Against the death penalty? What if Bush & Cheney are tried and convicted?

[Cyrano]

I've heard people who are life-long death penalty opponents say things like: "They should be tried and hung." And they really mean it.

As for me, I really believe they are war criminals who have committed crimes against humanity. I want to see them tried, convicted and punished. And I'll settle to see them both spend what's left of their miserable existences rotting in prison cells.

How about you? Would you make an exception to your beliefs in this case?

On edit: It goes without saying that we'll never see them brought to justice.

[Solly Mack]

1. No DP. Not even for them

99 years and a day

[LakeSamish706]

2. Hell no, the death penalty would be to easy for them... Let em rot in jail. n/t

[sarge43]

3. I agree with you.

Death is an easy out. Let 'em rot for many, many years -- alone.

[BridgeTheGap]

4. Let 'em both rot in jail! It's worse than the death penalty.

But the Death Penalty should be abolished - period.

[driver8]

5. No exceptions...they should spend the rest of their lives in a

10'x10' cell with a bed, a toilet and that's it!

However, this will never happen. Shrub will spend the rest of his miserable existence getting richer by giving speeches about what a great pResident he was. Cheney will go to wherever retired anti-Christs go when they are through ruining the world.

I hate these fuckers.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. Well, this reminds me of a comedy album from the '70s

called "Richard Nixon, a Fantasy" in which Nixon goes to jail, breaks out, and then is condemned to death. At his trial, a famous Dem says, "I'm George McGovern, and I think killing is wrong. But in this case, I'm willing to make an exception."

A good laugh, that's for sure. But in reality, I can't see executing either Bush or Cheney. It wouldn't undo the damage they have done, but it would make them martyrs in the eyes of the right wing fringe. Better to have them in prison, spending up all their money on appeals.

[Cyrano]

I'd love to hear that album. And you're right. The death penalty would

make them martyrs.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

46. I don't have it any more

but I always remember that line.

[tularetom]

7. I'm against the DP but I'm not a fanatic about it

So in those cases, if the court deems it appropriate then fry 'em.

[Ian David]

8. They should be put before an international tribunal at The Hague.

It's not up to us-- it's up to the whole world-- to pass judgment on those war criminals.

If the rest of the world chooses the death penalty, who are we, as Americans, complicit in their crimes, to object?

And yes, we are ALL complicit, to one extent or another.

[Cyrano]

25. I'd love to see them in the Hague. However, the Hague and

all civilized countries have abandoned the death penalty. As far as I know, we're the only democracy that still has it.

[Der Blaue Engel]

9. I'd like to see them drawn and quartered

but I prefer to live in a civilized country rather than being ruled by my baser impulses. :)

[enid602]

10. death penalty

No death penalty, but there's always the possiblity of a botched waterboarding.

[Double T]

11. Solitary confinement FOREVER!

Don't forget to throw away the keys.

[sakabatou]

15. Seconded

[TahitiNut]

37. Yup. Padded cells and strait jackets, too. (Suicide is NOT an out.)

:thumbsup:

[cgrindley]

12. Always against the death penalty, even for those assholes (nt)

[alfredo]

13. The death penalty cuts short their punishment. Let them

sit in a cage, alone, for the rest of their lives. Let the only human contact be when the guards cuff them and guide them to the showers or to their exercise yard for their one hour per day exercise. Let them go mad from the boredom. Death is the easy way out, life is the real punishment.

I do believe in rehabilitation, but it is hard to rehab a sociopath. It is hard to show mercy to ones that never showed mercy.

[endarkenment]

14. nope.

[Alexander]

16. Bush and Cheney should share Milosevic's cell at the Hague. Forever.

Or in Cheney's case, until his permanent defibrillator's batteries wear out.

[Bonhomme Richard]

17. No...I want to watch them suffer every day. n/t

[AlCzervik]

18. there are far worse things then the dp, a 6x6 cell for the rest of their lives

-or- let them out into genpop.

[malaise]

19. Put them in chain gangs

to rebuild NOLA

[MindPilot]

23. I was waiting for someone to say it...make 'em work.

Solitary confinement? Rot in a jail cell? Hell no! They should spend their final days feeling what it's like to be a regular person. 12-15 hours a day of hard manual labor and then they can cook their own meals and clean up after themselves. Making those rich fucks actually do real work is the worst possible hell for them.

Web cams: watchbushwork.gov "This week at watchbushwork the war criminals clean up blood and guts in the meat packing plant."

[malaise]

29. I love it n/t

[Cyrano]

33. Make them rebuild NOLA. What a great idea.

[wuushew]

20. Cheney won't last five years past leaving office

former smoker, four heart attacks and is overweight.

He also shows clear signs of congestive heart failure.

[NewJeffCT]

32. Those RWers seem to linger forever, though

[Cyrano]

38. I really don't want to see the SOB die of a heart attack before he's

made to answer for all his crimes. Not that he'll atone or anything like that. But a message must be sent to any future Cheney's and Bush's out there that they won't get away with what these miserable pricks have done.

[Winterblues]

21. 99 years in the electric chair and not a day less.

:silly:

[LostinVA]

22. Awesome -- another thread to draw Secret Service attention to DU

Stupid.

[MindPilot]

26. Maybe Agent Mike will report back what real people really think.

But then Agent mike would lose his job for being the bearer of bad tidings.

I don't worry about it. If we are not already in their sights, we should be. Otherwise we are just nice quiet Good Germans.

[Alexander]

27. Not a single DUer on this thread said anything warranting Secret Service involvement.

Your post is what's really stupid.

[LostinVA]

30. What's up with you following me around with personal attacks?

[Alexander]

49. I call bullshit when I see it. Not my fault you're posting lots of bullshit today.

FYI, I've been posting on far too many threads today to be "following" you. Get over yourself - you aren't important enough for anyone to follow.

And like I said, if you really think I'm personally attacking you, hit ALERT like every normal DUer does.

Or maybe you'd like a visit from these guys.

[LostinVA]

52. I do -- and another personal attack

[TooBigaTent]

24. Talk about the greater of two goods - I would be happy with either outcome.

the one requirement I have is that they experience the maximum embarrassment and suffering before the end of their sentence.

I am a liberal. I am open to either choice. And I respect the views of people who have either opinion.

[DCKit]

28. Death is too easy...

when the alternative is life behind bars - being told what and when to do it, when to shower, when to sleep, etc.... No more private jets, scotch by the case, people to do your bidding, private chefs, 600 thread count sheets... the list goes on and on.

While the poor and indigent are often able to adapt, the could be nothing more horrific to anyone born to wealth and privilege than the harsh realities of an American prison.

All other considerations aside, how is the death penalty worse than a life behind bars in an environment completely alien to everything you've ever known before?

[Ganja Ninja]

31. I'm not against the death penalty.

I think in some cases it's well deserved. War criminals would fall into that category. Thieves that are already rich and kill simply to get richer would also fall into that category. Treason on a grand scale or treason that results in the death of one or more individuals would also fit the bill.

[Blue_In_AK]

34. I don't want them dead.

I want them sitting in a 6 x 8 jail cell for the rest of their lives.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

35. Throw their naked asses

in a damp dungeon with a window barely big enough to see the sunshine. Give them NO PRIVILEGES, like human contact, and allow them nothing but meat and processed meat for meals. No fresh vegetables or fruit. And, make them watch TV so they have to watch others LIVING their lives.

[NewJeffCT]

36. No, not even for Hitler or Bush

I would rather have any of them live out their lives in prison, having to live with their crimes for the rest of their lives.

[EFerrari]

39. What? Either you object to state sponsored murder or you don't. n/t

[LostinVA]

41. I know, I don't get the argument, "I'm anti-DP except for cases of --"

That means you ARE pro-DP. You are or you aren't.

I'm 100% not.

[EFerrari]

43. If we ever realize that killing people doesn't solve problems

we will be gaining on civilization.

[NoGOPZone]

40. Compromise my beliefs for those two asswipes? No.

Besides, keeping them in jail preserves the spectacle for those that may be too young to appreciate it now.

[Cheap_Trick]

42. waterboard the fuckers every hour on the hour

every fucking day for the rest of their miserable lives.

[SeattleGirl]

44. Nope, I can't make an exception even for them.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't have an initial, knee-jerk reaction where I'd want to see that happen; I sometimes have that reaction when I read about a particularly horrid crime, but that lasts just a second or so, and then reason kicks in again, and I just can't go there.

[NNN0LHI]

45. Why should they get a better deal (death) than any other thug gets? (life in Supermax)

Thats the way I look at it.

Don

[SammyWinstonJack]

47. A deep dark dungeon on an island in the middle of whatever ocean, millions of miles from no where.

:bounce:

[backscatter712]

48. Give them Gitmo-style sensory deprivation...

Completely pitch-black cell, soundproofed, give them tasteless bland mush for sustenance, see how long it takes for them to completely lose their minds...

[dysfunctional press]

50. supermax facility- with webcams in the cells.

or maybe even guided tours, with a viewing area above their particular cells...i want to SEE that they are actually locked up, and not sipping a mimosa with ken lay at some private tropical resort.

[BuyingThyme]

51. I'm always against the death penalty because I'm a better person than most,

but I've always believed that prosecuting Bush and Cheney to the fullest extent of the law would eventually make a good case for abolishment.

[Jed Dilligan]

53. I'm only for the DP in cases like this

where it would act as a true deterrent. Big corporate frauds warrant it as well. For crimes against the public, a public execution. It would put an image in the mind of the next frat boy millionaire who thinks he might try a little hanky-panky with our lives and money.

[backscatter712]

55. The Milgram Experiment & Stanford Prison Experiment seals it for me.

These experiments opens a window into the dark side of human psychology. It shows how vulnerable we are to actions taken by those we perceive to be authority figures. Tremendous pressures built into our brain's wiring.

Yeah, people have a point when they say "Ve vere just followink orders." is not a valid excuse. Of course it isn't. Of course, the people at the bottom of the totem pole who do the actual killing should be punished.

But what Milgram tells me is that not only should the guy who does the killing be punished, but the guy who orders the killing should be punished, even more severely.

If the footsoldier kills an unarmed person, he gets life in prison. The lieutenant who ordered the killing should be hanged. And the colonel who orchestrated the attack should face the gallows too. And so on, and so on, all the way to the very top. The President who created the war, who lied to justify the initial invasion, who did it for profit should get the worst punishment of all. He should suffer the worst of all.

Because of the little Milgram in all of us. You punish the footsoldier, but leave the leadership in place to order the next murder, and it's like no punishment at all.

[pleah]

54. Life in prison would satisfy me. How long do you think they would last

in prison with prisoners that were probably convicted by one of their cronies?

[WittyUsername]

56. I believe in rehabilitation

:hide:




oh come on, it's funny.

[varkam]

57. Nope. Doesn't change my feelings at all. eom