With the execution of John Allan Muhammed tonight I was wondering how many of you out there think Lee Boyd Malvo should have recieved the same punishment even though he was only 17?
John Allan Muhammed executed what about Malvo
- Thread starter petluvr
- Start date
This is a tough one. I have mixed feelings about the death penalty.
I fully support the taking of a life in the commission of a crime...meaning I have no problem with citizens carrying weapons for personal protection and using them to defend themselves and their family in the moment - to the point of lethal force. To my way of thinking, a sentence of execution is death for a crime with a lot of time between the crime and death. The issue is whether you know you have the correct criminal and whether an innocent person will die for a crime/s that s/he didn't actually commit.
Should Malvo escape the death penalty because he was a minor....I don't necessarily think so.
I fully support the taking of a life in the commission of a crime...meaning I have no problem with citizens carrying weapons for personal protection and using them to defend themselves and their family in the moment - to the point of lethal force. To my way of thinking, a sentence of execution is death for a crime with a lot of time between the crime and death. The issue is whether you know you have the correct criminal and whether an innocent person will die for a crime/s that s/he didn't actually commit.
Should Malvo escape the death penalty because he was a minor....I don't necessarily think so.
We seem to have the same way of thinking when it comes to the death penalty, although in this case there was never even the slightest question as to the guilt of these two. I tend to think Malvo was EXTREMELY influenced by Muhammed and think that if it were not for that influence he would have never even thought of committing these acts.
I kind of think life without parole is more punishment than death. It is over for Muhammed, but Malvo will think about his crime for a long time... And pay for it...
But is the cost to keep him alive for life and provide him medical care really worth the pain and suffering of the victims families? He killed a middle schooler going to school, he killed people just going about their daily lives. I believe the fact it took 7 years to execute him was to long.
I am not in support of the long delays between conviction and execution, but have seen too many cases of wrongful conviction. There would be far less mistakes if there wasn't so many 'games' played by both the prosecutor and defense. Death penalty is a permanent mistake that cannot be undone and makes for reasonable doubt about its use.
I think there are often mitigating circumstances that could be considered but ultimately, blame comes down to whether or not the perpetrator accepts responsibility for their own actions. Since mitigations are used to justify failure to accept responsibility for ones actions, I feel they should simply be disallowed. But that would mean that certain cases might be unfairly judged too harshly.
In this case, I feel that John Mohamed had too much authority over Boyd. I often agree that perhaps had there been a different influence for Boyd, this wouldn't have occurred. Ultimately, decision to follow was Boyd's choice and as such he should be held accountable to the same standard.
I think there are often mitigating circumstances that could be considered but ultimately, blame comes down to whether or not the perpetrator accepts responsibility for their own actions. Since mitigations are used to justify failure to accept responsibility for ones actions, I feel they should simply be disallowed. But that would mean that certain cases might be unfairly judged too harshly.
In this case, I feel that John Mohamed had too much authority over Boyd. I often agree that perhaps had there been a different influence for Boyd, this wouldn't have occurred. Ultimately, decision to follow was Boyd's choice and as such he should be held accountable to the same standard.
As I stated earlier I too believe he was GREATLY influenced by Mohammed and probably would not have committed these acts had it not been for those influneces.
Glock:Speaking from someone who spent four years in a prison setting I would much rather be executed than spend the rest of my natural life in prison.
they fried that ******* finally? wish I was there to see it.
Im fine with that other clown getting life but I would also be ok with them frying him too
Im fine with that other clown getting life but I would also be ok with them frying him too
get rid of lethal injection and bring back hanging 
the death penalty is to soft and is not really a deterrent anymore............
the death penalty is to soft and is not really a deterrent anymore............