Shawna Forde gets death penalty

[kinvore.livejournal.com]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/22/arizona.double.killing/?hpt=T2

I don't advocate the death penalty but I shed no tears for this woman. Here's the crux of the story: an anti-immigrant militant attacked a Latino family, killing the father and 9-year-old daughter (as she begged for her life), and shooting the mother who only survived because she pretended to die from the gunshot.

The murderers thought the father was a drug dealer and they wanted his money to finance their budding hate group. I guess that would have been a nifty recruiting tool for extremists, their willingness to kill Mexicans to get things done. Nevermind the fact that the victims were American-born citizens, such details are irrelevant when racial bigotry is concerned.

This is the sort of thing that happens when you fan the flames of hatred, dehumanization is the predecessor to atrocity. I'm surprised this didn't get more attention from the mainstream media, I guess they aren't as liberal as so many seem to think.

Comments

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

The advantage of being a proponent of the death penalty is that we don't have to justify our feelings when someone who commits a particularly revolting act of murder. Personally I hope all those involved, not just her, get it!!!

Altho I would think all good liberals should be pushing for LWOP and maybe they can write children's books like Tookie. Oh wait, he finally got the "cocktail" in the end.

I know you didn't "advocate" the death penalty, but I wonder how many people are on death row right now that have killed kids that many here with the same sentiments would shed a tear for if they were actually executed?

I'm sorry cold blooded murder is the same regardless of the "reason!!
(wow pushed one of my "hot" buttons didn't you)

[kinvore.livejournal.com]

There's a difference between finding a crime horrific and thinking the government should execute them for committing it. Like I said I don't think she should be executed, or anyone for that matter. But I'd challenge you to find someone that would shed tears over a child murderer being executed. They would still prefer to not have them executed but it has nothing to do with justifying feelings.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

I think tears for a situation where lives are lost and then another lost is appropriate.

Imagine if your son killed your husband in a fit of rage. Then the state executed your son. I think tears would be the only response.

Death = loss.

[kinvore.livejournal.com]

Well you're talking about someone personally affected by a murder, I'm talking about the public at large.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Ah, right, no tears.

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

See that's what I can't comprehend killing a child should be automatic death penalty, not vengence....JUSTICE!!

[dwer.livejournal.com]

where's the justice in the state killing someone?

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

you are right, the parents should do it.

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure why you have tied together the two disparate items of shedding a tear for a criminal and disliking the death penalty.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

The disadvantage of course is that you must ignore those feeling when the state commits an act of murder. When state executes someone who is innocent, who then is guilty of murder?

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

the state would be of course.
And would you like to show the statistics for how often this has ocurred? With the paucity of executions that take place, it's not very frequent. Tookie Williams manage to live a rather productive life for OVER 20 years after he cut short 4 people's lives.

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

If I fire into a forest randomly once a month and hit no one a million times, but then I hit an innocent bystander, I go to jail for a large portion of my life.

If the government executes people a thousands times, but gets two wrong, it's excused because it's not like they're doing it all that often?

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Its a hard thing to accurately measure (http://www.innocenceproject.org/) especially when forbidden to investigate the cases retro-actively, as Bush did in Texas (http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/11/new_evidence_suggests_texas_ex.html).

The number is not zero (http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/The_Innocent_and_the_Death_Penalty.php), however:

Seventeen people have been proven innocent and exonerated by DNA testing in the United States after serving time on death row. They were convicted in 11 states and served a combined 209 years in prison ? including 187 years on death row ? for crimes they didn?t commit.

• Kirk Bloodsworth served eight years in Maryland prisonincluding two years on death rowfor a murder and rape he didn?t commit, before he was exonerated in 1993.


• Rolando Cruz, and his co-defendant Alejandro Hernandez, served more than 10 years on Illinois death row for a murder they didn?t commit before DNA testing proved both men innocent in 1995.


• Verneal Jimerson and Dennis Williams were sentenced to death in the infamous Ford Heights Four case in Illinois for a pair of 1978 murders they didn?t commit. Jimerson was cleared in 1995 after a decade on death row and Williams served more than 17 years on death row before he was freed in 1996.


• Robert Miller spent nine years on Oklahoma?s death row for a murder and rape he didn?t commit before he was cleared by DNA testing in 1998.


• Ron Williamson spent a decade on Oklahoma?s death row for a murder he didn?t commit before DNA testing secured by the Innocence Project proved him innocent in 1999. His co-defendant, Dennis Fritz, was sentenced to life and spent 11 years in prison before DNA cleared him as well.


• Ronald Jones, an Innocence Project client, served a decade on Illinois death row for a murder and rape he didn?t commit before DNA testing proved his innocence and led to his release in 1999.


• Earl Washington, a Virginia man with limited mental capacity, was sentenced to death after he allegedly confessed to committing a 1982 murder he didn?t commit. He served a decade on death row, once coming within nine days of execution before receiving a stay. He would serve a total of 17 years behind bars before DNA testing obtained by the Innocence Project cleared him in 2000.


• Frank Lee Smith died of cancer on Florida?s death row after serving 14 years for a murder and rape he didn?t commit. He was cleared by DNA testing obtained by the Innocence Project 11 months after his death.


• Charles Irvin Fain served more than 17 years on death row in Idaho for a murder and rape he didn?t commit before DNA testing proved his innocence in 2001.


• Ray Krone served a decade in Arizona prisonincluding four years on death rowfor a murder and rape he didn?t commit before DNA testing proved his innocence in 2002.


• Nicholas Yarris served more than 21 years on Pennsylvania?s death row before DNA testing proved his innocence and led to his release in 2003.


• Ryan Matthews served five years on Louisiana?s death row for a murder he didn?t commit before he was exonerated by DNA testing in 2004. His co-defendant, Travis Hayes, was sentenced to life in prison and served eight years before he was cleared in 2007.


• Curtis McCarty served 21 years in Oklahoma prisonincluding nearly 18 years on death rowfor a murder he didn?t commit before DNA tests secured by the Innocence Project led to his exoneration in 2007. He was convicted twice and sentenced to death three times based on forensic misconduct.


• Kennedy Brewer, an Innocence Project client, served 15 years behind barsincluding seven years on death rowfor a murder and sexual assault he didn?t commit before DNA testing from 2001 finally led to his exoneration in 2008.


• Michael Blair served 13 years on death row for a murder he didn?t commit before DNA testing obtained by his lawyers at the Innocence Project proved his innocence and led to his exoneration in 2008.

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

Since you bring it up, what do you consider an acceptable rate/percentage?


Why are you centered on Tookie Williams?

Why not Karla Faye Tucker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Faye_Tucker)?

After all, all she did was have the nerve to be near her stupid boyfriend when he murdered someone, so obviously she needs to die. Bush laughed at her for pleading for her life.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

I'd still rather her get life in prison. For every case like this where we think we're so sure of the truth of this situation (are we?) There's a hundred more where the truth is very vague and the person gets on death row anyways. If even one innocent person is murdered by the state, is it worth it just to get our sense of vengeance fulfilled?

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

I knew I'd stimulate a little from my comment....ready for more?

I don't think of it as vengence as much as justice, but yeah with the odds being what they are now, yeah it is worth it (for justice not vengence)

[kinvore.livejournal.com]

How do you define justice?

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

What is justice?

[usekh.livejournal.com]

I could be wrong, but don't you proclaim yourself to be a Christian?

[yes-justice.livejournal.com]

I didn't go there, but was thinking....

Huh??

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

Yes, and????

Re: Huh??

[usekh.livejournal.com]

Just curious how you reconcile your level of blood lust with that.

[anosognosia.livejournal.com]

"The advantage of being a proponent of the death penalty is that we don't have to justify our feelings when someone who commits a particularly revolting act of murder."

Proponents of the death penalty have feelings?

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

You are way too smart for that...nice try tho.

[anosognosia.livejournal.com]

Well I meant other than feeling a seething malice calmed only by thoughts of strangling puppies and stealing childrens' icecream cones.