General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro found hanged in prison cell [View all]freshwest
(53,661 posts)Having lived there during the moratorium against the death penalty, people were content that serial killers would be kept locked up for life and never be loose in society again. Because they had the proclivity and could not be talked out of their sense of entitlement to do such acts.
Then came the 'save the taxpayers money, it's not a problem anymore, the government is too big' and 'rehabilitation is a bleeding heart liberal waste of money' memes that produced budget cutting and hampered treatment or recording of what condition these folks were in.
After a while the Supreme Court ruled that the underfunding had created a system which was in itself, wrong from overcrowding and inhumane, just as they were considering the death penalty. The result of that was that more money would have to be spent or prisoners would have to be set free to relieve overcrowding.
The state took the latter choice and released a lot of people who citizens thought would never be loose again. Several notorious serial killers were released who immediately stole vehicles, robbed, kidnapped, tortured and or raped and murdered people the same day they were freed. They kept going until caught. That's when the support for the death penalty grew again.
But it was the fault of the conservatives who did not want to pay taxes to maintain a proper system of rehabiliation or long term confinement to keep the public safe.
It always gets back the legislature, but the blame is affixed to the judiciary or executives, or anyone that can be seen as liberal when being liberal does not mean raise hell and get away with it, by any stretch of the imagination. It means keeping society functioning and safe in that way guaranteeing freedom for all who have the willingness or capacity to be so.
While I couldn't access the LATimes article to see the details as to how Castro, or if Castro alone, hung himself, the ideas bandied about here that he did it himself with a rope, strikes me as wrong in two ways. What is the proper use of rope in a prison environment?
They're not practicing lassoing horses, I'm sure, and they have shackles and cuffs, so they would have a need for rope lying around. I've used it in construction, or tying things down in transport, but it's not a thing that is available for no reason. It's not like you rent a place to live and have a check off list of 'chairs, bed, table, oh, and I need a rope just in case I want to kill myself here.'
And you must know how to make a hangman's noose and it's not that common a skill. It's also not a fast way to die or necessarily silent way to die, and if he was still in the intake process, he would have been under observation unless they were understaffed. If a guard or inmate did observe him doing so and did not interfere, that would be an illegal act. Even death row inmates are not allowed to commit suicide.
Any prison guard that facilitated this could be brought up on charges. Any inmate that helped him or forced him into this would be charged with murder. If he did this with bedsheets or using his clothing, premeditation would not be credible. But it would be if a person has been suggested, gave him a rope. At any rate, this is an unlawful killing due to a lack of supervision, or outright murder by someone who forced this. That is certainly not unknown.
And no, I don't feel sympathy for him one way or the other. But it sets a bad precedent and is a violation of his and society's rights and the court's authority for anyone to help him to end his life. It seems rather handy, and I don't go with the 'save the tax payers money' meme, either.
Because would not those same voices argue that another person, who was found wrongfully convicted, should not be 'saving taxpayer money' by either execution or committing suicide to escape an unjust or brutal system?
And I don't call him a coward, but regard him as a particularly loathesome specimen of a human I would not want to spend any time helping. But if it was a suicide, an assisted suicide or murder, noe of those show cowardice but do show either mental disorder or a crime being committed.
The brave and coward talk is about people with the liberty to choose, on a battle field, not in a prison cell. In such circumstances that person is helpless and unable to harm others, which is one of the arguments against the death penalty. That it should not be imposed upon someone who is rendered harmless to society.
While I don't rejoice at his death, anyone who does, is free to do so without any complaint from me, either. At times the mind simply wants to forget about something or have it over with.
Just my two cents.