[quote]danmaftei wrote:
vroom wrote:
However, I am suprised at the vehemence coming from people who have nothing to do with the situation at all. It seems some people around here are just drooling over the chance to execute criminals, like it actually suddenly makes the word a better place.
This might be a surprise, but the killing of Tookie didn’t somehow discourage all criminals or dismantle the gangs.
vroom, you said it perfectly.
lothario, I see where you’re coming from, but I simply can’t agree. The death penalty is revenge. It’s an eye for an eye. ANd I like to stick by Gandhi: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” It’s just the way I feel, I guess it’s something that can’t be felt by other who feel differently no matter how much I try to convince them otherwise.
Zap, you’re right, there is no formal apology to the victims, I thought I had one, but it’s simply a broader apology: http://www.tookie.com/apology.html .
But Tookie has always claimed his innocence, and frankly, an apology would be a weak, pitiful, and cowardly thing to write. He would in fact be admitting to a crime he says he didn’t comit (whether or not it’s true, I haven’t seen/heard the case or its summary and unless you have either don’t comment on it) just to save his life.
But I would like to point out that although a formal apology was never realized, is redemption not enough? For clemency purposes, is a feeling of regret, and a positive influence on society not enough?
I’ll just end this post with this. You think that showing Tookie’s supporters as “weirdos” will somehow deter me from supporting him? OK, let’s say that logic should work. Check out the list of countries that still have the death penalty. Let me put boldface around the ones that should jump out.
* Afghanistan
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
* Bangladesh - Barbados
- Belarus
- Belize
- Botswana
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Chad
* China (People’s Republic) - Comoros
- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guyana
- India
- Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq - Jamaica
* Japan - Jordan
- Kazakhstan
* Korea, North
* Korea, South
* Kuwait - Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Mongolia
- Nigeria
- Oman
* Pakistan
* Palestinian Authority - Philippines
- Qatar
- Rwanda
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
* Saudi Arabia - Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Swaziland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uganda
* United Arab Emirates - United States
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Besides Japan, we are the only industrial democracy in the world that still allows the death penalty. Given Japan’s history, this isn’t surprising.
Look at the kooks you’re hanging with.[/quote]
Who gives a shit what these countries do? I could not care less what they do or do not do, perhaps with the exception of Belarus, which is a good country getting back into working order after 50 years of savage communism, thanks to Lukashenko.
