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An Alabama inmate was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday after a deadlocked Supreme Court refused to stay his execution, The Associated Press reported. The inmate, Ronald B. Smith, had been sentenced to death by a judge despite a jury's recommendation of life without parole.
Mr. Smith was convicted in 1995 of murdering Casey Wilson, a convenience store clerk, the previous year. By a vote of 7 to 5, the jury rejected the death penalty and recommended a sentence of life without parole. The judge overrode that recommendation, sentencing Mr. Smith to death.
[...] In January, the Supreme Court struck down Florida's capital sentencing system, which also allowed judicial overrides of jury recommendations of life sentences. "The Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death,"
Should judges be allowed to overrule a jury's decision for sentencing?
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 11 2016, @07:09PM
I'm ok with getting rid of the ones who have murdered someone.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 11 2016, @07:24PM
That's a paradox. Since you approve of getting rid of people, you should approve of murderers, who get rid of people for you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 11 2016, @07:40PM
I say we kill the ones who have murdered, and murder the ones who kill. Every termination should be an execution-suicide! It's the only way to end the cycle of violence.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 11 2016, @09:11PM
coffee meet nose
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 11 2016, @08:44PM
That falls apart when innocent people are accused. It happens too often, so a lot of people object to the death penalty because they don't believe any innocent person should be executed. It also happens to be cheaper to keep them in prison since appeals can be never ending.
If its population control you're worried about there are a lot of better places to put that concern. Using it in this context just shows that you have a lust for vengeance / punishment, a sentiment that has caused humanity unnecessary suffering for millennia.