Lawmakers shocked by the brutal beating of little Nathaniel Turner allegedly at the hands of his father are pushing anew for the death penalty as the only punishment that fits the sickening crime.
“The way that boy was beaten and tortured, it’s unconscionable. It’s deplorable,” said House Rule Chairman John J. Binienda (D-Worcester). “I would definitely vote for that.”
If you've committed a crime that's so heinous a Massachusetts Democrat will support the death penalty, you're pretty well screwed.
I'll comment on the crime only tangentially, as anything I might say isn't going to be terribly coherent. There's a special section of hell reserved for people like this; I can only hope that when this sack of excrement meets his Maker and faces his eternal reward that they give him a particularly toasty section... There is no excuse for beating a child - none. Corporal punishment has its time and place, but when it crosses the line into battery, that's not discipline. It's just thuggery.
This part really surprised me:
[Speaker of the House Robert] DeLeo, who has supported the death penalty in votes taken on the House floor, declined to comment last night. Other members of his leadership team, including Majority Leader James Vallee (D-Franklin) and assistant majority leader Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy) have also backed the death penalty in previous votes.
Given that every attempt to reinstate the death penalty has failed, the MA Supreme Court formally ruled it illegal in 1984, and our sitting governor (Cadillac Deval) opposes it, I'm not holding my breath for this getting any traction. I'm also not particularly comfortable with using a horrific tragedy that's a statistical aberration as a basis for making landmark legal decisions. For some reason I can't put my finger on, I have a visceral dislike of this tactic...
Something about dogs, lying down with, and fleas...
That is all.
4 comments:
Death penalty? In Massachusetts? And here I was thinking they had all but outlawed prisons...
simple capitol punishment seems to lite in this case.. animal!
elmtreeforging.blogspot.com
Oddly enough Massachusetts was the first colony to put somebody to death in the New World. The name of the chap, and the year, escapes me at this moment but he was either 14 or 16 and hung to death for buggery of various farm animals.
That said, I don't support the death penalty myself. Its not because I care one whit about the punishment of criminals, but that I don't want the state wielding that kind of irreversible power.
Now, if you modify our justice system so that we can go after a prosecutor, or somebody, for Murder 1, if the conviction is later to be found unjust them I'm game.
I do not believe in collective rights when it comes to matters of life and death. Somebody needs to put their arse on the line when we take it that far.
All dog and pony show, Jay. Remember when it almost passed the last time? It was more important to the deciding legislator to be all popular with the House leadership than to carry out his pledge to do what was right for his constituents.
The same thing, or something similar, will happen. The legislature might pass a bill, but the nitwit in the corner office will veto it. Then the legislature will say that the votes aren't there to over ride, so sorry.
Justin, the state not only should, but has the responsibility to execute killers in our midst. It is one of the duties that they are bound to perform. Despite all the liberal bs to the contrary, DNA testing has confirmed far more convictions than it has over turned.
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