State execution and ... we shut the shop at 5 PM :)

[MidGe]

Is this the height of barbarism? Is there something seriously wrong with the US?

Going on the following court decision ( Link ), and some recent post about homelessness and gun control, I am sure there is. It is time that the world wakes up to the fact that US today is very different from the US in the first half of last century. In some ways, at least superficially, there is no longer a policy of apartheid, in others, with respect to compassion, social contract etc in general. This is specially evident on forums like 2+2 where "ordinary" people can come up with comments that are at least flabbergasting to most citizen of civilized societies.

[BPA234]

[ QUOTE ]
Is this the height of barbarism? Is there something seriously wrong with the US?

Going on the following court decision ( Link ), and some recent post about homelessness and gun control, I am sure there is. It is time that the world wakes up to the fact that US today is very different from the US in the first half of last century. In some ways, at least superficially, there is no longer a policy of apartheid, in others, with respect to compassion, social contract etc in general. This is specially evident on forums like 2+2 where "ordinary" people can come up with comments that are at least flabbergasting to most citizen of civilized societies.

[/ QUOTE ]

So the acts of one idiotic judge supports your assertions?

[MidGe]

[ QUOTE ]
So the acts of one idiotic judge supports your assertions?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, and surely not your judgment of it (idiotic judge), but the lack of popular opprobrium to it does make me question the US "ordinary" people mentality, especially when there are many other reason to question it!

[betgo]

Here's some information on the crime.

These death row inmates are given lawyers for endless appeals. This guy was sentenced more than 10 years ago.

The appeal was that the method of lethal injection was "cruel and unusual punishment". Now when that was written hanging with a short drop, whipping, and the stocks were usual punishments, so cruel and unusual punishment presumably meant torture of breaking on the wheel or something. It was also standard for the condemned to be executed a month or so after sentencing.

I am not sure what I think about capital punishment. However, kind of silly to use this story to show how barbarous America is. Also, I agree the judge comes off as callous here.

[ALawPoker]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Is this the height of barbarism? Is there something seriously wrong with the US?

Going on the following court decision ( Link ), and some recent post about homelessness and gun control, I am sure there is. It is time that the world wakes up to the fact that US today is very different from the US in the first half of last century. In some ways, at least superficially, there is no longer a policy of apartheid, in others, with respect to compassion, social contract etc in general. This is specially evident on forums like 2+2 where "ordinary" people can come up with comments that are at least flabbergasting to most citizen of civilized societies.

[/ QUOTE ]

So the acts of one idiotic judge supports your assertions?

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't understand Midge very well. Logic need not apply. He spends his time obsessing over everything the US does, and then posts about it in the most shortsighted, polarizing way possible. He's demonstrated time and time again that he has no real understanding of the issues he whines about or any desire to have a reasonable discussion. The best thing to do is probably to ignore silly OPs like this rather than dignify them with a response, but it is of course fun to point out the absurdity too.

[qwnu]

from the link:
[ QUOTE ]
on behalf of death row inmate Michael Richard.

[/ QUOTE ]
Holy cow. I knew he used the n-word in his standup comedy act a few months back, but I don't think he deserved to be executed for it.

[betgo]

You are in western Australia. How much time have you spent in the US, since you are such an expert on it?

[betgo]

A couple more comments. It seems to me that what is really barbarous and cruel and unusual punishment is the lengthy appeals process, which seems like a make work project for lawyers.

Also, in Britain at the time, along with hanging, flogging and the stocks, they had a punishment of deportation to Australia, which is probably what was meant by "cruel and unusual punishment in the US Constitution.

[tame_deuces]

I don't think you can draw conclusions about the US on one anecdotal case. But _something_ surely went horribly wrong here somewhere - this sounds like something out of a Kafka story.

[Borodog]

I'm confused. Barbarism and state violence seems right up Midge's alley.