N.J. lawmakers vote to ban death penalty

It's caused a bit of a hoopla because Megan Kanka's murderer is on death row in NJ. He tricked the 7 year old girl into his home by telling her he had a puppy, and then raped and strangled her.

I am against the death penality, but those cases always kill me. I have to be honest and say I'm ok with it in cases of child murder like that.
 
Darla said:
It's caused a bit of a hoopla because Megan Kanka's murderer is on death row in NJ. He tricked the 7 year old girl into his home by telling her he had a puppy, and then raped and strangled her.

I am against the death penality, but those cases always kill me. I have to be honest and say I'm ok with it in cases of child murder like that.
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I'd be all for killing him if it were going to bring her back to life, Darla. As it is, it will not.
 
You know, Darla, in principle I am against the death penalty. In practice, seeing a murderer/rapist being injected with killing chemicals doesn't really break my heart. I guess it really doesn't matter that much to me. But I know that it can never improve the world to kill a man who's rendered harmless and pitiful, no matter what he did in his life.

I know he killed someone. But there's a big difference between him killing someone, and us killing someone.
 
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Watermark said:
You know, Darla, in principle I am against the death penalty. In practice, seeing a murderer/rapist being injected with killing chemicals doesn't really break my heart. I guess it really doesn't matter that much to me. But I know that it can never improve the world to kill a man who's rendered harmless and pitiful, no matter what he did in his life.

I know he killed someone. But there's a big difference between him killing someone, and us killing someone.
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I agree. I think Jersey is doing the right thing. Certain particular kinds of cases are very hard to swallow though, and if a guy like this one is going to fry, it's not something that's going to bother me at all, you know? There's definitely a part of me that wants it. There is no part of me that's going to be standing around with a sign trying to save his life. But I know it's right to stop using the death penality.

It's just, can you imagine tricking a 7 year old with a fake puppy story so that you can do that to them? I hate that we live in a world where anyone like that even exists, and it's rare, but I wish it weren't there at all. It's unspeakably heart breaking.
 
Darla said:
I agree. I think Jersey is doing the right thing. Certain particular kinds of cases are very hard to swallow though, and if a guy like this one is going to fry, it's not something that's going to bother me at all, you know? There's definitely a part of me that wants it. There is no part of me that's going to be standing around with a sign trying to save his life. But I know it's right to stop using the death penality.

It's just, can you imagine tricking a 7 year old with a fake puppy story so that you can do that to them? I hate that we live in a world where anyone like that even exists, and it's rare, but I wish it weren't there at all. It's unspeakably heart breaking.
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Well, actually, it's actually a lot less common than it used to be. I think one day we'll get to the point where we figure out what happens to make individuals like that and stop it before it happens. No one is born like.
 
Socrtease said:
Wonder how that works. If the DP is a deterent then should not it follow that the murder rate in EVERY state with the DP should be below the national average? HOw is it that happens?
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I mean, once you get up there above 10-20 years, the deterrent effect pretty much becomes null. People who do those kinds of crimes can't be deterred.
 
uscitizen said:
Ahh like the movie arrest you because you are going to commit a crime ?
What was the name of that movie ?
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Errr, no. I was talking about psychology, a discipline who's track record with finding out the causes of criminality is embarrassing. I believe it's just an infantile science.. But you're talking about minority report.
 
Psychology is pretty much still in the voodoo science dept.

Well except in the political campains, the best head shrinkers work for the Republicans.
 
uscitizen said:
Psychology is pretty much still in the voodoo science dept.

Well except in the political campains, the best head shrinkers work for the Republicans.
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That's a weasel word! Shame US.

Psychology is a great discipline. It's made great strides this century, and who knows what it will do in the next.
 
Watermark said:
That's a weasel word! Shame US.

Psychology is a great discipline. It's made great strides this century, and who knows what it will do in the next.
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My father has a Ph.D in Psychology and a post doc in Neuropsychology. That field in particular has made great strides in linking behavior to areas of the brain and linking atypical behavior to brain damage and brain stucture malformations. All behaviors are a product of your brain and if it is wired wrong or damaged then your behavior will be outside the norm to some extent and maybe even to the extreme. I encourage everyone to read about Phineas Gage to see what happens when you have suffered brain damage. It is just that not all brain "damage" is as obvious or the result of exteme physical trauma.
 
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