# Boston Marathon Bomber Gets Death Penalty



## Butterfly (May 15, 2015)

Recently we had a lively discussion about whether or not Tsarnaev would get life without parole, or the death penalty.  Here's the answer.


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## Shalimar (May 15, 2015)

I am saddened by this news.


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## Cookie (May 15, 2015)

I feel sorry for his family ... and the families of the victims...but I'm still disappointed and sad about the sentence.  Read that appeal process could last years and years and years.


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## applecruncher (May 15, 2015)

Death penalty is too easy on the criminal (imo) and takes too long to carry out due to appeals. Scott Peterson is still alive.


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## AZ Jim (May 15, 2015)

I agree that we should give up on the death penalty, since it takes so long to take place if ever.  It's a form of torture for the victims family waiting for years often for no reason; whereas if the death penalty was off the table but life without parole was the law of the land they would have some closure within a reasonable time.


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## applecruncher (May 15, 2015)

I don't think we should give up on it. It should be carried out faster...6 months maximum from date of sentencing.


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## SeaBreeze (May 15, 2015)

applecruncher said:


> Death penalty is too easy on the criminal (imo) and takes too long to carry out due to appeals. Scott Peterson is still alive.



And then there's governors who step in when the time comes and gives an indefinite reprieve to the murderer. http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2014/10/20/hickenlooper-death-row-nathan-dunlap/114253/


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## Robusta (May 16, 2015)

I am with applecruncher on this one. While I am normally in opposition to the death penalty and the way it is administered, in this case it is just and fitting!


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## chic (May 16, 2015)

Robusta said:


> I am with applecruncher on this one. While I am normally in opposition to the death penalty and the way it is administered, in this case it is just and fitting!



I agree with that. This is terrorism; it's an act of war on a limited scale targeted against civilians unprepared to defend themselves.  So, in this instance, I feel execution is a just punishment.


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## Butterfly (May 16, 2015)

chic said:


> I agree with that. This is terrorism; it's an act of war on a limited scale targeted against civilians unprepared to defend themselves.  So, in this instance, I feel execution is a just punishment.



I agree on this one.  Besides the dead victims, many were maimed for life -- they placed the pressure-cooker bomb directly behind where children were standing, and killed that little boy (who the doctors said did not die instantly and died in agony, right in front of his mother).  It was a premeditated pointless act of terror against civilians and the bombs were loaded with schrapnel to have the greatest anti-personnel effect.

My problem with the life without parole is it doesn't always really mean that.  Of course there will be appeals of the death sentence, and a federal appellate court could still reduce it to life.


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## Shalimar (May 16, 2015)

Drone strikes also kill and maim innocents. All of this is wrong. War is wrong, torture is wrong, execution is wrong. Carrying out executions six months after sentencing, what about those individuals wrongly convicted, who later have their convictions set aside? Are they just more collateral damage?


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## SifuPhil (May 16, 2015)

Sentence should be carried out within one week, in a public venue, with vendors selling food and souvenirs (and proceeds going to victims and families). 

Pay-Per-View could also be an option ... 

But they need to ensure that he suffers the same amount as his victims - none of this mamby-pamby electric chair or drug stuff - blow him up in the public square at high noon.


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## Shalimar (May 16, 2015)

I would also like to state my sorrow for those killed or injured in the bombing, and their loved ones as well.


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## oldman (May 16, 2015)

Phil....I think some countries do as you suggested. I don't know about the pay-per-view, but public viewing is done by some countries. I think this may go back to the days of the early Romans when they had prisoners, along with animal trainers fighting the lions and other animals inside the Coliseum.


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## QuickSilver (May 16, 2015)

To add insult to injury... just HOW are they planning on killing him?   I understand that it is impossible for the penal systems to obtain the lethal injection drugs necessary for executions...  In fact Texas.. or most prolific state for legal murder is down to only ONE more dose.  So even Texas can only kill one more person.. Perhaps the Feds can claim eminant domain over that dose and quick grab it for Tsarnaev before Texas can use it.... but they better be quick about it..  lol!!


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## QuickSilver (May 16, 2015)

SifuPhil said:


> Sentence should be carried out within one week, in a public venue, with vendors selling food and souvenirs (and proceeds going to victims and families).
> 
> Pay-Per-View could also be an option ...
> 
> But they need to ensure that he suffers the same amount as his victims - none of this mamby-pamby electric chair or drug stuff - blow him up in the public square at high noon.



Let's build a Colliseum  and then maybe he can be pulled apart limb by limb tied to chariots... and then perhaps we can have lions eat his remains while his severed head watches from a pole hoisted high above the scene..  Sound good?


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## Shalimar (May 16, 2015)

Wow, QS, what a good Roman you would have made


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## QuickSilver (May 16, 2015)

Shalimar said:


> Wow, QS, what a good Roman you would have made



Of course I should have typed  /sarcasm  at the end of my plan


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## Shalimar (May 16, 2015)

QS, we both were being sarcastic on this one!


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## Don M. (May 16, 2015)

The ONLY one's who we reap any benefits from this trial are the Lawyers, who stand to make a fortune off the endless appeals they will be filing, and our prison system which will make thousands per year warehousing this killer while the Lawyers play their games.  Perhaps, in 15 years, the sentence will finally be carried out.  

When the evidence is irrefutable, the DNA tests are positive, the criminal is caught on video, and even Admits his guilt, I don't see where society should be spending huge sums of money "protecting" these thugs "rights".  That money could be far better spent supporting honest people who are truly needy.


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## Shalimar (May 16, 2015)

So we kill people in order to save money?? Yikes!


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## SifuPhil (May 16, 2015)

oldman said:


> Phil....I think some countries do as you suggested. I don't know about the pay-per-view, but public viewing is done by some countries. I think this may go back to the days of the early Romans when they had prisoners, along with animal trainers fighting the lions and other animals inside the Coliseum.



And as I recall it had a salubrious effect on crime rates throughout the Empire, right?

Many anti-capital punishment folk claim that it has no effect on crime rates. Make the executions public, show governmental support and I guarantee it will make future bad guys think twice. It's the same principle with bullies in school - all of this coddling that's being foisted on us only serves to strengthen the bullies. Give them a few black eyes and they'll soon enough learn that there is always someone stronger in control. 



			
				QuickSilver said:
			
		

> Of course I should have typed  /sarcasm  at the end of my plan



Aww ... and here I thought I was finally starting to change your mind. 



			
				DonM said:
			
		

> When the evidence is irrefutable, the DNA tests are positive, the  criminal is caught on video, and even Admits his guilt, I don't see  where society should be spending huge sums of money "protecting" these  thugs "rights".  That money could be far better spent supporting honest  people who are truly needy.



Totally agree! 



			
				Shalimar said:
			
		

> So we kill people in order to save money?? Yikes!



No, we kill people who need to be killed anyway - we just save money in the process. A subtle but important distinction, I think ...


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## Don M. (May 16, 2015)

Shalimar said:


> So we kill people in order to save money?? Yikes!



Basically YES.  It costs the taxpayers untold billions per year to "pamper" these thugs.  Meanwhile, we have millions of good people who could really benefit from the funds that are squandered on these misfits.  There isn't much that I agree with regarding Sharia Law...but a case like this points out a good aspect of the Islamic system.  Perhaps those whose hearts "bleed" for these criminals could start a Charity and support this nonsense with their own money.


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## Shalimar (May 16, 2015)

Actually, Don, some of us do. Perhaps you have forgotten that I am a Canadian, and,  as such, my taxes help to support those incarcerated in my country. Somehow, we manage quite well without the barbarism of capital punishment, and live in a much less violent society than your own.


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## Don M. (May 16, 2015)

Shalimar said:


> Actually, Don, some of us do. Perhaps you have forgotten that I am a Canadian, and,  as such, my taxes help to support those incarcerated in my country. Somehow, we manage quite well without the barbarism of capital punishment, and live in a much less violent society than your own.



Comparing Canada to the U.S., in terms of crime, etc., is a real "Apples to Oranges" comparison.  Look up the U.S. and Canadian Population Demographics, and perhaps you will get some insight into why there is so much crime in the U.S., compared to Canada.  Canada is a Paradise compared to many parts of the U.S.


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## WhatInThe (May 16, 2015)

If Tsarnaev keeps appealing he could be in federal lock-up for decades. The only reason McVeigh was executed for OKC is that he stopped appealing.


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## applecruncher (May 16, 2015)

While we’re talking about the death penalty, have any of you heard of the Dr. William Petit home invasion murders?  I followed this case and the trials of the two murderers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire,_Connecticut,_home_invasion_murders

These two guys should be locked in an empty abandoned house and burned alive.  But that’s not going to happen.


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## Shalimar (May 16, 2015)

Really,Don? You display a certain ignorance of the poverty and despair that can be found in many areas of my country. I think the people living there would dispute your view of  paradise. As for the demographic thing, obviously we follow different charts. No matter, each of us is entitled to our opinion.


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## AZ Jim (May 16, 2015)

Shalimar said:


> Actually, Don, some of us do. Perhaps you have forgotten that I am a Canadian, and,  as such, my taxes help to support those incarcerated in my country. Somehow, we manage quite well without the barbarism of capital punishment, and live in a much less violent society than your own.



To detail what others have said.  Canada has a total population of 33,910,000 while the USA has 313,232,000 or we are 9.2 times more populated. 
http://www.unitednorthamerica.org/simdiff.htm


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## Cookie (May 16, 2015)

Jim, I think I'm going to have to beg to differ.  If your basing it on per capita (per population), Statistics Canada says our rate is lower. 

http://data.library.utoronto.ca/datapub/codebooks/cstdli/justice/2001/crime_comp_can_usa_j_e.pdf


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## AZ Jim (May 16, 2015)

Cookie said:


> Jim, I think I'm going to have to beg to differ.  If your basing it on per capita (per population), Statistics Canada says our rate is lower.
> 
> http://data.library.utoronto.ca/datapub/codebooks/cstdli/justice/2001/crime_comp_can_usa_j_e.pdf



You are right cookie.  I meant to scrub that statement.  Canada is higher in a category or two but not overall.


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## Shalimar (May 16, 2015)

Thank you, guys..


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## Butterfly (May 16, 2015)

Don M. said:


> The ONLY one's who we reap any benefits from this trial are the Lawyers, who stand to make a fortune off the endless appeals they will be filing, and our prison system which will make thousands per year warehousing this killer while the Lawyers play their games.  Perhaps, in 15 years, the sentence will finally be carried out.
> 
> When the evidence is irrefutable, the DNA tests are positive, the criminal is caught on video, and even Admits his guilt, I don't see where society should be spending huge sums of money "protecting" these thugs "rights".  That money could be far better spent supporting honest people who are truly needy.



I would respectfully point out that an appeal is automatic in a death penalty case, and as to the comment about about the appellate lawyers making a fortune -- the court will probably contract with federal appellate specialists, and you would be amazed at how little these specialists are actually paid for appellate work, which is very meticulous and demanding . .  .  I know, because I worked for appellate specialists.  

Having said that, the appeals do drag on way too long.  The courts are very slow.  

Who should get to say that this person deserves an appeal and that one does not??  That's why death penalty verdicts get an automatic appeal, regardless how damning the evidence is.  Another court takes another hard look before someone is executed.


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## koala (May 16, 2015)

We are in the same situation here, no capital punishment, less guns and much less violence.


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