Scalia: it's probably time to say goodbye to the Death Penalty

[Blue3]

http://news.yahoo.com/scalia-wouldnt-surprise-death-penalty-struck-down-231927964.html

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He seems to see it as inevitable, and doesn't seem as personally opposed to it happening as some other recent court decisions.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Sadly, I don't think he's right on this one.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Sadly, I don't think he's right on this one.

Right on its inevitability? In that case, I'd agree with you, but I'm not sure that's exactly what he's saying.

If you mean right in saying they've made it harder to apply, then maybe? I don't have stats, but I'd chalk that up to gung-ho juries and governors who won't step up in the south.

I am hopeful the court just takes care of the matter sooner rather than later because the states or people will never jump on board.

[DemPGH]

Well, regardless of his personal sentiment, I hope he's right.

Progressives really need to go after this now that SSM has been dealt with.

Cost in pursuing it (GOPers?), fairness, the fact that it's not a deterrent, and that a life sentence is also a condemnation of sorts need to be argued. There is every reason across the spectrum to oppose the death penalty.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

He is right tho that SCOTUS has truly warped the intent of the "cruel and unusual punishment" clause from what it originally meant.  And unlike a lot of originalism, in the case the original intent is not those of the founders, but of those who wrote the English Bill of Rights in 1689.  That phrase wasn't intended to limit legislatures but judges so that couldn't make up punishments or pull obscure punishments out of the common law that hadn't been used in decades or even centuries.

Scalia is also right that SCOTUS has so limited the application of capital punishment that it's hard to see where the time and expense needed to use it can be justified.

[Cory]

Well, regardless of his personal sentiment, I hope he's right.

Progressives really need to go after this now that SSM has been dealt with.

Cost in pursuing it (GOPers?), fairness, the fact that it's not a deterrent, and that a life sentence is also a condemnation of sorts need to be argued. There is every reason across the spectrum to oppose the death penalty.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Sadly, I don't think he's right on this one.

Right on its inevitability? In that case, I'd agree with you, but I'm not sure that's exactly what he's saying.

If you mean right in saying they've made it harder to apply, then maybe? I don't have stats, but I'd chalk that up to gung-ho juries and governors who won't step up in the south.

I am hopeful the court just takes care of the matter sooner rather than later because the states or people will never jump on board.

I just don't see Anthony Kennedy ruling against it, as his past record seems to indicate he wouldn't.

[The Dowager Mod]

Sounds like he's just whining because it's about to go away despite his best efforts to keep murdering the mentally handicapped and innocent in Texas.

[RINO Tom]

Sounds like he's just whining because it's about to go away despite his best efforts to keep murdering the mentally handicapped and innocent in Texas.

Yeah, I'm sure that's a MASSIVE percent of those "murdered" via the death penalty.

Personally, I don't know where I stand on this issue.  I think there are some good logical issues for abolishing it (e.g., cost analysis), but I don't buy for a second this fake moral high ground that we just simply shouldn't be executing vile criminals because it's "inhumane."  Bullsh&t.  In the end, I don't really care at all.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Sounds like he's just whining because it's about to go away despite his best efforts to keep murdering the mentally handicapped and innocent in Texas.

Yeah, I'm sure that's a MASSIVE percent of those "murdered" via the death penalty.

Personally, I don't know where I stand on this issue.  I think there are some good logical issues for abolishing it (e.g., cost analysis), but I don't buy for a second this fake moral high ground that we just simply shouldn't be executing vile criminals because it's "inhumane."  Bullsh&t.  In the end, I don't really care at all.

Surely, you're kidding. Even one innocent is too many (and frankly one guilty too), and I believe the wrongful rate is 1 in 20. That's before you even consider states that frequently execute the mentally handicapped - Georgia in the news most recently, Florida and Texas from time-to-time as well.

[Bojack Horseman]

I think I'm like most people who've evolved on this issue. At first I could support it if the circumstances were right, but after seeing how badly capital punishment has unraveled in the past few years (Troy Davis, Richard Glossip, etc.), I feel like the system is broken beyond repair. You can't unkill someone, and far too many of these righties actually enjoy killing innocent people, like Mary Fallin is with Richard Glossip. In her heart, she knows there's reasonable doubt, and yet in November, she just might go through with it. It's time to just put a stop to it.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I think he's whining that it's getting rarer. No longer do the Clintons go around executing mentally insufficient black men for political gain.

[Slander and/or Libel]

The decision in the Glossip case literally saw Alito arguing that no method of execution could be unconstitutional if it was the only one available, since if you want to kill somebody, you've got to have some way to do it! Sadly, I can't see a court with that mindset outlawing capital punishment any time soon.

[TJ in Oregon]

Capital punishment should be done away with but the Supreme Court shouldn't be the one to get rid of it because it is wrong not unconstitutional.

In any case this is an issue where both J. Kennedy and J. Roberts should have particular attention paid to them when we're trying to read the tea leaves.

[Intell]

Meh', I support the death penalty would really like it to be kept.

[Slander and/or Libel]

Meh', I support the death penalty would really like it to be kept.

No comment about the innocent people who've been put to death?

[pbrower2a]

The death penalty is so capricious in its application that it has no value as a deterrent. Revenge? Maybe against a war criminal (OK, nobody in the George W. Bush Administration is ever going to be tried even for non-capital crimes) or traitor... as revenge.

 

[Dereich]

Sounds like he's just whining because it's about to go away despite his best efforts to keep murdering the mentally handicapped and innocent in Texas.

Yeah, I'm sure that's a MASSIVE percent of those "murdered" via the death penalty.

Personally, I don't know where I stand on this issue.  I think there are some good logical issues for abolishing it (e.g., cost analysis), but I don't buy for a second this fake moral high ground that we just simply shouldn't be executing vile criminals because it's "inhumane."  Bullsh&t.  In the end, I don't really care at all.

Surely, you're kidding. Even one innocent is too many (and frankly one guilty too), and I believe the wrongful rate is 1 in 20. That's before you even consider states that frequently execute the mentally handicapped - Georgia in the news most recently, Florida and Texas from time-to-time as well.

This sounds really strange to me. If you think the error rate on death cases (where every case has mandatory review by layers of judges, lay people and politicians) is that high, do you think the rest of the criminal justice system is worse? Because an argument that juries in general are wrong 1 in 20 times is a strong argument for scrapping the whole trial by jury system as it exists now. IMO if the wrongful deaths since the death penalty has come back are more than one or two its a stronger argument for reevaluating the whole way we deal with criminal justice more than anything else.

[Intell]

Meh', I support the death penalty would really like it to be kept.

No comment about the innocent people who've been put to death?

Well of course that's horrible, but I support the death penalty for cases of terrorism, murder, continuous rapist etc. and I only support it every there is no doubt that the killer is guilty.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Meh', I support the death penalty would really like it to be kept.

Then don't you call yourself "pro-life" ever again.

[Frodo]

He clearly sees the writing on the wall. 

[Slander and/or Libel]

He wrote the opinion that the majority signed on to.

[ingemann]

Sounds like he's just whining because it's about to go away despite his best efforts to keep murdering the mentally handicapped and innocent in Texas.

I'm against the death penalty but I don't really get why it's more wrong to execute stupid people than people in general?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I'm very pro death penalty.

If it was used routinely after being 100% certain you have the right person on death row (which need not take 10-15 friggin  years) it wouldn't be time to say good bye.   But, it's so rarely used, it's going to be an almost irrelevant conversation topic in the not so distant future.

[SillyAmerican]

I still struggle with how I feel about the death penalty.

Best argument against the death penalty: an innocent person might be put to death.
Best argument for the death penalty: the guilty person will never do what he/she did ever again.

I believe the high court has acted correctly in narrowing the application of capital punishment; it is not something to be applied lightly...