Reply #21: Harsh prison conditions and denial of human rights to prisoners are generally

[Peace Patriot]

used by fascists to terrorize the poor. By encouraging such policy, and fostering it in your own mind in your hatred for "criminals," you are simply abetting the fascists, in my opinion. Hatred should have nothing to do with our courts and our justice system. Objectivity should prevail, as much as possible. That is why we have juries of 12--to bring some citizen objectivity to the situation, to rein in over-zealous prosecutors and "hanging judges," who would throw mostly the poor, the black and the brown into dungeons, willy-nilly, if they had their druthers. Of course neither juries, nor prosecutor, no judge, nor cops constitute an all-seeing God. Mistakes can be, and are, made--so what do you say to that? Someone is unjustly convicted for murder, say, and sentenced to be killed? It is crazy and dangerous to say that you "hate criminals" and that your hatred should be made into policy. As a matter of fact, that is what has happened in the U.S. 'justice' system, and it is very wrong.

I can understand anger, even rage, at the slaughter of a hundred thousand people, and the displacement of millions, to steal their oil, and the torture of hundreds and probably thousands of prisoners. It is horrendous. But I do not favor "hanging" as the remedy. I would much rather see Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld (et al) wearing electronic leg-irons and cleaning bedpans in veterans' hospitals (community service) for the rest of their lives, with a webcam on them for all to see--and of course confiscation of all of their assets (like they do to pot growers). We get a lot more bang for our buck by appropriate rehab-type punishment than with an orgy of death, even aside from the issue of the morality of state-sponsored murder. Think of the lesson to other office holders! You won't get to go out in a blaze of fascist glory--you'll be stuck with cleaning up shit and pee and blood for the rest of your lives, to care for those who are far more deserving of our compassion and far braver, than you are. Wouldn't it be great for our kids to see this--Bush cleaning bedpans for the soldiers he sent to an oil war?

That's objective justice! Hanging them is...infantile, pointless machismo, and the wrong image for a just and progressive future, and it is what they do.