Wonderful news for those of us who oppose the death penalty.

State sponsored killings which often are economics driven, disproportionately of poor and disadvantaged, denies the people and nation from the benefits of finding forgiveness, sometimes kill innocents, perpetuates the cycle of violence breeding violence, devalues human life and therefore contributes to the perpetuation of the problem, absolves society from a range of responsibilities in treating those unfortunate enough to be of a mind to commit serious crimes etc etc etc There are far more civlized ways to remove dangerous people from the free population, which if society adopts, far reaching benefits can be had by all.

I know there are those who seriously supports the death penalty. I think they are wrong, but that doesn't mean at all that they are bad. I'd like to hear reasoned, non-vengeance arguments for the death penalty.


Yahoo news: California, Florida suspend executions By RON WORD, Associated Press Writer
5 minutes ago



"SAN FRANCISCO - Faced with grim testimony of poorly trained executioners operating in cramped, dimly lit quarters, a federal judge declared California's execution procedure unconstitutional.

The state's "implementation of lethal injection is broken............
The decision is the latest in a nationwide challenge to lethal injection — the preferred execution method in 37 states — and came as Florida Gov. Jeb Bush suspended all executions there after a bungled execution this week. Missouri's injection method, which is similar to California's, was declared unconstitutional last month by a federal judge.

Fogel said the California case raised the question of whether the three execution drugs administered by the San Quentin State Prison are so painful that they "offend" the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. He said he was compelled "to answer that question in the affirmative."

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld executions — by lethal injection, hanging, firing squad, electric chair and gas chamber — despite the pain they might cause, but has left unsettled the issue of whether the pain is unconstitutionally excessive.

California has been under a capital punishment moratorium since February..."

Saddam Hussein is facing the death penalty. Many nations and individuals are speaking out against this.

As a long time supporter of the Kurds, I too speak out against the death penalty.

Saddam's reign of terror against the Kurds was deplorable. At various times it was supported by the US, Iran, Turkey and others. The Kurds now are in a position to forge a new paradigm. End the cycle of violence.

If the USA were a candidate country for entry to the EU, she'd have to abolish the death penalty just in order to be in consideration, since the absence of the death penalty is one of the thresholds the EU has establish to determine whether a candidate country is civilised and democratic.

Ironic, isn't it.

I'm also against death penalty.
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In Turkey's long term fight against the terrorist organization (pkk), it must not be forgotten that many innocent people were killed from both sides.
I agree, Saddam's treatment towards civilians in Northern Iraq was horrendous.

At this point I also have to say, as a person who travelled to the border several times, I've never witnessed or heard of any acts of violence from the Turkish Army to
the Kurds who have nothing to do with the terrorist group.

Just a brief head-in-the-tent visit to restate the base line:

Until the life of the terrorist is held to be as sacred as the life of the terrorized, the terror will continue.

The executioner is, by definition, suicidal.

Charles

It works both ways.
The terrorist's aim, by definiton, is to terrorize, therefore, no life is sacred and all can be expendable for "the cause"
however unreasonable it might be.
Considering this, the terrorized feel no sympathy for those who make them suffer, which is understandable.
But wanting to see them hanged is extreme.

The more extreme the terror, the greater the impulse to vengeance, the more sacred, liberating, and lasting the impacts of forgiveness.

Unfortunately, not every one of us chooses to forgive, that's why the terror probably will not end.