Absolutely appalled by Kenneth Eugene Smith's execution

[Haunting10]

Appalled is too soft a word. I feel physically sick and angry.

What a sick world we live in.

I am against the death penalty. One person wrongly convicted and sentenced to death is too many. This particular case sounds like torture, and to use what the Nazis used on millions, its just disturbing on so many levels.

I keep thinking about it. But what can we do? I'm in UK, and expect any activism will be happening in US.

What will happen to the state of Alabama? Surely something must be done. This was not human.

I take it you’ve never been in a prison?

We'll you take your chances when you decide to murder, can't get worked up about it tbh, fuck him 🤷‍♀️

Have you read the details of how his victim was murdered and how she was left to die? Did she deserve to die like that? Did her 2 very young sons deserve to lose their mother like that?

No. Have you?

Not punishment enough if there’s food, entertainment, socialising, books, letters…

It's horrible. I don't feel sorry for him specifically- what he did was absolutely despicable- but I can't get behind the idea of a state having the power to kill its citizens, particularly not in experimental ways. This man was clearly guilty, but it's inevitable that some people, even a very small proportion, will be wrongly executed in a state that has the death penalty.

Even one person wrongly executed is, to me, a powerful argument against the death penalty. Looking at the argument from the other side, what if it was your loved one on death row for a crime they didn't commit? Would their death be worth it, if most of the time the state executes people who are actually guilty? It's easy to wave that argument away when there's no chance of it happening to you (because you live in a country without the death penalty or believe that wrongful conviction could never happen to you or someone you love)- but it will happen to someone. It's absolutely inevitable that justice systems run by humans will make mistakes, even if they represent a tiny proportion of convictions. But a tiny percentage is someone's real-life tragedy.

I'm not even sure it's cheaper- I'm sure I read somewhere that executing someone in the states is more expensive than imprisoning them for life because of the lengthy legal process that must be completed. Sure, you could make it cheaper by reducing the 'red tape' required to execute someone- but then you'd end up with more wrongful executions.

In theory, the death penalty could (maybe) be acceptable in a country with an absolutely infallible justice system where a) nobody could ever be convicted who wasn't guilty and b) racism and prejudice could never impact the sentencing decisions of courts. That's impossible, so I can't support it.

Mumsnet generally does seem to be getting very Daily Mail-y lately.

I honestly couldn't give a shit.

I don't care if it was painful. I don't care that he's dead.

In fact I'm glad he is.

Because they tend to be ‘red’ states so very conservative with very little government support for those in need and huge deprivation. The link between death penalty states and crime rates and thus whether it is a deterrent has never been proven as there is no way of accounting for the social aspects. The link between crime rate and poor social services, welfare and education outcomes is well known

In assisted dying cases patients are given drugs to paralyse their muscles so you won't see the involuntary movements that are seen with the death penalty. They are also given antiemetics to prevent vomiting as the drugs are often bitter and sometimes burn. Assisted deaths are not always achieved quickly and without complications either - sometimes even taking hours - although reporting of complications is often lacking from what I've read.

I don't agree with killing people - unless they are so evil that they can't safely fit into society in any way shape or form. Then I can understand it.

People say murderers should just be imprisoned for life - but why should other prisoners in for lesser/non violent crimes be put at risk by them? not to mention prison guards. If they are kept isolated then that is inhumane as well so whose safety do we prioritise?

I'm certainly not desperate to see the death penalty in the UK. What we should be doing is investing heavily in children and parents. Social Services, parent support, SEN, mental health, schools, nurseries, children's centres, youth clubs etc etc.

Happy, well adjusted children don't tend to grow up to be murderers in the first place.

I must say I do disagree with the death penalty but at the same time which is less cruel?

Being put to death or being held on death row for years? Stuck in a cell 23 hours a day, isolated.

No one wins either way tbh, and yes they murdered someone so they shouldn’t win but it’s not humane either

You think prisoners shouldn't have food?

Yes I have. Stop reading the Daily mail and find some factual reading material 😂

Twig is right. The death penalty is uncivilised, backward and savage. I look down on countries like America where it's still used. It clearly doesn't act as any kind of deterrent. And two wrongs don't make a right. It is revenge, pure and simple. Not justice.

Massive conflation of justice with retribution from some posters on this thread.

The death penalty is barbaric and belongs in history. It is societal sponsored murder.

I agree - who cares how he died?

Punishment needs to fit the crime.

🤣

I think you can both not care how he died. Think he deserves to die that way etc but also being opposed to the death penalty because it has no place in a civilised society and causes direct harm to the people that have to murder people for the state. There is also the risks of miscarriages of justice etc.

I do hate societies obsession with "punishment" though. I don't see the point in punishment. Prison should primarily be about rehabilitation and keeping the public safe not emotionally revenge seeking by society.

Well you would hate it, you’ve likely never lost anybody in the way this man took his victim.

And how did you feel ‘punished’?

I am 100% against the death penalty, not because I don’t think people guilty of heinous crimes shouldn’t be punished, but because executing even one innocent person is one too many. In the US the system is stacked against the poor, people with a low IQ and men of
colour.

More and more people are being found innocent of their supposed crimes due to volunteers like the Innocence Project. Not much good if they’re already dead!

i have reservations about the idea of the death penalty as revenge and believe in the need for societal evolution beyond such primitive thinking. There are more humane and rehabilitative approaches to justice.

How would you rehabilitate people like this man and are you volunteering to rent a room to them when they leave prison?

How did I feel ‘punished’?

🤣🤣🤣 What made you assume I was an inmate? There are many different actors involved in prisons in different capacities. Perhaps someone reading this who has done time can answer your question.