Reply With QuoteMisha (02-19-2014)
It may seem bizarre to you and me, but there are people who LIKE prison. My uncle has been in and out of jail for like thirty years (no violent crimes, just drugs and theft and stuff) and he has said that he prefers being in jail to being in the real world. There he doesn't have to worry about a job, or where his next meal is going to come from, or where he's going to sleep at night. Just because most people would find like in jail abhorrent doesn't mean that there aren't people who actually thrive in prison. Granted, most prisons in the United States are focused on punishment and not rehabilitation, but people are able to get steady jobs (which they get paid poorly for, but still) and an education that they wouldn't have necessarily been able to get outside of prison. Last I heard, Charles Manson was planning on getting married soon even though he's serving a life sentence. As much as we'd like to assume that all people immediately feel remorse and slowly go crazy for the rest of their lives while in prison, it's simply not (usually) the case.Originally Posted by ladyoftheflowers
Basically exactly what I was going to say. I'd much rather see someone rot in jail, miserable beyond anything we could ever imagine, than to just have it end so quickly. Sitting in a tiny ass room eating disgusting food, being around disgusting people for the rest of your life seems much worse than death.Hopefully the jurors will see it that way as well.
I personally think that in cases like these, where there was a wanton disregard for life and no remorse for actions taken, a government should be able to take a life. I would rather my taxes go towards rehabilitating prisoners who actually stand a chance of eventually being contributing members of society than to feeding, housing, educating, and entertaining sociopaths.
Misha (02-19-2014)
Couldn't have said it better myself. We, the upstanding citizens, pay for these prisons to hold these people. It's SUCH a huge waste of our tax dollars to fund someone's well-being (albeit in prison so not "well" in a sense) who is serving a life sentence and will never see the outside world again. Why waste our money on that? Put the fucker down, bury him/her, and move on. I don't believe necessarily in the "eye for an eye" notion, but in severe cases like this (terrorism and blatant disregard for innocent lives), I believe he should be put to death.
I honestly rather see them riot in jail with no chance of getting out.
my opinion on the death penalty is pretty flexible...
what he did kinda hit me hard cuz i lived in Boston for like, half my life. almost all of my family was born there, and my aunt and uncle still live there
and if my grandparents were still there, there's a chance they could have gotten hurt (they run marathons, one of them won first place at the boston marathons once)
when my aunt came to visit, she was telling me how he shouldn't be going to prison at all
her reasoning?
1) He's too cute for prison
2) He'd get raped because he's so cute
3) He has the same eyes as my oldest sister (who is evil, so there's more proof he should be in jail)
4) It wasn't his fault, he was manipulated by his brother
5) He was in MIT! Too smart to do something like that
6) He doesn't look crazy
to which i responded
1 and 2) sucks, shit happens
3) my sister is evil
4) Whether that's true or not, he still did it. No crime should go unpunished
5) Crazy/serial killers/etc are usually smart, makes it harder for them to get caught
6) If crazy people looked crazy, they'd be a lot easier to stop. And like you said, he's smart enough to hide it
The thing that makes crazy people so dangerous is because they can be around "normal people" without being noticed. Also, he may not have been crazy
so do I think he should get the death penalty? nah, i'd be much happier knowing he prob got raped (according to my aunt) in prison
but if he does end up getting it, then that's alright too
You read my mind!
Interesting. I guess it really depends on the individual and perhaps the prison that they are in. With this guy though, everyone is going to know what he's done, and from what I know, I think a lot of inmates will try to make his life hell. Hopefully, if he does get a life sentence, he will be in one of the worst prisons that America has. I would personally be okay with either a life or death sentence, as long as it's nothing lighter. I think both would suck equally bad. And of course, I don't know the guy, but based on his age and the things that I've read about him, I can't help but think he'd be one of the people who are miserable in jail. Not everyone likes it in there, or so I assume based on logic and jail suicide statistics. I guess he probably won't even know until he's in there though. Really though, could you imagine getting a life sentence at that age and when you're old and dying, looking back at your life? Knowing that it was lived in the same room, with the same surroundings every single day.. for me, that is worse than death. I think death would be letting him off easy, but that is from my perspective. To each their own right. I mean, I couldn't imagine living most of my life in prison, even with the entitlements you mentioned, but I suppose if other people like it, it's hard to say what would be the worse option for him. He's probably the only one who would know.
I'm a very liberal person but when it comes to criminals I don't understand how people can be so liberal. Criminals love kind people who think they can be rehabilitated. They soak that shit up. Oh yes I can change!! I can! They can play the game and will. A large percentage of the prison population has a mental condition where they just do not acknowledge that others have rights at all nor are they interested in changing at all. Now that personality characteristic isn't a problem until you're out there killing people for your own gain/just because you want to. How can someone like that be rehabilitated? The answer is they can't. They are doomed for life. It's one of the only mental conditions (if not the only) where there is no interpersonal suffering but everyone around that person suffers.
That being said the death penalty is stupid. It's the easy way out. I have a very inhumane way of how I would treat prisoners: Russian style. Where they get masks over there heads when they're transported so they don't figure out the blueprints of the prison and escape, and when they have to call everyone master. That's degradation. Prison shouldn't be a fun time. If you've ever lost your freedom you will realize it can be the slowest form of torture or a lot of fun. I'd rather have someone be driven to suicide than let them have the luxury of having a doomsday.
