Moral issues?


I think that True Crime has a great deal of moral issues behind it.
The main one obviuosly being the death penalty, what do you guys thik about its affect on the audience, the way it is potrayed and any other moral issues worth debating?

reply

I myself, don't have problem with the death penalty. I'm a in favor of it. True, innocent people probably sometimes do get put to death but i'd much rather have this penalty rather than just let all the criminals in jail sit there for years and years (often filing appeal after appeal) while our tax payer's money takes care of them. I was very glad, though, that in this movie, STeve, Clint's character, saves the innocent man from dying. I wish that could happen more often. I didn't really like his character (Steve Everitt's) much in the movie (disliked him even more in the book), but he really did do a good thing there at the end by discovering FRank's innocence, getting the evidence and preventing his death.

reply

it actually on average costs a state more to execute a person than to give them a life sentence

reply

Then, how do you explain that in Europe there's less crime than in the States?
We don't have death penalty and we don't want it either.
And that's a fact: there's less crime and less victims by violence.

And let me tell you: it's very sad and miserable to defend death penalty because it's cheaper. For heaven's sake, life is not only money!!!

reply

You absolutely right; I can believe that anyone would think that it's ok to have a few innocent people execute, just to get at the 'bad guys'. I'm sure that he would feel differently if it were he, or some of his friends/family that were on the business end of a lethal injection. The 'John Wayne' mentality strikes again.

reply

I agree 100%. My father was murdered, but I didn't want the death penalty for the person who did it. Killing him wouldn't set anything right. We've become too "eye for an eye." Ironic that we're always trying to teach our children that two wrongs don't make a right.

And for anyone who supports the death penalty- did you know that the crime rate actually increased when states started institutionalizing the death penalty in the 60's or 70's. Life matters more than some twisted sense of vengeance, and I'd rather the murderer be able to live whatever life he can, and perhaps find some measure of peace. He'll provide labor and services for the state. He'll be of more use to anyone than a corpse.

"it actually on average costs a state more to execute a person than to give them a life sentence"

Correct. It costs around $850,000 on average to keep an inmate for life, while it costs an average of $1,000,000 - $7,000,000 to put them to death.

******

"He was born of hate, and raised with your twisted ideals. What did you expect from him?"

reply

Vordrax,I'm truly sorry about your father.My heart goes out to you and your family.Your attitude is quite compassionate considering.You have a good heart.If only there were more Vordraxes.

reply

You know what? I was watching the History Channel the other day-- they're doing those entire week-long piece on Rome, and of course they mention the gladiators (who were slaves or criminals). There was a culture that gleefuly endorsed people killing people and animals killing people in an arena, but sex was far more taboo (even though everyone was doing it, you had to be very private about it).

So I had an idea. Not only should we keep the death penalty, but there should be more criminals put to death, and it should be on TV. And I don't care if it turns out the man (or woman) was innocent later on, who cares? Honestly? The innocent person, sure. But hey, at least he/she gets to go out in a blaze of glory (of course, this would only apply to killers, rapists, and corporate execs).

"Action is how men express romance on film." -- Kurt Wimmer

reply

To thecaptaineast - Well said.

reply

Vordrax (or anyone else who wishes to reply),

you posted this two years ago so you may not see it, but when you say it costs between $1,000,000 and $7,000,000 to execute someone, why does it cost so much? What is the rough breakdown of the cost?

I mean I don't expect it to be free, or even cheap, but up to 7 million bucks sounds very high.

"Lord of the IMDBSEX"

reply

Here's a link that will explain the costs for you.

http://www.deathpenalty.org/index.php?pid=cost

It's obvious that the death penalty is not only a brutal antiquated form of punishment but it is costing us an arm and a leg. And another life.

reply

by - davidcarbajales (Wed Feb 23 2005 07:03:09 )

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then, how do you explain that in Europe there's less crime than in the States?





I have to completely disagree with this statement. As an American living in the UK, I have a much better frame of reference than someone who just hears about American crime on TV and movies or reads about it in newspapers.

Crime here is just as bad as - if not WORSE than - the United States. It's just DIFFERENT crime. You don't hear about major drug busts or people getting shot quite as much. But you hear about rapes, muggings, destruction of property, thefts, and on and on and on... ALL THE TIME. To say that Europe has less crime is a completely misleading statement. Europe might have less MURDERS... but crimes of other types run rampant.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I used to have a handle on life... but it broke.

reply

Europe is not a single country, so it all depends on which country you look at. Here's a helpful site that you can use to compare statistics from various countries against each other:

For the UK:
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/United-Kingdom/United-States/Crime

This comparison looks completely different from a comparison to, for example, my own country (the Netherlands):
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Netherlands/United-States/Crime

reply

Think about what you said (innocent people being put to death). Do you have blood in your veins. What if it happens to one of your family members or to someone you know. Tell prosecutors its okay too put away anybody. Believe me they will try to make a name for themselves any they can. Remember this two wrongs don`t make a right. Also take a look at Iraq. Watch American Justice.

reply

True Crime perfectly reveals the covert racism and sheer sloppiness that underlies the death penalty system in America.

reply

I like how you highlight "tax payer's money" and "innocent people probably sometimes do get put to death" in the same sentence.

reply

The death penalty is barbaric and makes those that support such acts no better than the criminals who commit the crimes. There are many other reasons not to have the death penalty like the cost, the chance a person is truly innocent etc.

Just look at the Guildford and Birmingham bombings where innocent people were convicted and imprisoned for more than 15 years before being found innocent... had they been executed nothing could have been done about the wrongful convictions and imprisonments.

reply

I have never had a problem with the death penalty as a rule, but this film forces you to look at it from another point of view because your sympathies are immediately alligned with Isiaih Washington's character as soon as you realize he's innocent...can you imagine knowing you are going to be put to death for a crime you didn't commit? It makes you wonder how many men in history have been put to death for crimes they didn't commit. It really gives you pause to re-think our entire justice system.

reply