As a lawyer and resident of a country which abolished the death penalty decades ago I cannot imagine what working within a criminal justice system where it still exists must be like. It takes very little experience of the law to appreciate how fallible are the people who work within it and the history of both our countries is littered wi…
As a lawyer and resident of a country which abolished the death penalty decades ago I cannot imagine what working within a criminal justice system where it still exists must be like. It takes very little experience of the law to appreciate how fallible are the people who work within it and the history of both our countries is littered with false convictions.
And with some it brings out the very worst in their characters. For me the lust for revenge is its very worst aspect.
In the US, everything we do within our criminal justice systems, takes revenge out, particularly with regard to, the death penalty.
No one connected to the murdered innocents, can be on the jury. Jury selection is, by far, the most detailed and thorough, within death penalty cases, as are pre trial hearings, the trial, appeals and executive branch consideration
Neither judge nor jury can have any connection to the crimes, the decision, as to possible sanctions, is left up to the legislative branch with approval of the executive and the judicial branches, which are out of the control of the trial judge and jury, the defendant is presumed innocent until a guilty verdict is found, with from 5-30 years of appeals, with the greatest of executive branch consideration of pardon, commutation or stays.
The vast majority of jurisdictions require a unanimous jury, to give a death sentence and there are 4 questions the jurors have to answer, all against the defendant/convicted party, in order to receive a death sentence, meaning 4 times 12, or a 48-0 vote, against the defendant/convicted party, to receive a death sentence.
It only takes 1 vote, for the defendant/convicted party, 1-47, to escape the death penalty, with that 2% overcoming the 98%, the most undemocratic vote in a constitutional republic.
We execute fewer that 0.2% of our murderers.
Revenge? Where? Your imagination.
Even those governments, most active against the death penalty, Western Europe, had majority populations, supporting the execution of Iraqi dictator, mass murderer Saddam Hussein.
Our civil court system allows revenge, in that we may seek equal compensation, with the harm, but also punitive judgements, which can be, hugely, greater.
Criminal cases, on the other hand, seek only justice, or just retribution, with the goal of sanctions not too lenient, nor too harsh, to the best of our abilities, given the law and all the facts of the case.
As a lawyer and resident of a country which abolished the death penalty decades ago I cannot imagine what working within a criminal justice system where it still exists must be like. It takes very little experience of the law to appreciate how fallible are the people who work within it and the history of both our countries is littered with false convictions.
And with some it brings out the very worst in their characters. For me the lust for revenge is its very worst aspect.
Ann:
In the US, everything we do within our criminal justice systems, takes revenge out, particularly with regard to, the death penalty.
No one connected to the murdered innocents, can be on the jury. Jury selection is, by far, the most detailed and thorough, within death penalty cases, as are pre trial hearings, the trial, appeals and executive branch consideration
Neither judge nor jury can have any connection to the crimes, the decision, as to possible sanctions, is left up to the legislative branch with approval of the executive and the judicial branches, which are out of the control of the trial judge and jury, the defendant is presumed innocent until a guilty verdict is found, with from 5-30 years of appeals, with the greatest of executive branch consideration of pardon, commutation or stays.
The vast majority of jurisdictions require a unanimous jury, to give a death sentence and there are 4 questions the jurors have to answer, all against the defendant/convicted party, in order to receive a death sentence, meaning 4 times 12, or a 48-0 vote, against the defendant/convicted party, to receive a death sentence.
It only takes 1 vote, for the defendant/convicted party, 1-47, to escape the death penalty, with that 2% overcoming the 98%, the most undemocratic vote in a constitutional republic.
We execute fewer that 0.2% of our murderers.
Revenge? Where? Your imagination.
Even those governments, most active against the death penalty, Western Europe, had majority populations, supporting the execution of Iraqi dictator, mass murderer Saddam Hussein.
Why? Justice. They had no revenge motive.
Our civil court system allows revenge, in that we may seek equal compensation, with the harm, but also punitive judgements, which can be, hugely, greater.
Criminal cases, on the other hand, seek only justice, or just retribution, with the goal of sanctions not too lenient, nor too harsh, to the best of our abilities, given the law and all the facts of the case.