death row

[DaSwede]

How is it possible that, in the US, people can be on death row for, what, 18 years or so, before they're executed? What's that about?

[Clanad]

The appeals process guarantees, hopefully, that no one will be executed without every possible review of their case. someone said..." The wheels of justice grind slowly but exceedingly fine"..

[DaSwede]

Hi Clanad, thanks for answering.

Yeah but... is that a good system? If it sounds like I'm saying "Off with their heads!" that's not what I mean, I'm not even in favour of the death penalty. But the current system seems like torture, from over here. Is there a lot of debate about it? Not the death penalty per se, but what it does to the human soul to try to hold on to hope, to lose it, to have it kindled again, through an endless series of days turning into weeks turning into years. I'm referring to the families as well, not just the convicts. I do see the point of your explanation, but to keep it going for (what, how many years) seems to me like saying that we (you) don't trust our own judicial system at all so we'll just spend the next couple of decades making sure about what maybe we should have made sure about before passing the death sentence in the first place. That's how it comes through.

Don't know if I'm making any sense... I do know about many mistakes being made and how today's DNA testing has released some death row prisoners, and that's a miracle, of course. Not saying that shouldn't be done. It's just the extreme duration of it that seems so beastly to me.

Clanad (or anyone else), I'm at a public computer and will be signing off soon. Not sure I'll check in tomorrow, but I will look again for more replies within the next few days. I would like to understand the system, and really I don't.

[nineoutoften]

this explains it ...

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?&d id=1397

[DaSwede]

Marvelous site, nineoutoften,huge thanks!

[EDLEE]

If one is quilty of a crime heinous enough to deserve the death penalty, I should think the additional emotional distress just punishment. On the other hand, if that person were not truly quilty, any additional time would be well worth it to help free him/her.

[DaSwede]

Hi EDLEE. It seems you and I are talking about two different things here. You're really talking about the relationship between the crime and the punishment, but that wasn't my question. It might well be that some US governors feel the same way you do, but as long as it isn't the official standpoint that this extended torture be a planned part of the punishment, the question of why it takes two decades to carry out a death sentence or to free the innocent will remain separate from the one you're discussing.

(Which is of course also an interesting one.)

Thanks for responding.