General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Texas executes man convicted of killing teenage girl [View all]The Magistrate
(95,285 posts)Where there is genuine question regarding guilt, or whether there was competent counsel at trial, I will object to a death sentence being carried out before such questions are resolved, since their resolution could over-turn the guilty verdict.
I have no respect whatever for the 'the state just murdered a murderer' line. It is the law of a state which defines what killing is lawful and what killing is not: there is not and never has been any state which does not reserve the right to kill, for maintenance of it peace or its own existence. The chief distinguishing characteristic of whether a state exists is its ability to enforce a claim to be the sole entity which can legitimately employ violence, or determine if violence was legitimately done.