this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2024
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Unpopular Opinion

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Yesterday, Brian Dorsey was executed for a crime he committed in 2006. By all accounts, during his time in prison, he became remorseful for his actions and was a "model prisoner," to the point that multiple corrections officers backed his petition for clemency.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/09/us/brian-dorsey-missouri-execution-tuesday/index.html

In general, the media is painting him as the victim of a justice system that fails to recognize rehabilitation. I find this idea disgusting. Brian Dorsey, in a drug-induced stupor, murdered the people who gave him shelter. He brutally ended the life of a woman and her husband, and (allegedly) sexually assaulted her corpse. There is an argument that he had ineffective legal representation, but that doesn't negate the fact that he is guilty.

While I do believe that he could have been released or had his sentence converted to life in prison, and he could have potentially been a model citizen, this would have been a perversion of justice. Actions that someone takes after committing a barbaric act do not undo the damage that was done. Those two individuals are still dead, and he needed to face the ramifications for his actions.

Rehabilitation should not be an option for someone who committed crimes as depraved as he did. Quite frankly, a lethal injection was far less than what he deserved, given the horror he inflicted on others. If the punishment should fit the crime, then he was given far more leniency than was warranted.

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Actions that someone takes after committing a barbaric act do not undo the damage that was done.

Neither does his death.

Those two individuals are still dead, and he needed to face the ramifications for his actions.

Which no one denies. Th ramifications should have been life in prison without a chance for parole.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Which no one denies. Th ramifications should have been life in prison without a chance for parole

Agreed. The death penalty should be revoked in my opinion. It’s an archaic penalty.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

While it apparently didn’t happen in this case, there are a number of examples of people who have gone to death row, been executed, then proven to have been innocent after all. That’s a huge reason for me as to why the death penalty should be done away with.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago (3 children)

That’s is one of my big issues. Another issue is it’s just vengeance. The system should be about justice.

I don’t think executing people makes society safer. I do not think it deters crime.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It obviously doesn't deter crime.

The US is an outlier on the death penalty. Most western countries don't have it, but we don't have higher homicide rates.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Yeah, this is why I don't agree with capital punishment. Sure, many victim's families will want the perp to die. That doesn't mean we as a society have to be a place where we grant the wishes of blood lust. It doesn't make the world a better place, just a bloodier place.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (12 children)
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[–] [email protected] 42 points 7 months ago

I don't oppose the death penalty because nobody deserves to be killed. I oppose it because our justice system isn't up to determining who does and who doesn't.

There are too many arbitrary factors that make the difference between death penalty and life. The race, sex, and gender of the victim and the accused; the political ambition of the prosecutor; the geographic location of the crime; and the resources of the accused.

And this wonderful system wastes millions and millions of dollars that could address some of the root causes of crime and violence.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 7 months ago

Did killing him bring them back? No? Then what's the benefit?

It better be a pretty big fuckin benefit if you're okay with our government having the authority to kill citizens. Cuz you know, the government can totally be trusted to not abuse power and authority...

[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago (37 children)

Does killing him bring back the people he killed?

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Executing him accomplishes nothing. Families of victims have long said that executions did not make them feel better. In some cases, they have campaigned to stop executions. More death solves nothing, and we as humans can and should be better than that.

The death penalty is wrong. Period. There are always other solutions. That's where the justice system fails.

[–] Tramort 17 points 7 months ago

Every government is imperfect.

No human being should be executed by the state.

There is no difference in justice by locking them up for life, and more importantly it costs less, and can be undone if an injustice is later identified.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago (11 children)

Yes, maybe he did deserve to die. But I'll always oppose the death penalty on principle.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago

I find it hard to say that the value to society of killing him was greater than the value he provided cutting hair at the prison.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (3 children)

It comes down to what you feel the purpose of our justice system is, including capital punishment.

My personal opinion is that, despite its name, capital punishment shouldn't be thought of as a punishment. I feel that we should use the death penalty or life in prison when we feel that a person can't ever be allowed back into society, and it's more of a societal judgement which of those two measures we take.

I think in all cases, if we could heal a person so that they'd never repeat a crime again, that's the better course. The reality is that most really horrible crimes stem from some kind of mental illness. If we could rehabilitate the people, it seems like that's better for everyone.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yes. When I think of a just system it's more like...

Person commits crime and goes to rehabilitation, if they can't be rehabilitated then they are imprisoned or exiled, if they are still a threat there that's when it may become necessary to execute. It's not a punishment, it's a last resort for the safety of others.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Yep, that's how I feel as well.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.

-JRR Tolkien

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