What would the adequate punishment be?

Wagner · #1 09-23-2006, 09:18 AM

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...a-attack_x.htm

BATON ROUGE (AP) — A man repeatedly stabbed his toddler and estranged wife along an interstate while horrified people watched from their cars in rush-hour traffic Friday night, police and witnesses said.

The 2-year-old girl was in a car with her parents when her father started stabbing his wife with a kitchen knife along Interstate 110 near the Governor's Mansion, said Cpl. L'Jean McKneely, a Baton Rouge Police spokesman.

When the 26-year-old woman got out and ran for help from an East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputy in squad car just ahead of them, her husband stabbed his daughter, McKneely said.

"He kept stabbing her until the knife was stuck in her head," witness Gloria Spears told WAFB-TV.

The man then put the girl on the highway and drove off, side-swiping the deputy's car and striking his wife, police said. He sped into downtown Baton Rouge and knocked down at least three utility poles before his car hurtled through the air and overturned on top of another vehicle.

All three were taken to Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center. The child was in "extremely critical" condition, with a cut "along her midsection and a kitchen knife lodged in her head," McKneely said.

Her mother, who was thrown 20 to 40 feet by the impact of the car, also had numerous stab wounds, he said. She was expected to live. The man was being treated for minor injuries, McKneely said.

McKneely said the couple, who was not identified, has been married for about six years but were currently living apart. It was not immediately clear what led to the stabbings.

Michelle · #2 09-23-2006, 09:23 AM

What a lovely thing to read first thing on Saturday morning.

Quicksilver · #3 09-23-2006, 03:43 PM

Yep some things are better left un-said or reported that is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michelle

What a lovely thing to read first thing on Saturday morning.

statdoc · #4 09-23-2006, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WagnerX5

It was not immediately clear what led to the stabbings.

Yes it is. The male (I refuse to call him a "man") is unfit to live, but may be the only one who does.

motordavid · #5 09-23-2006, 04:10 PM

From the Wik...
my vote for the punishment for these punques, including
child molestors, et al.
Put the show on Pay TV.

I suspect your basic punque might think twice, knowing
what fine final play awaited him.

" ...the full punishment for the crime was to be "hanged, drawn, and quartered" in that the convict would be:

Dragged on a hurdle (a wooden frame) to the place of execution.
Hanged by the neck, but removed before death (hanged).
Disembowelled, and the genitalia and entrails burned before the victim's eyes (drawn).[1]
Beheaded and the body divided into four parts (quartered).
Typically, the resulting five parts (i.e., the four quarters of the body and the head) were gibbeted (put on public display) in different parts of the city or town to deter would-be traitors. ... "

Eric5273 · #6 09-23-2006, 05:19 PM

I say send this person to a high security mental hospital for the rest of his life.

statdoc · #7 09-23-2006, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric5273

I say send this person to a high security mental hospital for the rest of his life.

And there, in one sentence, you have the difference between conservatives and liberals. Conservatives feel the person is responsible for his actions, and should he choose antisocial actions, pay the penalty. In this case, heinous crimes against the helpless deserve loss of the offender's life. Liberals, on the other hand, feel the death of the offender is too strong a punishment, and they might not really be responsible for their behavior anyway; it is the result of mental illness/poor upbringing/violence on TV/global warming.

motordavid · #8 09-23-2006, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by statdoc

...and they might not really be responsible for their behavior anyway; it is the result of mental illness/poor upbringing/violence on TV/global warming.

Maybe he'll play the TwinkieDefense?!

motordavid · #9 09-23-2006, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric5273

I say send this person to a high security mental hospital for the rest of his life.

Eric,
That rec'd lifetime "treatment" in the LooneyBin:
is that on your nickel, or mine?

Eric5273 · #10 09-23-2006, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by statdoc

And there, in one sentence, you have the difference between conservatives and liberals. Conservatives feel the person is responsible for his actions, and should he choose antisocial actions, pay the penalty. In this case, heinous crimes against the helpless deserve loss of the offender's life. Liberals, on the other hand, feel the death of the offender is too strong a punishment, and they might not really be responsible for their behavior anyway; it is the result of mental illness/poor upbringing/violence on TV/global warming.

Liberals do not believe that the purpose of putting someone in jail is for "punishment".

Time for a quiz:

1. What is the government agency that handles the prisons in your state called:

A: Department of Punishment
B: Department of Revenge
C: Department of Justice
D: Department of Correction

2. The employees who work in the prisons are called what?

A: Punishment Officer
B: Security officer
C: Justice officer
D: Corrections officer

3. Why do you think they are called that?

A: The name was randomly picked out of a basket
B: The name means nothing
C: The name has something to do with the purpose of the prisons and the goals of those who work in them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motordavid

Eric,
That rec'd lifetime "treatment" in the LooneyBin:
is that on your nickel, or mine?

That's a poor argument.

Here is some info for you:

New Jersey: Death Penalty has Cost Jew Jersey Taxpayers $253 Billion
A New Jersey Policy Perspectives report concluded that the state's death penalty has cost taxpayers $253 million since 1983, a figure that is over and above the costs that would have been incurred had the state utilized a sentence of life without parole instead of death. The study examined the costs of death penalty cases to prosecutor offices, public defender offices, courts, and correctional facilities. The report's authors said that the cost estimate is "very conservative" because other significant costs uniquely associated with the death penalty were not available. "From a strictly financial perspective, it is hard to reach a conclusion other than this: New Jersey taxpayers over the last 23 years have paid more than a quarter billion dollars on a capital punishment system that has executed no one," the report concluded. Since 1982, there have been 197 capital trials in New Jersey and 60 death sentences, of which 50 were reversed. There have been no executions, and 10 men are housed on the state's death row. Michael Murphy, former Morris County prosecutor, remarked: "If you were to ask me how $11 million a year could best protect the people of New Jersey, I would tell you by giving the law enforcement community more resources. I'm not interested in hypotheticals or abstractions, I want the tools for law enforcement to do their job, and $11 million can buy a lot of tools." (See Newsday, Nov. 21, 2005; also Press Release, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Nov. 21, 2005). Read the Executive Summary. Read the full report. Read the NJADP Press Release.

Tennessee: Study Finds Death penalty Costly, Ineffective

A new report released by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury recommended changes to the state's costly death penalty and called into question its effectiveness in preventing crime. The Office of Research noted that it lacked sufficient data to accurately account for the total cost of capital trials, stating that because cost and time records were not maintained, the Office of Research was unable to determine the total, comprehensive cost of the death penalty in Tennessee." Although noting that, "no reliable data exists concerning the cost of prosecution or defense of first-degree murder cases in Tennessee," the report concluded that capital murder trials are longer and more expensive at every step compared to other murder trials. In fact, the available data indicated that in capital trials, taxpayers pay half again as much as murder cases in which prosecutors seek prison terms rather than the death penalty. Findings in the report include the following:

Death penalty trials cost an average of 48% more than the average cost of trials in which prosecutors seek life imprisonment.
Tennessee District Attorneys General are not consistent in their pursuit of the death penalty.
Surveys and interviews of district attorneys indicate that some prosecutors "use the death penalty as a 'bargaining chip' to secure plea bargains for lesser sentences."
Previous research provides no clear indication whether the death penalty acts as a method of crime prevention.
The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals reversed 29 percent of capital cases on direct appeal.
Although any traumatic trial may cause stress and pain for jurors, the victims' family, and the defendant's family, the pressure may be at its peak during death penalty trials.

Kansas: Study Concludes Death Penalty is Costly Policy
In its review of death penalty expenses, the State of Kansas concluded that capital cases are 70% more expensive than comparable non-death penalty cases. The study counted death penalty case costs through to execution and found that the median death penalty case costs $1.26 million. Non-death penalty cases were counted through to the end of incarceration and were found to have a median cost of $740,000. For death penalty cases, the pre-trial and trial level expenses were the most expensive part, 49% of the total cost. The costs of appeals were 29% of the total expense, and the incarceration and execution costs accounted for the remaining 22%. In comparison to non-death penalty cases, the following findings were revealed:

The investigation costs for death-sentence cases were about 3 times greater than for non-death cases.
The trial costs for death cases were about 16 times greater than for non-death cases ($508,000 for death case; $32,000 for non-death case).
The appeal costs for death cases were 21 times greater.
The costs of carrying out (i.e. incarceration and/or execution) a death sentence were about half the costs of carrying out a non-death sentence in a comparable case.
Trials involving a death sentence averaged 34 days, including jury selection; non-death trials averaged about 9 days.

(Performance Audit Report: Costs Incurred for Death Penalty Cases: A K-GOAL Audit of the Department of Corrections) Read DPIC's Summary of the Kansas Cost Report.

Indiana: Total cost of Indiana's death penalty is 38% greater than the total cost of life without parole sentences

A study by Indiana's Criminal Law Study Commission found this to be true, assuming that 20% of death sentences are overturned and resentenced to life. (Indiana Criminal Law Study Commission, January 10, 2002)

North Carolina: North Carolina spends more per execution than on a non-death penalty murder case

The most comprehensive death penalty study in the country found that the death penalty costs North Carolina $2.16 million more per execution than the a non-death penalty murder case with a sentence of life imprisonment (Duke University, May 1993). On a national basis, these figures translate to an extra cost of over $1 billion spent since 1976 on the death penalty. The study,"The Costs of Processing Murder Cases in North Carolina" is available on line at www-pps.aas.duke.edu/people/faculty/cook/comnc.pdf.

Florida: Florida spends millions extra per year on death penalty

Florida would save $51 million each year by punishing all first-degree murderers with life in prison without parole, according to estimates by the Palm Beach Post. Based on the 44 executions Florida has carried out since 1976, that amounts to an approximate cost of $24 million for each execution. This finding takes into account the relatively few inmates who are actually executed, as well as the time and effort expended on capital defendants who are tried but convicted of a lesser murder charge, and those whose deathe sentences are overturned on appeal. (Palm Beach Post, January 4, 2000)

Florida spent average of $3.2 million per execution from 1973 to 1988. During that time period, Florida spent an estimated $57 million on the death penalty to achieve 18 executions. (Miami Herald, July 10, 1988)

California: California spends millions more on capital cases

California spends $90 Million dollars annually above and beyond the ordinary costs of the justice system on capital cases. $78 million of that total is incurred at the trial level (Sacramento Bee, March 18, 1988). In January 2003, despite a budge deficit, California Governor Gray Davis proposed building a new $220 million state of the art death row. (New York Times, January 14, 2003)

Texas: Texas death penalty cases cost more than non-capital cases
That is about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years. (Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1992)

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