I have to throw this out there because I think its a major point that is constantly overlooked in the debate over the death penalty:
ITS A PUNISHMENT! ITS NOT SUPPOSE TO BE NICE AND EASY! IF YOU HAVE BEEN SENTENCED TO DEATH, YOU PROBABLY DID SOMETHING PRETTY SEVERE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU ARE NOT FIT TO LIVE IN OUR SOCIETY.
THE PAIN AND SUFFERING YOU WILL ENDURE FOR 20-30 MIN IS INSIGNIFICANT IN COMPARISON TO THE PAIN AND SUFFERING OF THE FRIENDS AND FAMILIES YOU MAY HAVE IMPACTED.
The problem w/ our society is not that we still use the death penalty, but that we are so wrapped up in a system where many people believe that the state should hold someone's hand and care for them whenever something goes wrong. 'It'll be ok. It wasn't your fault. We can fix this.' Thats not always the answer. When a pitbull attacks a kid and mauls him, we put the dog down. If a guy holds up a liquor store and shoots the clerk and a customer and they die, same deal.
By they way, in case you missed it, Leuchter wasnt necessarily happy about becoming the foremost "expert" on death. He just happened upon something he was good at (problem solving) and managed to find a niche that was unoccupied (fixing capital punishment in prisons). His goal was not to create more vicious and exotic forms of killing people, but to refine the process that did exist in some prisons and develop new, more efficient and humane methods of execution.
In my mind, the saddest part is that Leuchter lost everything he had in life because he did what he thought was right as an American (aiding someone in an effort to provide the best defense in a legal case related to freedom of speech). If I were in his position, the Holocaust awareness people, the state of Delaware and Massachusetts would have all been slapped with some hefty lawsuits. Doesn't matter what I say in a trial in Canada, doesn't give someone the right to slander, or the right to a state to violate the terms of a signed contract.
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genius11226
15 years ago
well, to me, he's still a murderer.
and let me tell you something too... a murderer is a murderer. even though there's a right and wrong, there's the law. that's the only thing that separates police officers that shoot and kill somebody for whatever reason and serial killers. what's the difference? they may kill for different reasons but they still murderers. put it in any context, if they got it in them to kill somebody, then they're dangerous. how many people you know have KILLED somebody and wasn't off in the head? he's the perfect example. the only thing you can use really is the law when talking about the death penalty. morality doesn't have anything to do with justice.
in his case, he may not press the button to the electric chair or lethal injection but he created the device knowing that it will be used to kill somebody. that makes him a murderer.
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