Tim McVeigh was exeucated on Monday, June 11, 2001 and was pronounced dead 8:14AM EDT. Some people may wanted him dead and some may have protested. Killing 168 innocent people because he was a “sick” man. Our government makes the killing of others illegal. However our government kills a man because he killed someone, in this case 168 people. Isn’t our government killing someone too? How come they can kill people? The police could attack an innocent man because they are racist? So does this mean that when a murder is made by our government that it is OK?
I think the “a life for a life” mentality that the American government and society has should not exist. Executing Timothy McVeigh doesn’t not justify anything or make it any better. His execution only added one more tragedy to the incident, and I don’t think the families of the victims will actually feel “better” that the person who killed their loved one is made to cut short his life purposely. This is wrong and this practice should not continue.
P.S. I am sorry to sound like a political maniac but this really bothered me.
I came to a simple conclusion when thinking about the death penalty recently. In a civilized society, no one should be killed. As we’d like to move towards a more civilized society, we shouldn’t be killing anyone. Hence, there should be no death penalty. That makes sense to me, I don’t know about anyone else.
I think the daeth penalty is EXTREMELY situational. Would it be better for Tim to sit in an air-conditioned jail cell, watching cable television, and getting better medical care than some people may get who are not in jail. I’m not entirely for or against the death penalty, I think it depends. I personally don’t want to have my tax dollars spent on some criminal to get better things than some of the people who have done nothing wrong. Some of the people living on the street were once soldiers who protected our country in war, shouldn’t we spend the money on them?
C~ya,
Carolyn who doesn’t want to sound like a raving politician.
When I was younger, I was sure that the death penalty was right and just.
Now I am not so sure…
Part of me worries about taking an innocent life, but that does not cover the many other cases where guilt is not in doubt and even in these cases I have found myself arguing against a death sentence. Beyond this even, I wonder about the consistency of a thought process that is concerned about killing someone while I sleep undisturbed by the fact that it is just as possible (and in fact more probable) that innocent folks are living a life of hell behind iron bars.
While I am convinced that their are some crimes that do in a sense “deserve” death, that does not obligate us to carry out that sentence.
We need not match their voilence with voilence of our own.
Let them live.
My faith tells me that there is another judge reviewing the case. I will let that judge have the final say.
Up until a few years ago, I believed the death penalty was appropriate, but have since changed my mind. But I’ll save my moral & political speech for another time
I get really upset when I hear the media say that McVeigh’s execution would help the healing process for victims or famliy members. It’s inconceivable to me how taking someone’s life can help ease the pain of losing a friend or relative. All of the relatives I’ve heard on TV have said that the execution didn’t help at all. There is an empty spot in their hearts, and nothing can be done to relieve their pain. I wonder when people will realize that you can’t fix pains caused by hatred and violence with more hatred & violence.
Only two people have the right to take a life, but presently you can’t see them. If a man takes the life of another, he should be punished by the law, but it should not lead to his eventual death. He will receive the absolute punishment in due time.
How much punishment was it for McVeigh to be put to death when he stated that he was ready and wanted to die? Just a thought…
Shouldn’t there be a more productive way to punish someone?
-becky
P.S.
I believe that the U.S and Japan are the only two “first-world” countries that still implement the death penalty. Obviously there are other options.
i am against the death penalty…but part of me thinks that maybe timothy mcveigh deserves it…
but then again, i figure that if he got life he woulda probably been killed in jail in a couple of years anyways…
Here’s something that I found interesting while listening to the radio today (I listen to NPR sometimes, so sue me :-p ): in the case against one of the bombers of American embassies in Africa (I’m not even going to try and spell his name), the jury refused to give him the death penalty because it was felt to not be terrible enough punishment. Basically, they said it’d be worse to give him life in prison without parole than to give him the death penalty. I found it interesting to say the least.
*Originally posted by jOelster *
**Only two people have the right to take a life, but presently you can’t see them. If a man takes the life of another, he should be punished by the law, but it should not lead to his eventual death. He will receive the absolute punishment in due time.
**
I agree with Joel. McVeigh will receive his just punishment. I am against the death penalty for that reason. Yes, he should get some punishment for his wrong, but the taking of his life just gives us too much power over other human beings.
Living in prison for the rest of one’s life, from everything I’ve heard, is much more difficult than taking their life. Emotionally taking someone’s life will always be more just punishment in my eyes.
~Angela who could never be on a grand jury in Florida
Please noone take this personally. these are my opinions. I think he should be executed and brought back to life at least 168 times for each person he killed.
Ok, maybe he’s a little off the deep end and beyond therapy, I’ll give you that. But why not listen to him? His views arn’t unique, and he obviously belived them. Thing is, The US is very unpopular right now, both at home and globably. We should at least try to understand why.
For Tim McVeigh, to be a warrior in a comfortable, commercial, bourgeois culture was to be profoundly out of place. So in his mind he started a war. That someone could be unhappy with both the culture and the government of America seems not at all odd to me; I am, frequently. What we should be doing is trying to understand what drove him to do what he did were most people would protest, or imagine this, vote.
But of course we can’t now, we killed him. We sat him in a cell for years telling him every day that we were going to kill him, and then we pumped his body full of drugs. Theres nothing humane about killing. It is Cruel. Sadley, its not unuseal at all in this country. I think this we need to learn the diffrence between justice and vengence.
I don’t know who said this, and if anyone does please say so:
I have never understood how the government can say, “it’s wrong to kill someone” and yet do it themselves. I remember, back in Junior High School, I had signed a petition, to not have the death penalty return to New York State. I have never believed in the death penalty. I don’t see how it solves anything by killing someone. Killing Timothy McVeigh will never ever relieve the grief those familes are feeling, nor will it ever come close. And if there is someone out there, that feels so much better now that he is dead, does that make that person any better than Tim? Doesn’t that make them hypocritical? I mean, Tim obviously believed in what he did, and he had his reasons. And so would the grieving relative or friend. And really, that puts them on the same wavelength. If someone killed one of my family members, I wouldn’t want that person dead. Yes, I’d want them to pay for their crime, but it doesn’t make me any better than a murderer to want that person to die because of it. It wouldn’t bring me any “peace of mind” nor would it make the hurt stop at all. Timothy did a horrible thing. I will agree with that. He deserves to be punished. But, who are we to say, he deserves to die? Who is the government to say, he deserves to die? I don’t know, I just don’t see how this can be considered “just punishment.”
I’d say be rid of the death penalty if I saw a better option, the only true and better option… a simple “truth in sentencing”…
If someone is given life in prison… they should get it. If they are given 15 years… they should spend 15years… etc etc…
If I believed America would keep him there even second of his life… Don’t kill him… but we here seem to have trouble keeping criminals in prison because they are ‘over-crowded’ and we don’t want to spend the money on more…
In any case-- shortened babble = I only go for it cause I see no better option…
And sure, maybe a criminal sits in a jail cell with a roof & food for the time being… maybe even gets a free college-like education… or maybe some free psychiatric treatment… maybe they are allowed out to supervised work when typically they would be let out on parole…
And no, it’s not fair that we have to pay to live, for food, and I have to cough up $32k/year for school… and it’s not fair they can get it for free… but if they are going to be let back on the streets, they have to learn to interact with the regular society that they can’t without those things… so give it to them… give them the education and help to get a decent job when they get out so that they don’t resort to selling drugs and corrupting society…
Money spent on that electric chair can power some poor person’s house… All the money the nation paid for his lawyers and court time could be better spent elsewhere.
it costs more to execute someone then to keep them in jail for life
and colleen: do you really think he wouldve gotten parole eventually. no he wouldntve, because 1 i doubt he wouldve survived in prison long enough, and 2 if he did, and if he got parole, there would be hell to pay, and the politicians would get a ton of heat for it, and their whole existance is based around getting elected and re-elected. if timothy mcveigh got parole, the politicians running the country at the time would not get re-elected…so naturally they would do everything in their power to keep him in
also, an argument for executions is it gives the victims families closure…but there are theories that say that it doesnt: think about it - the criminal sits around on death row for years before his execution, all the while various appeals are being filed, meaning that basically his trial is still ongoing, or at least in some sence it is.
however, with life, theres the trial, the man gets convicted, sentenced to life without parole, and its done. end of story. if timothy mcveigh got this, nobody would know who he is right now
I believe the jury had the choice to sentence him to death or life without parole. When you get life without parole, you’re going to be in jail for life, no if’s and’s or but’s about it. When they say without parole, that’s without parole. And in all likelyhood, he would’ve been held apart from other inmates for his safety (and I believe he was before his execution). The only people who have a reputation for not surviving prison to well are child molsters from what I’ve heard…Even criminals can’t stand them.
I dont know, guys…all I keep seeing in my head is pictures of Albert DeSalvo (suspected Boston Strangler) in prison before he was killed…pictures of him making choker necklace sets for ladies & dancing with older women…
*Originally posted by Matt Leese *
**I believe the jury had the choice to sentence him to death or life without parole. When you get life without parole, you’re going to be in jail for life, no if’s and’s or but’s about it. When they say without parole, that’s without parole. And in all likelyhood, he would’ve been held apart from other inmates for his safety (and I believe he was before his execution). The only people who have a reputation for not surviving prison to well are child molsters from what I’ve heard…Even criminals can’t stand them.
Matt **
yeah, but i dont think criminals are fond of terrorists, either. especially ones who are proud of the fact that they killed 168 people. and how far out of their way do you think the guards would go to protect him from the general population (they are, after all, human). imho i think that if timothy mcveigh had gotten life without parole, at some point a couple of years from now the guards would conveniently not be looking for a minute and that would be the end of mr. mcveigh.