that all--or even many--Texans are in favor of the death penalty, and I very much oppose the death penalty for reasons exactly such as this. Maybe this man committed a crime; it sure seems like he did. But maybe he didn't. Or maybe he didn't in the way that the state, or the psychiatrist, or the eyewitnesses claim he did. That's the problem with the…

> There are vanishingly few situations where we can be 100%, absolutely clear on whether a person did something that warrants permanently removing that person from existence.

This is a little strawperson.

If you support the death penalty you also know innocent people will die from the death penalty.

But you support it because you believe overall less people will be removed from existence.

IE it's a deterrent. IE less criminals escape and go on the commit again. IE it costs less so more money goes to save lives in hospitals. [please don't rehash why this are faulty arguments, that's OT to the point I'm making]

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