"daveparks" <daveparks_00@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:b1af5178-8082-4b00-8ba8-ede089e7c70b@a70g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
> On Jul 20, 4:32 pm, "Newk Indofman" <newk.indof...@lovesyou.org>
> wrote:
>> "daveparks" <daveparks...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:af549750-e347-4234-820e-6a4a7d0bee9b@v1g2000pra.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>
>>
>> > On Jul 20, 9:30 am, "Newk Indofman" <newk.indof...@lovesyou.org>
>> > wrote:
>> >> "daveparks" <daveparks...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> >>news:804c049d-69a8-4266-8fe7-2e726fd25e8b@q5g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> >> > On Jul 18, 5:12 pm, "Newk Indofman" <newk.indof...@lovesyou.org>
>> >> > wrote:
>> >> >> "daveparks" <daveparks...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> >> >>news:2d1ee890-a929-4e39-9f6a-f60ebe6060ec@l42g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> >> >> > I didn't ask if a swift execution was more humane that throwing
>> >> >> > her
>> >> >> > in
>> >> >> > a dumpster - I asked, if a swift execution was more humane that
>> >> >> > forcibly confining someone in a small cell for 40yrs?
>>
>> >> >> There is an easy answer to that, is there?
>>
>> >> > So you are for capital punishment?
>>
>> >> I meant to type, "there is *no* easy answer"
>>
>> >> No, in general I am opposed to capital punishment. However, a swift
>> >> execution is probably more "humane" than 40 years of torturous
>> >> isolation.
>>
>> > But if you're opposed to the DP 'and' consider sentencing the guilty
>> > to a life of forced confinement in a small cell as inhumane, what do
>> > you pose we do with someone like Atkins?
>>
>> I stated that as a hypothetical situation. I don't think that Atkins'
>> confinement or her sentence has been inhumane, especially after reviewing
>> a
>> history of her life in prison. She should remain in prison until her
>> death.
>
> So you don't believe in capital punishment but are accepting of it so
> long as it is swift - and you approve of life imprisonment, so long as
> it doesn't consist of years of "torturous isolation", in which case
> you're instead accepting of the swift execution?
That's accurate -- in a simplistic, literalist kind of way.
> Way to stand by that
> moral code of yours.
I don't believe I stated what my moral code was. I want to say that I
believe in mercy. Morality is a complex and gray area once you start talking
about real situations.
>
> It would seem that you're against what prison system is supposed to
> represent, *punishment* of the guilty.
You're putting words in my mouth, with absolutely no nuance. There are no
easy, one-size-fits-all answers.
Prison systems in the US have two aims, which tend to clash. It is supposed
to be punishment, but it is also supposed to be, at least in theory,
rehabilitative. Depending on the individual institutions, there are lots of
opportunities for prisoners to get involved in positive activities. And
there are lots of examples of that. Even so, I agree that Atkins should not
ever be paroled, given the nature of her crimes.
