What a disgusting, morally bankrupt society that permits the state to take a life. And then to censor statements? Damn. Nobody is claiming these were good human beings, but disgust isn't nearly strong enough a word.
Death Row – Last words of every Texas inmate executed since 1982
51–60 of 139 posts
Re: Death Row – Last words of every Texas inmate executed since 1982
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
You have an additional speech mark at the end of that sentence. > "Help""
He nested quotes. The entire line was wrapper in quotation marks, as well as the individual quotes inside the line.
My brain is throwing all sorts of parse errors at that quote full of quotes. This is why we have escape characters! (Or, more realistically, two forms of quotation marks for nesting).
Re: Death Row – Last words of every Texas inmate executed since 1982
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
# of executions in Texas since 1982 is probably a fair percentage of the total number of executions since that time. Don't have time to look it up, sorry!
I'd wager that it's not even close, unless you're referring to American executions only. China alone has executed in excess of 2000 people each year int the last few years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_capital_punishment_by_c...
Specifically page 31 on the doc - http://www.amnesty.org.au/images/uploads/adp/Death%20Sentenc...
Re: Death Row – Last words of every Texas inmate executed since 1982
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Regardless of how horrific their crimes were we can never really be certain enough of their guilt to kill them. Nor should we give our government power to kill its citizens. I don't know how anyone can believe the death penalty to be a good idea. 1. Look at the countries America is in company with in allowing capital punishment - it's not a list any country should want to be a part of. 2. Imagine yourself as an innoc…
Regardless of how horrific their crimes were we can never really be certain enough of their guilt to kill them That's a strange thing to say categorically. So if we have a lot of witnesses, video, a manifesto of motive, physical evidence, etc... we can't be certain enough to feel that someone should be permanently removed from the world?
IMO no. Witnesses can lie, video can be manipulated, physical evidence can be tampered with. Obviously we can be very close to certain but unless we are 100% certain (which I don't think is possible) killing someone is a big risk.
Re: Death Row – Last words of every Texas inmate executed since 1982
#55This one really hit me:
> The act I committed to put me here was not just heinous, it was senseless. But the person that committed that act is no longer here - I am. I'm not going to struggle physically against any restraints. I'm not going to shout, use profanity or make idle threats. Understand though that I'm not only upset, but I'm saddened by what is happening here tonight. I'm not only saddened, but disappointed that a system that is supposed to protect and uphold what is just and right can be so much like me when I made the same shameful mistake. If someone tried to dispose of everyone here for participating in this killing, I'd scream a resounding, "No." I'd tell them to give them all the gift that they would not give me...and that's to give them all a second chance. I'm sorry that I am here. I'm sorry that you're all here. I'm sorry that John Luttig died. And I'm sorry that it was something in me that caused all of this to happen to begin with. Tonight we tell the world that there are no second chances in the eyes of justice...Tonight, we tell our children that in some instances, in some cases, killing is right. This conflict hurts us all, there are no SIDES. The people who support this proceeding think this is justice. The people that think that I should live think that is justice. As difficult as it may seem, this is a clash of ideals, with both parties committed to what they feel is right. But who's wrong if in the end we're all victims? In my heart, I have to believe that there is a peaceful compromise to our ideals. I don't mind if there are none for me, as long as there are for those who are yet to come. There are a lot of men like me on death row - good men - who fell to the same misguided emotions, but may not have recovered as I have. Give those men a chance to do what's right. Give them a chance to undo their wrongs. A lot of them want to fix the mess they started, but don't know how. The problem is not in that people aren't willing to help them find out, but in the system telling them it won't matter anyway. No one wins tonight. No one gets closure. No one walks away victorious.
http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/beazleynapoleo...
Re: Death Row – Last words of every Texas inmate executed since 1982
#56The New York Times ran an article[1] on this in 2009. Here are the last words they picked out - --- Go ahead? Nothing I can say can change the past. I done lost my voice. I would like to say goodbye. My heart goes is going ba bump ba bump ba bump. Is the mike on? I don’t have anything to say. I am just sorry about what I did. I am nervous and it is hard to put my thoughts together. Sometimes you don’t know what to sa…
I am curious why you pasted the entire list of last words from the NYT article in addition to linking to the article? Why not provide a link to the article (maybe a small relevant excerpt) and let people choose if they want stop reading the comments here to read the NYT list?
I personally appreciated the full paste - I generally dislike leaving HN through links if I can.
Re: Death Row – Last words of every Texas inmate executed since 1982
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Relevancy: Many people believe that minorities are disproportionately sentenced to death.
Then why would the Texas Department of Justice want to draw attention to that?
Because in politics the cover up is often more damaging than the initial transgression? Because the state does not feel that they have done anything wrong and therefore has nothing to gain by appearing to hide information from the public?
Re: Death Row – Last words of every Texas inmate executed since 1982
#58This list is yet another example of how the condemned receive something that neither their victims nor most other convicts get: a ceremonial death. They get last words. A last meal. Last rites with the clergy. Candlelight vigil by those against capital punishment. Final appeals to the courts and to the governor for clemency. Witnesses to the execution. To rot in obscurity would be greater punishment for these people. Instead they get to go out as celebrities, complete with profiles on an official government website. Disgusting.
Re: Death Row – Last words of every Texas inmate executed since 1982
#59Re: Death Row – Last words of every Texas inmate executed since 1982
#60This one really hit me: > The act I committed to put me here was not just heinous, it was senseless. But the person that committed that act is no longer here - I am. I'm not going to struggle physically against any restraints. I'm not going to shout, use profanity or make idle threats. Understand though that I'm not only upset, but I'm saddened by what is happening here tonight. I'm not only saddened, but disappointe…
Man. Thanks for posting that. That hits hard.
> Tonight, we tell our children that in some instances, in some cases, killing is right.
> a system that is supposed to protect and uphold what is just and right can be so much like me when I made the same shameful mistake.