God forgives but there are still consequences. The death of the sniping victims left a void in their families and communities. The wounded will live with the trauma for the rest of their lives. For this John Mohammed will forfeit his life to the State of Virginia, Malvo will stay in jail for the rest of his life.
John Mohammed hatched this spree to cover up for the intended murder of his ex wife which would have given him custody of their child which he wanted to raise "his way". The duo was caught and stopped before the ex wife was killed. Who says that divorce and custody battles don't affect the community?
For those who have faith, no explanation is neccessary. For those who have no faith, no explanation is possible.
St. Thomas Aquinas
If one turns his ear from hearing the Law, even his prayer is an abomination. Proverbs 28:9
I can also speak from my role as editor for a lifer-contributor at Maine State Prison who writes monthly about his actions and activities trying to assist other prisoners. He was convicted of killing his ex-wife and her boyfriend in 1991. He accepted responsibility for his crime, earned three bachelor degrees, and went on to get a law degree. He now helps inmates he believes have also accepted responsibility prepare for parole hearings by writing legal documents for them. He also teaches literacy to those who are in prison without reading or writing skills.
In other states, Richard probably would have faced the death penalty, but I believe that, even though he will be incarcerated for life, he has met an unfilled need within the prison system, and has changed himself through the process.
I don't think he is unique. Something happens with life-sentenced prisoners that proves to be a positive for the entire community.
Regarding Charles Manson, I believe he qualifies as mentally ill, and has never received the treatment he obviously needed. Even so, his *life* is valuable if it is being used appropriately, because dangerous paranoid schizophrenics, like Manson, should be studied so that predilections of his type can be identified in people who are not yet criminals and perhaps avoid criminal behavior by early treatment.
I can also speak from my role as editor for a lifer-contributor at Maine State Prison who writes monthly about his actions and activities trying to assist other prisoners. He was convicted of killing his ex-wife and her boyfriend in 1991. He accepted responsibility for his crime, earned three bachelor degrees, and went on to get a law degree. He now helps inmates he believes have also accepted responsibility prepare for parole hearings by writing legal documents for them. He also teaches literacy to those who are in prison without reading or writing skills.
In other states, Richard probably would have faced the death penalty, but I believe that, even though he will be incarcerated for life, he has met an unfilled need within the prison system, and has changed himself through the process.
I don't think he is unique. Something happens with life-sentenced prisoners that proves to be a positive for the entire community.
The value is that a human being is emerging from the monster. I don't think he should ever be set free - not because he will be a danger to others, but because he has to pay a debt to society. He is getting off lightly by not paying that debt in a positive way, by writing a book about what led him down this path, say, to teach other young men by his example, or by guiding prisoners in the system who MAY one day be released to become better, more complete human beings.
We spend more on the process of the death penalty than we would ever pay to house and guard such a person for his whole life. So it is a wash financially. I don't think we as a state should be in the business of delivering blood vengeance to families who lost a family member. Justice is equally served by removing him from society forever; it is only bloodthirstiness that causes some to want his premature death.
Then, there are those who will see him as a martyr for whatever cause they choose to espouse. It's hard to make somebody a martyr if they have not been killed by the state, but are working quietly in the cause of justice as prisoners.
Finally, part of it is my own personal history, Lone. I am a cousin to Randall Dale Adams, a man who was unjustly convicted of the murder of a Texas police officer, and came within days of execution. A journalist and filmmaker championed his cause and eventually won his release, but only after Randy had spent nearly two decades of his young life behind bars. The alternative would have been far worse, though. The film made about that case, The Thin Blue Line, is well worth watching.
Interesting perspective. You seem to suggest that 'humanity' is cultivated within the prison system today...correct? I haven't seen too many books written by convicts, let alone death row inmates, that have shown that kind of transformation - or even psychologists reporting some sort of transformation of what you describe...care to link some statistics for me so I may see what you see?
Since this is the way you feel, this question should be easy - how has Charles Manson shown himself to be this 'valuable human being' you speak about?
The other point you make about an innocent wrongly convicted, I believe, should be separated from the one above, as they never were a 'monster'....true?
This guy is repentant? Great. Let him repent forever. Let the world get something valuable from him while in prison, instead of removing him from the planet.
What is the value of repentance to you? Is it worth the millions of dollars of your tax money for the government to not only keep him in a restricted area, but also pay for his well-being? How valuable is repentance to an atheist?
These questions are not only for TS, but for anyone who wishes to share their opinion.
The value is that a human being is emerging from the monster. I don't think he should ever be set free - not because he will be a danger to others, but because he has to pay a debt to society. He is getting off lightly by not paying that debt in a positive way, by writing a book about what led him down this path, say, to teach other young men by his example, or by guiding prisoners in the system who MAY one day be released to become better, more complete human beings.
We spend more on the process of the death penalty than we would ever pay to house and guard such a person for his whole life. So it is a wash financially. I don't think we as a state should be in the business of delivering blood vengeance to families who lost a family member. Justice is equally served by removing him from society forever; it is only bloodthirstiness that causes some to want his premature death.
Then, there are those who will see him as a martyr for whatever cause they choose to espouse. It's hard to make somebody a martyr if they have not been killed by the state, but are working quietly in the cause of justice as prisoners.
Finally, part of it is my own personal history, Lone. I am a cousin to Randall Dale Adams, a man who was unjustly convicted of the murder of a Texas police officer, and came within days of execution. A journalist and filmmaker championed his cause and eventually won his release, but only after Randy had spent nearly two decades of his young life behind bars. The alternative would have been far worse, though. The film made about that case, The Thin Blue Line, is well worth watching.
This guy is repentant? Great. Let him repent forever. Let the world get something valuable from him while in prison, instead of removing him from the planet.
What is the value of repentance to you? Is it worth the millions of dollars of your tax money for the government to not only keep him in a restricted area, but also pay for his well-being? How valuable is repentance to an atheist?
These questions are not only for TS, but for anyone who wishes to share their opinion.
I am fundamentally opposed to the death penalty on many, many grounds - we may shed innocent blood in our desire for vengeance, it does not serve as a deterrent since the states without the death penalty have far lower crime rates than the states with one, it is simply a waste of resources and money, being cheaper to lock up a criminal forever than pay for all the costs associated with his appeals, and the state killing someone as punishment for a killing is a little like a parent who hits a kid for hitting - it only teaches that violence is acceptable, and it makes us as a nation a pariah in the eyes of the civilized world, which has long since abolished the death penalty.
This guy is repentant? Great. Let him repent forever. Let the world get something valuable from him while in prison, instead of removing him from the planet.
It is evident, that this passage is altogether misapplied by those persons who would desire to make that moderation, which Christ recommends, a pretence for setting aside all distinction between good and evil.
Who in particular would those persons be? Those who love money and declare that its aquisition is a completely wholesome endeaver? Or are you refering to those who start wars saying they do it for peace (which is like having sex for chastity)? Do tell!
The important thing to remember about American history is that it is fictional, a charcoal-sketched simplicity for the children or the easily bored. For the most part it is uninspected, unimagined, unthought, a representative of the thing and not the thing itself. It is a fine fiction... Neil Gaiman 'American Gods'
