Texas death row inmate wants to die laughing (elder)

[Scuba Pete]

How are they going to punish him any further? Give him a time out for bad puns?

The price being asked by the state is his life. You simply can't dictate that he has to be morbid during his own demise. The whole point of Gallows Humor is to cope with your own mortality. By all means, if we would allow this man to pray or read scripture but NOT tell a joke or three, then we are guilty of being biased towards religion.

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by Scuba Pete

How are they going to punish him any further? Give him a time out for bad puns?

The price being asked by the state is his life. You simply can't dictate that he has to be morbid during his own demise. The whole point of Gallows Humor is to cope with your own mortality. By all means, if we would allow this man to pray or read scripture but NOT tell a joke or three, then we are guilty of being biased towards religion.

I don't see why not.

[Scuba Pete]

Originally Posted by angellous_evangellous

I don't see why not.

Freedom of thought. But as I pointed out, how are you going to punish him for going out with a bad joke?

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by Scuba Pete

Freedom of thought. But as I pointed out, how are you going to punish him for going out with a bad joke?

Honestly, I don't know. They can get him to the execution chamber, so they can control how he gets there.

[Scuba Pete]

But they will ask him for "any last words" or for a "last request" and the like. You can't offer these to SOME of the people and not to ALL of the people. Why would you want to "gag" his last few words?

[kadzbiz]

Originally Posted by angellous_evangellous

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070625/...LL2JbKA5tH2ocA

I apologise, but I'm answering this without looking at the link and if I'm way off with this reply, I'm sure you'll let me know.

Simply, just from the title, I don't see why an inmate should die (and I'm assuming we're talking about death row inmates) on his/her terms when their victims didn't.

[!Fluffy!]

actually a quick and merciful bullet to the medulla oblongata at the time of sentencing would avoid the additional rancor of morality debates.


Judgementally yours,
!Fluffy!

p.s. i was referring to the death row inmate, not those engaged in debate. i think.

[Scuba Pete]

Originally Posted by kadzbiz

I don't see why an inmate should die (and I'm assuming we're talking about death row inmates) on his/her terms when their victims didn't.

They are not CHOOSING TO DIE here. It is simply not on his terms. But I don't see a law on the books indicating that he can't die laughing.

On a personal note, I abhor the death penalty. It is applied so unequally here in the US. If you kill a white you are FAR MORE LIKELY to be put the death than if you had killed a non-white. It has been the tool of bigotry for some time. Until such time as we can reverse this penalty if we find ourselves to be wrong, we have no business using it.

[kadzbiz]

Originally Posted by Scuba Pete