Elizabeth Warren doesn't think Boston Bomber should get death penalty

[okie52]

Elizabeth Warren says Dzhokhar Tsarnaev shouldn't get the death penalty

COLIN CAMPBELL

APR. 9, 2015, 2:22 PM 3,496 43

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) doesn't think convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should face the death penalty.

"My heart goes out to the families here, but I don't support the death penalty. I think that he should spend his life in jail. No possibility for parole. He should die in prison," Warren said Thursday on CBS' "This Morning.

On Wednesday, a jury found Tsarnaev guilty on all 30 counts for his infamous role in the 2013 terrorist attack, which left three people dead and more than 260 other people wounded. Tsarnaev is now eligible for the death penalty and the jury will decide his punishment in the next phase of the trial.

Warren, of the most prominent Democrats in the Senate, said people pushing for Tsarnaev to get the death penalty should think about the "alternative."

"The alternative to the death penalty is not ... turn this guy free. The point is he stays in prison; he dies in prison. He's put away. He's not a danger to anyone else. He's not a part of an ongoing story. He's not someone who's able to keep sucking up a lot of energy and a lot of attention. The families need their chance to heal, to move on beyond this," she said.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-warren-says-dzhokhar-tsarnaev-shouldnt-get-the-death-penalty-2015-4#ixzz3Wqk1SKSk

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[hawaii 5-0]

Luckily she won't be on the jury that decides.

5-0

[Turd_Ferguson]

Meh. Put him in gen pop. He won't last long.

[olevetonahill]

I kinda agree with her except Life with out Parole and has to eat Pig meat daily.
Now If they go ahead and Croak him Make sure theres some Pig blood in that needle

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Luckily she won't be on the jury that decides.

5-0Right. She'll be the next POTUS, and everything will be just swell. Just like it is now.

[rock on sooner]

Hmmm, welp, I don't think he should get the death penalty...most of
jihadis want to be martyrs...so imo, let him rot in prison with no chance
of parole....has nothing to do with fer er agin the death penalty...don't
give him the satisfaction.....

[BoulderSooner79]

Meh. Put him in gen pop. He won't last long.

Truth. Death row would keep him alive longer and cost a bunch of $$ with all the required court procedures.

[SicEmBaylor]

She's being consistent, at least. I respect that.

[okie52]

Isn't prison's purpose supposedly to rehabilitate the inmate so he can return to society?

[SicEmBaylor]

Isn't prison's purpose supposedly to rehabilitate the inmate so he can return to society?

We need prison reform so incredibly bad in this country. We have a higher prison population than Communist China. The drug war is to blame for much of that. Our entire criminal justice system is rotten right down to the cops on the street.

[BoulderSooner79]

Isn't prison's purpose supposedly to rehabilitate the inmate so he can return to society?

Obviously not, or they wouldn't have a life sentence sans parole or the death penalty. Of course, you're really just making some sort of comment that escapes me.

[yermom]

We need prison reform so incredibly bad in this country. We have a higher prison population than Communist China. The drug war is to blame for much of that. Our entire criminal justice system is rotten right down to the cops on the street.

for profit prisons and their lobby are to blame for a lot of that

[olevetonahill]

We need prison reform so incredibly bad in this country. We have a higher prison population than Communist China. The drug war is to blame for much of that. Our entire criminal justice system is rotten right down to the cops on the street.

You might want to restate that Lil bro. we a Higher % per capita. Not a Higher number in total

As for the DP Im pretty much ambivalent. I dont see the sense in it , Not that I think its necessarily wrong. In certain clear cut cases it should be levied and carried out swiftly Much like McVeigh. On the other hand sentence em to LWOP and quit all the endless Money wasting appeals and last ditch efforts by the Do Gooders to save some maggots life, Just lock em away.

[okie52]

Obviously not, or they wouldn't have a life sentence sans parole or the death penalty. Of course, you're really just making some sort of comment that escapes me.

No that was the point. If there's no intent on rehabilitating the inmate to return to society then might as well execute him

[Serenity Now]

I wish Mcveigh was still waking up every morning with the slow realization of where he is. Feed him vitamins, put him on a treadmill and make him live to be 120. He got off easy.

[Eielson]

Isn't prison's purpose supposedly to rehabilitate the inmate so he can return to society?

Or to purge an evil from society.

[BoulderSooner79]

No that was the point. If there's no intent on rehabilitating the inmate to return to society then might as well execute him

I'm not for the DP in general. Mostly because some states I won't name (Texas) use it liberally and have many documented case of getting it wrong. Obviously not the case here, but inmates sit so long on death row and go through so many court procedures it just seems like a huge waste for the small number of cases that come up. I suspect getting life in prison is cheaper. It would rob prosecutors their spot in the limelight though.

[Serenity Now]

I've always maintained that, since life is cheaper than death row, that we can assure that we never kill another innocent person by simply not having state sponsored death penalties.

[olevetonahill]

I'm not for the DP in general. Mostly because some states I won't name (Texas) use it liberally and have many documented case of getting it wrong. Obviously not the case here, but inmates sit so long on death row and go through so many court procedures it just seems like a huge waste for the small number of cases that come up. I suspect getting life in prison is cheaper. It would rob prosecutors their spot in the limelight though.

Thats always been my position is its cheaper in the long run to lock em up and throw away the key, Unless they WANT to die then go ahead and snuff em.

As far as getting it wrong? Very seldom is a Truly innocent man condemned to death.

[SicEmBaylor]

]You might want to restate that Lil bro. we a Higher % per capita.[/B] Not a Higher number in total


That's actually *worse*. You know that, right?

[yermom]

That's actually *worse*. You know that, right?

this says we win both:

http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison-population-total?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All

not sure how old the data is though

[Sooner Born Sooner Bred]

I used to be a huge advocate in the death penalty, despite the fact that I'm pretty liberal otherwise. Nowadays, I'm more of an advocate of life without the possibility of parole, with consecutive sentences.

[Sooner Born Sooner Bred]

You might want to restate that Lil bro. we a Higher % per capita. Not a Higher number in total

As for the DP Im pretty much ambivalent. I dont see the sense in it , Not that I think its necessarily wrong. In certain clear cut cases it should be levied and carried out swiftly Much like McVeigh. On the other hand sentence em to LWOP and quit all the endless Money wasting appeals and last ditch efforts by the Do Gooders to save some maggots life, Just lock em away.I must have lost my mind since I have been away, agreeing with OleVet on something political.

[Serenity Now]

Thats always been my position is its cheaper in the long run to lock em up and throw away the key, Unless they WANT to die then go ahead and snuff em.

As far as getting it wrong? Very seldom is a Truly innocent man condemned to death.

Damn. We agree except for that last part. "Very seldom" may be accurate. However, while even once is very, very seldom it is one too many times. Our country has killed innocent people. I have a problem with that. Especially given the fact that some science (i.e. DNA) is getting better and better.

[okie52]

Or to purge an evil from society.

Death does that.

[okie52]

I wish Mcveigh was still waking up every morning with the slow realization of where he is. Feed him vitamins, put him on a treadmill and make him live to be 120. He got off easy.

Hah...so you want him "tortured" by living his life behind bars?

Gitmos really not so bad after all?

[Serenity Now]

Hah...so you want him "tortured" by living his life behind bars?

Gitmos really not so bad after all?

I'm ambivalent on Gitmo. That's not related to this. Solitary for 80 years would have been a great punishment.

[BoulderSooner79]

Damn. We agree except for that last part. "Very seldom" may be accurate. However, while even once is very, very seldom it is one too many times. Our country has killed innocent people. I have a problem with that. Especially given the fact that some science (i.e. DNA) is getting better and better.

Agreed. Even extremely seldom (which I believe) is enough to give me pause given there is a life sentence alternative.

And then there are states I won't mention (Oklahoma) that even botch the procedure itself. Can't find the vein, get the wrong drugs or in the wrong dose, etc. (Didn't this happen fairly recently?). Many states still have the DP on the books, but have given up on using it due to all the issues involved.

[okie52]

Agreed. Even extremely seldom (which I believe) is enough to give me pause given there is a life sentence alternative.

And then there are states I won't mention (Oklahoma) that even botch the procedure itself. Can't find the vein, get the wrong drugs or in the wrong dose, etc. (Didn't this happen fairly recently?). Many states still have the DP on the books, but have given up on using it due to all the issues involved.

Put firing squads back on the books.

[okie52]

I'm ambivalent on Gitmo. That's not related to this. Solitary for 80 years would have been a great punishment.

But its not really rehabilitation, is it?

[Turd_Ferguson]

Agreed. Even extremely seldom (which I believe) is enough to give me pause given there is a life sentence alternative.

And then there are states I won't mention (Oklahoma) that even botch the procedure itself. Can't find the vein, get the wrong drugs or in the wrong dose, etc. (Didn't this happen fairly recently?). Many states still have the DP on the books, but have given up on using it due to all the issues involved.

Never understood the "issue" factor. If ya kilt him, then it worked...right?

[okie52]

Never understood the "issue" factor. If ya kilt him, then it worked...right?

Well he did have 45 minutes of "torture".

[Serenity Now]

Never understood the "issue" factor. If ya kilt him, then it worked...right?

Kind of hard to argue against...

[Turd_Ferguson]

Curious to see if the gassing execution bill get's passed.

[BoulderSooner79]

Never understood the "issue" factor. If ya kilt him, then it worked...right?

Yes, but then it gets into the cruel and unusual punishment clause - have to follow your own laws. I'm not morally opposed to the DP, but it just seems to be more hassle than it's worth for the tiny percentage of cases involved. Of course those cases are generally high profile, so it has infotainment value if one considers that real value.

[olevetonahill]

That's actually *worse*. You know that, right?

Just clarifying the facts Bro.

[FaninAma]

We need prison reform so incredibly bad in this country. We have a higher prison population than Communist China. The drug war is to blame for much of that. Our entire criminal justice system is rotten right down to the cops on the street.

You need to review what China did and does to drug dealers in that country. That's why they don't have a drug problem and the resultant prison population problems related to that. My advice to you if you go to China is DO NOT GET CAUGHT WITH DRUGS.

http://theaustralianheroindiaries.blogspot.com/2009/06/mass-executions-how-china-celebrates.html

[olevetonahill]

I must have lost my mind since I have been away, agreeing with OleVet on something political.

Well Girl you Have to be Right every now and then!:drunk:

[rock on sooner]

Curious to see if the gassing execution bill get's passed.

It did.

[Turd_Ferguson]

It did.

Fallen signed it?

[olevetonahill]

Fallen signed it?

Nyet
http://news.yahoo.com/nitrogen-gas-execution-bill-heading-oklahoma-governor-161032436.html

[Turd_Ferguson]

Nyet
http://news.yahoo.com/nitrogen-gas-execution-bill-heading-oklahoma-governor-161032436.html

Spasibo, Dedushka.

[TAFBSooner]

Hah...so you want him "tortured" by living his life behind bars?

Gitmos really not so bad after all?

The biggest problem I have with Gitmo is our government treated and still treats it as a Constitution-free zone. That enabled the torture and the imprisonment without trial.

It's not about who the prisoners are. It's about who WE are.

Keeping them on an island per se isn't so much of a much.

As for McVeigh, I don't think the Government knows everything about 19 April. I'm pretty d@m# sure that we don't know everything. With McVeigh dead, we never will. </tin foil hat>

[TAFBSooner]

You need to review what China did and does to drug dealers in that country. That's why they don't have a drug problem and the resultant prison population problems related to that. My advice to you if you go to China is DO NOT GET CAUGHT WITH DRUGS.

http://theaustralianheroindiaries.blogspot.com/2009/06/mass-executions-how-china-celebrates.html

I do not think we should be looking to China for guidance on human rights, or drug policy, or much of anything for that matter.

[Turd_Ferguson]

The biggest problem I have with Gitmo is our government treated and still treats it as a Constitution-free zone. That enabled the torture and the imprisonment without trial.

It's not about who the prisoners are. It's about who WE are.

Keeping them on an island per se isn't so much of a much.

As for McVeigh, I don't think the Government knows everything about 19 April. I'm pretty d@m# sure that we don't know everything. With McVeigh dead, we never will. </tin foil hat>

You're a conspiracy theorist!!! I knew it!!!

[rock on sooner]

Fallen signed it?

Dunno, I just heard the OK legislature passed it....

[TAFBSooner]

You're a conspiracy theorist!!! I knew it!!!

Theorist? :peaceful:

[Soonerjeepman]

I'm all for no DP (mainly because of $$$) ...but make sure prison is prison...especially if no reform is the objective.

[okie52]

The biggest problem I have with Gitmo is our government treated and still treats it as a Constitution-free zone. That enabled the torture and the imprisonment without trial.

It's not about who the prisoners are. It's about who WE are.

Keeping them on an island per se isn't so much of a much.

As for McVeigh, I don't think the Government knows everything about 19 April. I'm pretty d@m# sure that we don't know everything. With McVeigh dead, we never will. </tin foil hat>

Well there was always the issue of defining enemy combatants and I'm sure there are some innocents at gitmo (wrong place/wrong time). It happens in war.

McVeigh may be dead but Nichols is still kicking and I'm sure he knew just about everything that McVeigh knew...but I haven't heard of any new revelations in the last decade.

[Soonerjeepman]

I just love the "we are better than that" argument. $hit happens in war...that's our (USA) problem...we play by the rules against those that do not. No good results can come of that...imho.

Just like every group against Christians, even good ol obama, the first thing they say is "aren't you suppose to love your neighbor?" whenever any Christian person or group stand up against something....Jesus also preached standing up for what is right...

[Eielson]

Death does that.

So does lifetime imprisonment.

[okie52]

So does lifetime imprisonment.

Well, true, unless they escape or kill someone like a guard, visitor or another inmate (although that could be a win/win).

[Eielson]

Well, true, unless they escape or kill someone like a guard, visitor or another inmate (although that could be a win/win).

Yeah. It's a lot cheaper that way.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

So I care what Fauxcahontas has to say? Who GAS what she has to say. All I care is what the jury says...

[BoulderSooner79]

So I care what Fauxcahontas has to say? Who GAS what she has to say. All I care is what the jury says...

Massachusetts hasn't executed anyone since 1947, so the sentence really will be to decide in what part of prison he will rot.

[rock on sooner]

Massachusetts hasn't executed anyone since 1947, so the sentence really will be to decide in what part of prison he will rot.

Umm, I think he was charged under federal statutes, so the death penalty
is still in play. 17 of the 30 counts all carry the max.....

[REDREX]

Massachusetts hasn't executed anyone since 1947, so the sentence really will be to decide in what part of prison he will rot.---Federal Charge he is only being tried in Mass

[BoulderSooner79]

---Federal Charge he is only being tried in Mass

Feds don't use the DP very often either, but one would think this would be a cut and dried case. Was the jury chosen from the Boston area? I saw a poll that showed people around Boston were heavily skewed against the DP for this guy. Of course, a jury is a small sample and they would have just been inundated with pictures and video of the carnage along with victims testimony. Emotions will be high.

[rock on sooner]

Feds don't use the DP very often either, but one would think this would be a cut and dried case. Was the jury chosen from the Boston area? I saw a poll that showed people around Boston were heavily skewed against the DP for this guy. Of course, a jury is a small sample and they would have just been inundated with pictures and video of the carnage along with victims testimony. Emotions will be high.

Wow, I saw just the opposite, the jury members said they could all go with
the death penalty. IMO, toss him in a dark hole, let him wish for human contact,
and keep it from him until he passes on. No way he gets anything that resembles
human. He should rot, cry for anything human and be denied. To kill him is to
lend credence to the jihad....no martyr for this one..only purgatory...jus sayin...

[BoulderSooner79]

Wow, I saw just the opposite, the jury members said they could all go with
the death penalty. IMO, toss him in a dark hole, let him wish for human contact,
and keep it from him until he passes on. No way he gets anything that resembles
human. He should rot, cry for anything human and be denied. To kill him is to
lend credence to the jihad....no martyr for this one..only purgatory...jus sayin...

The poll I'm talking about was just people from the Boston area - not the jury. It doesn't
surprise me that this region of the country is against the DP, but it did surprise me a bit
that they kept the same belief for this case. Of course the prosecutor would try to vet the
jury to cull out those against the DP, but the defense attorney should do the opposite.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

The FEDGOV is seeking the DP. But I would like to see a daily DP if you know what I mean...

[BoulderSooner79]

The court system is so weird, it never ceases to baffle me. The bombing trial is now in the sentencing phase, and the lawyers are making a big deal about this guy giving the finger to a camera while waiting for arraignment. That's is an issue on whether this guy gets the DP?! Jebus, this guy assembled a bomb, set it down in a crowd of people and then detonated it. How in the world can the act of flipping the bird to no one in particular possibly be a factor?

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Damn. We agree except for that last part. "Very seldom" may be accurate. However, while even once is very, very seldom it is one too many times. Our country has killed innocent people. I have a problem with that. Especially given the fact that some science (i.e. DNA) is getting better and better.

And yet just yesterday they released the findings of the FBI giving knowingly bad testimony for over 15 years on hair samples, some of which was used to convict in death penalty cases.


The death penalty is an absolute farce. The only people who can get the death penalty are those who claim they are innocent. The guilty ones like Gary Ridgway (who killed 48 people) just confess and get life in prison.

Then you have to ask yourself, is our legal system trustworthy enough to actual be trusted with the death penalty? In order to be trusted with it, you have to have an iron clad clemency policy for when you make mistakes. It takes a frickin miracle to overturn a conviction.

As evidenced by there are still men living in prison who had their confessions gitmo'd out of them (sensory deprivation, starvation, beatings, etc) in the 50s and the states REFUSE to give them a fair trial because Miranda wasn't a law then and doesn't apply. Read the arrest and questioning of this guy -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Heirens

There are men on death row who were put there with expert testimony that was later proven to be hogwash and the experts had their licenses stripped. Those men are not allowed a new trial because it isn't enough to warrant one.

[Turd_Ferguson]

Kill'm all...let GOD sort'm out.

[okie52]

The court system is so weird, it never ceases to baffle me. The bombing trial is now in the sentencing phase, and the lawyers are making a big deal about this guy giving the finger to a camera while waiting for arraignment. That's is an issue on whether this guy gets the DP?! Jebus, this guy assembled a bomb, set it down in a crowd of people and then detonated it. How in the world can the act of flipping the bird to no one in particular possibly be a factor?

I would say he appears to be unrepentant...something the court might take into consideration.

[BoulderSooner79]

I would say he appears to be unrepentant...something the court might take into consideration.

That's what the media is saying. If I were juror, it wouldn't mean squat to me if he begged his god for forgiveness or vowed to do it again given the chance. Nothing will replace all those limbs his bomb blew off. Of course, I'd probably be rejected as a juror for that.

[TAFBSooner]

That's what the media is saying. If I were juror, it wouldn't mean squat to me if he begged his god for forgiveness or vowed to do it again given the chance. Nothing will replace all those limbs his bomb blew off. Of course, I'd probably be rejected as a juror for that.

T'other way around. If you were against the death penalty, you would be rejected.

That's a way of making sure that in murder cases, the defendant will be judged by a jury of his peers.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

T'other way around. If you were against the death penalty, you would be rejected.

That's a way of making sure that in murder cases, the defendant will be judged by a jury of his peers.

Which doesn't cause any kind of selection bias at all. :drunk: This is just one major problem, the other is the sheer number of star witnesses in death penalty cases that are jailhouse snitches. There is a reason that the death penalty conviction rate is way out of skew statistically with every other crime.

[okie52]

T'other way around. If you were against the death penalty, you would be rejected.

That's a way of making sure that in murder cases, the defendant will be judged by a jury of his peers.

That kind of balances being eliminated as a juror because of your occupation.

[okie52]

That's what the media is saying. If I were juror, it wouldn't mean squat to me if he begged his god for forgiveness or vowed to do it again given the chance. Nothing will replace all those limbs his bomb blew off. Of course, I'd probably be rejected as a juror for that.

I agree...shouldn't make any difference but for some contrition matters.

[BoulderSooner79]

T'other way around. If you were against the death penalty, you would be rejected.

That's a way of making sure that in murder cases, the defendant will be judged by a jury of his peers.

Haven't thought of it that way. But I thought both lawyers had some say in jury selection and being either extremely pro- or extremely con- on the DP might get someone eliminated.

FWIW, I'm against the DP for pragmatic reasons, not morality reasons. But given it's on the books, I'd follow the law and if there is any case that is cut and dried, it's this one. Showing remorse or contempt wouldn't mean anything to me in this case because there is no path to reform here. The only question is the method of keeping this guy from society forever.

[Serenity Now]

14 people put to death who received testimony from the FBI and their bogus science. Just sayin. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/04/fbi_s_flawed_forensics_expert_testimony_hair_analy sis_bite_marks_fingerprints.html