Issue 52
News: The Death Penalty
Recently, ex-governor George Ryan was on trial and just last week was sentenced to several years in prison for commuting the death sentences of many admitted killers merely to make him look better to the Democrats. With this piece of news in mind, as well as my recent purchase of 12 Angry Men at my local Costco, I feel I should share my thoughts on the death penalty. I must say that I am not completely against the death penalty, and that it should be reserved for only very few of the people who are currently on Death Row. In my opinion, it should be reserved for those who actualy admitted to their murder, and for whom there is no evidence whatsoever for the killers' innocence. I am fairly certain that many of the murders currently on Death Rows across the nation may, in fact, be innocent, because it has happened before, and I am certain that this will happen again. Some people have, in fact been imprisoned on death row, with no evidence against them, and I will give two examples of people who have been proven to have been wrongly imprisoned for around twelve years: First is Randall Dale Adams, whose case was the basis for Errol Morris' film The Thin Blue Line. In 1975, he was a silent drifter who met up with a young teenaged boy with a huge criminal record. They smoked pot and at this time, A police officer was killed by one of the two. Naturally, the boy went into town later and bragged about the incident to his friends. Unfortunately, the person they arrested was Adams. The prosecution sealed his fate with a speech which said that since the victim was a police officer and "The thin blue line separating society from Anarchy", that his death must be avenged by the death of this guy they decided was the killer. Fortunately, Morris' film revived interest in the case, and Adams was retried and declared innocent. The second person is one I cannot remember the name of off the top of my head, but I remember his story on Penn And Teller wherein he mentioned he was also accused of murder, but had an incredibly ironclad alibi: He was in prison for a robbery the night of the shooting. Fortunately, the legal system rectified this mistake and he is now free and speaking out against the death penalty. Back on the subject of Gov. Ryan's conviction, one of my mothers' friends had a relative who was a witness to a murder which was committed by one of the people Ryan commuted to life. While we're on the subject for suitable punishments, if the murderer's just plain insane, send him to a mental institution for life, or at least until his mind is sound enough for real jail, and at thar point, he should be subject to the same as his punishments would have been if he was indeed sane. Also, Seniors (65+) should be exempt from the death penalty altogether, and for a very good reason: The Reaper will most likely come naturally before the State even has a chance to bring it, in a country where it is not uncommon for people on Death Row to wait for more than 20 years for the State to kill them. Otherwise, life in jail with little or no possibility of parole, except for pardons is fine by me.
Band Name of the Day: The Tourettes-Vangelists. This name is based on a nickname the Book "A Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right" has assigned to Jerry Falwell.
Film Idea of the Day: The Christ-Killers or Anti-Semites and the Evangelicals who love them, a darkly satirical story of a journalist who covers the story of Anti-Semitism in Military academies, which is being defended by not one, but two, powerful ultra-conservative religious figures just down the street. Based on the true story of inappropriate prosceletyzing of Jewish Cadets in the United States Air Force Academy, supported by Rev. Ted Haggard of the New Life Church (who speaks with the President once a week) and James Dobson (founder of Focus on the Family) which has unfolded just last year in the city of Colorado Springs.
Film Review of the day: America America. An Armenian boy named Stavros, living in the years leading up to the Genocide, chronicles his planning of his future journey to America, thus earning his nickname America America. It has what must be the best cinematography I've seen in a while in a black and White film, and an interesting plot which is pretty good, despite its length of 3 hours.
Quote of the Day: "After Church tonight, you will go home and you will eat chicken, not human, because of the spread of Christianity... Go to a country where there hasn't been the spread of Christianity and they're having human for dinner."
______Mark Driscoll. (Cuckoo, cuckoo)
Link of the Day: My Name is Derekaxe and I'm an Alcoholic. NOT!!!!, but enjoy these old AA comic strips just as campy and unbelievable as Chick tracts.
Recently, ex-governor George Ryan was on trial and just last week was sentenced to several years in prison for commuting the death sentences of many admitted killers merely to make him look better to the Democrats. With this piece of news in mind, as well as my recent purchase of 12 Angry Men at my local Costco, I feel I should share my thoughts on the death penalty. I must say that I am not completely against the death penalty, and that it should be reserved for only very few of the people who are currently on Death Row. In my opinion, it should be reserved for those who actualy admitted to their murder, and for whom there is no evidence whatsoever for the killers' innocence. I am fairly certain that many of the murders currently on Death Rows across the nation may, in fact, be innocent, because it has happened before, and I am certain that this will happen again. Some people have, in fact been imprisoned on death row, with no evidence against them, and I will give two examples of people who have been proven to have been wrongly imprisoned for around twelve years: First is Randall Dale Adams, whose case was the basis for Errol Morris' film The Thin Blue Line. In 1975, he was a silent drifter who met up with a young teenaged boy with a huge criminal record. They smoked pot and at this time, A police officer was killed by one of the two. Naturally, the boy went into town later and bragged about the incident to his friends. Unfortunately, the person they arrested was Adams. The prosecution sealed his fate with a speech which said that since the victim was a police officer and "The thin blue line separating society from Anarchy", that his death must be avenged by the death of this guy they decided was the killer. Fortunately, Morris' film revived interest in the case, and Adams was retried and declared innocent. The second person is one I cannot remember the name of off the top of my head, but I remember his story on Penn And Teller wherein he mentioned he was also accused of murder, but had an incredibly ironclad alibi: He was in prison for a robbery the night of the shooting. Fortunately, the legal system rectified this mistake and he is now free and speaking out against the death penalty. Back on the subject of Gov. Ryan's conviction, one of my mothers' friends had a relative who was a witness to a murder which was committed by one of the people Ryan commuted to life. While we're on the subject for suitable punishments, if the murderer's just plain insane, send him to a mental institution for life, or at least until his mind is sound enough for real jail, and at thar point, he should be subject to the same as his punishments would have been if he was indeed sane. Also, Seniors (65+) should be exempt from the death penalty altogether, and for a very good reason: The Reaper will most likely come naturally before the State even has a chance to bring it, in a country where it is not uncommon for people on Death Row to wait for more than 20 years for the State to kill them. Otherwise, life in jail with little or no possibility of parole, except for pardons is fine by me.
Band Name of the Day: The Tourettes-Vangelists. This name is based on a nickname the Book "A Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right" has assigned to Jerry Falwell.
Film Idea of the Day: The Christ-Killers or Anti-Semites and the Evangelicals who love them, a darkly satirical story of a journalist who covers the story of Anti-Semitism in Military academies, which is being defended by not one, but two, powerful ultra-conservative religious figures just down the street. Based on the true story of inappropriate prosceletyzing of Jewish Cadets in the United States Air Force Academy, supported by Rev. Ted Haggard of the New Life Church (who speaks with the President once a week) and James Dobson (founder of Focus on the Family) which has unfolded just last year in the city of Colorado Springs.
Film Review of the day: America America. An Armenian boy named Stavros, living in the years leading up to the Genocide, chronicles his planning of his future journey to America, thus earning his nickname America America. It has what must be the best cinematography I've seen in a while in a black and White film, and an interesting plot which is pretty good, despite its length of 3 hours.
Quote of the Day: "After Church tonight, you will go home and you will eat chicken, not human, because of the spread of Christianity... Go to a country where there hasn't been the spread of Christianity and they're having human for dinner."
______Mark Driscoll. (Cuckoo, cuckoo)
Link of the Day: My Name is Derekaxe and I'm an Alcoholic. NOT!!!!, but enjoy these old AA comic strips just as campy and unbelievable as Chick tracts.
Labels: Death, Miscellaneous
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