Elizabeth Warren: "I Don't Support the Death Penalty" for Boston Marathon Bomber

[JaneyVee]

On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said she is opposed to sentencing Dzohkhar Tsarnaev to death, one day after the Boston Marathon bomber was found guilty on all 30 charges related to his involvement in the deadly 2013 attack.

Speaking on CBS This Morning, Warren said, "Nothing is ever going to make those who were injured whole…My heart goes out to the families here, but I don't support the death penalty." "I think he should spend his life in jail, no possibility of parole," she said. "He should die in prison."

"The alternative to the death penalty—it's not as if you set this guy free. He's put away…he's not someone who is able to keep sucking up a lot of energy. The families need their chance to move on."

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R), on the other hand, supports putting Tsarnaev to death.

Link and video: http://m.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/04/elizabeth-warren-boston-marathon-bomber-should-be-spared-death-penalty

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

1. Another point in her favor, good for her!

Probably means there is NO way she is running for Prez, though.

You know, because so many americans are blood thirsty

BTW

Bernie sounds like he is about to announce

[merrily]

30. LOL! This statement will affect a bid for re-election as US Senator from Massachusetts as well.

Living in Boston, I get that very deeply, even though, I, too, do not want to see anyone put to death by the state, including the Boston Marathon bomber.

So, I wouldn't tie it to a bid for only the Presidency. As to that, it's no more and no less significant than the other things she's said and done.

But so few DUers like to miss a chance to remind us that, as mannygoldstein likes to put it, "SHE IS NOT RUNNING!" And quite a few in that group claim to support Bernie Sanders, who is about as far removed from Hillary as it can realistically get, yet those posters seem to support Hillary so much more than they support Bernie.


I've noted that pattern for months. I have little doubt that some within that pattern are totally sincere and some are not.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

47. This will only make Elizabeth a MORE popular prospect for President in my eyes.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

48. This will only make Elizabeth a MORE popular prospect for President in my eyes.

[closeupready]

2. Gawd, courage, thy name is Liz.

K&R

[Enthusiast]

8. Ain't that the truth! +1

[BrotherIvan]

12. +1

I am sure that is not a popular stance in Boston, but I think Bostonians admire integrity. I hope so.

[merrily]

31. There is more to Massachusetts than Boston and,

though I am not directly connected to any victim, I cannot tell you how profoundly I felt about that bombing as a Bostonian.

It was a very courageous statement, no matter what Warren does and does not want to run for, including US Senator from Massachusetts.

[LittleBlue]

19. +3

She just doesn't seem to give a f*** about what the banks or right-wing think

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

49. If only other Democratic leaders had such courage.

[Bettie]

3. Good

She's a good person.

[joeybee12]

4. Good for her...and more proof she's not running...knr

[merrily]

32. LOL!

[AtomicKitten]

5. Me neither, for anyone. /nt

[bvar22]

6. I'll stand with Warren.

The Death Penalty is medieval and barbaric.

If we just cut his hands off, would that satisfy the blood lust of some DUers??

[Fearless]

7. I agree with her on the death penalty

It is simply state sanctioned vengeance. That has no place in civilized society.

[Enthusiast]

9. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch!

[MannyGoldstein]

17. You said what I thought. nt

[cwydro]

10. "He should die in prison."

Thank you Elizabeth Warren.

[annabanana]

11. Neither do I.. Have you seen Rachel Maddow's series

of reports on the death penalty lately? Companies that manufacture the drugs that are used in lethal injections are refusing to sell them to prison systems. Compounding pharmacies that had been filling the gap were recently told by their major trade association to also stop the sales.

If the jury asks for the death penalty there will be another whole can of worms opened up.

[Nye Bevan]

13. I'm a Hillary supporter

but this impresses me very much.

[Major Hogwash]

14. Good thing she's not running for President!

She wouldn't win now.

[sabrina 1]

22. And THAT'S the kind of thinking that lost the Dem Party the Senate and the House.

On the contrary, considering how support for the DP is dropping across the country, not to mention that THIS IS THE KIND OF MESSAGE Liberal Dems did NOT hear in the mid terms, and refrained from reelecting those who think that to 'win' they must 'move to the right'.

If losing what we worked so hard to give them by moving to the right doesn't register with them, they will keep on losing.

The ONLY reason she or any other REAL DEM won't run, is because she is smart enough to know that the 'Game is Rigged'.

Money buys the WH and it costs over a billion these days.

And Wall St and the MIC will make sure no Dem who talks like Dem will ever get near it.

The ONLY acceptable candidate to those who actually run this country, for the moment, is a candidate who supports everything Dems should oppose.

And Dems have lost badly by being more like Republicans than Democrats.

Dem party voter registration is down by over 10% while the Independent vote is the largest voting bloc right now.

Why do you think that happened since 2008?

All those geniuses who think they know better than the people, HAVE LOST control of the government for Dems

[Major Hogwash]

24. So, you want him to be tortured in a supermax for the rest of his life?

Geez, I didn't think you would support torture.
Yesterday there was a thread started in GD about supermax prisons being so harsh they are torture.

[sabrina 1]

25. So, you think making ridiculous statements like that is clever or something?

It's not, just so you know.

Warren has the guts to state her opinions, sign of a great leader. On the TPP, on the Death Penaly, on Wall St., on Torture

Where does Hillary stand on all of these issues?

[Major Hogwash]

27. It's one or the other, sabrina!! They can't just let him go!

He either dies by the death penalty, or he is tortured for the rest of his life until he dies in a supermax prison!!!!!!!!!!!

[sabrina 1]

50. Elizabeth Warren is correct once again. And it's good to know her position on the barbaric

medieval practice this 'developed country' shares alone with regressive regimes.

I love her courage and hope we can replace some of those who lack her ability to speak plainly, with many more like her.

[Major Hogwash]

53. He'll get the death penalty.

You'll see.

[merrily]

34. Or is it the kind of "thinking"/talk point repeating

that prompts so many "SHE IS NOT RUNNING!" posts and so many, "Even if she did run, which she won't, she'd lose" posts?

Please see also my Reply 30.

[merrily]

33. LOL!

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

39. Even RWers respect candidates who stand on their principles.

The least respected politicians out there are those who simply twist in the wind, saying whatever they think will 'get them elected'.

[neverforget]

54. It's gotta suck standing up for your convictions instead of the easy political

calculation.

[Thespian2]

15. Senator Warren

Keeps getting better all the time.

[RufusTFirefly]

16. Hurray for Senator Warren. The death penalty is barbaric

Continuing to support it puts us in rather dubious company..

[merrily]

36. So are torture, "extraordinary rendition," and drone killings but we loves 'em anyway!

[RufusTFirefly]

45. Yes they are. And yes 'we' do

The nonchalant attitude toward such blatant cruelty is deeply disturbing.

[MrScorpio]

18. That's the principled stand. It's the stand I take as well.

A moritorium on ALL executions and abolishing the death penalty in all cases.

[rhett o rick]

20. I am with you. nm

[Agschmid]

46. Yup.

I got a whole lot of grief for saying this yesterday...

[betterdemsonly]

21. Tsarnaev came from a family that were probably given

asylum because they were Chechen radicals. His uncle Ruslan was married to the daughter of a CIA official, who argued publicly for funding jihadists, to destabilize Putin.

http://gawker.com/ex-cia-agent-denies-rumors-of-ties-to-ruslan-tsarnaev-483787629

I think he is blowback from our stupid neocon foreign policy. I think his brainwashers were probably on our payroll. I don't think they care whether jihadis attack the public, so long as they can use them as a pretext for new conflict.

I think those who bankroll jihadis simply to dominate through divisiveness bare more responsibility than this kid. He is a monster, but Frankestein had a creator.

[sabrina 1]

23. She is a very strong and gutsy woman. Definitely has the kind leadership qualities needed

to be in the position she is in, and in a President. Strong leaders LEAD, they don't wait for their 'advisers' to put their fingers in the wind to see how it is blowing, they have CONVICTIONS and such leaders tend to gain respect even from those who do not like their politics.

If only MONEY wasn't running things. We could actually have a great first woman President.

[merrily]

37. If greed for money and power hadn't always been running things, this would be a very different world

[MADem]

26. Only ONE person on that jury has to take issue with the DP, and it's off the table.

They could all agree, but I don't know that they will.

The Boston Globe has come out with an editorial in opposition as well. There are more than a few people who are against it. In fact, most people would rather see him do life in lockup. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/us/most-boston-residents-prefer-life-term-over-death-penalty-in-marathon-case-poll-shows.html

BOSTON — Despite this city’s immersion in a trial that is replaying the horrific details of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, the vast majority of Bostonians say in a new poll that if Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the admitted bomber, is found guilty, he should be sent to prison for life and not condemned to death.

Given the choice, 62 percent of Boston voters said they would sentence Mr. Tsarnaev to prison for the rest of his life without the possibility of parole, while 27 percent said he should be put to death, according to a poll released Monday by WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station.

Previous polls have shown Bostonians opposing the death penalty for Mr. Tsarnaev. A Boston Globe survey conducted in September 2013, five months after the bombings, found that 57 percent favored life in prison while 33 percent wanted him put to death.

But the WBUR poll is the first to be conducted since Mr. Tsarnaev’s lawyers admitted this month that he had participated in the crimes. And it was conducted in the midst of his trial, which has included survivors recounting the graphic details of their limbs being blown off and of loved ones being killed.

Bay staters aren't real bloodthirsty as a rule, so this POV is in accord with the views of most of her constituents. This trial will "try" the resolve of jurors, though, particularly given the callous disregard of the bomber in the brief period of time AFTER the bombing. Some of his utterances/writings/behaviors didn't help him too much, but we'll see what happens.

[merrily]

40. Polls have varied. Even two polls by the Boston Globe came out differently. The most recent one

by the Globe was against the death penalty for Tsarnaev; an earlier Globe poll was for. We'll see soon.

[MADem]

42. Globe poll from September 2013 had 57% opposing the DP - only 33% in favor.

The most recent poll is from WBUR and the percentage in opposition is even greater--62%, the number in favor smaller, 27%.

Previous polls have shown Bostonians opposing the death penalty for Mr. Tsarnaev. A Boston Globe survey conducted in September 2013, five months after the bombings, found that 57 percent favored life in prison while 33 percent wanted him put to death.

...Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group, which conducted the survey for WBUR, said he initially expected to find that support for the death penalty had intensified, given the grim testimony about the bombings, the worst terrorist attack on American soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

But, he said, the poll’s results reflect the region’s fundamental liberalism and its longtime opposition to capital punishment.

“It seems voters stuck to their core values,” Mr. Koczela said.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/09/15/most-boston-residents-favor-life-without-parole-for-tsarnaev-convicted-poll-shows/Ur6ivWIUiYCpEZLXBApHDL/story.html


I haven't seen a local poll showing a majority of Bostonians or Bay Staters approving of the DP. Not saying one doesn't exist, but I haven't seen such a thing. A life term seems like a more fitting punishment to most, it would appear.

[merrily]

43. Regardless, polls of Massachusetts residents have varied as to execution.

http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/massachusetts-residents-confident-2014

If I misremembered the source, I apologize, but the specific source is not the important point.

[JustAnotherGen]

28. Well said Senator!

[Orsino]

29. That's gutsy. n/t

[madokie]

35. I like her even more

if that is even possible that is

[99Forever]

38. I agree.

I am also not surprised to see her take the actual moral stance publically. Good for her, that is rare in public life.

[ncjustice80]

41. Why should he die in prison?

Life in prison is a form of torture why would anyone support that he needs counseling.

[aikoaiko]

44. Spending his life in jail, no parole, and dying in prison is totally compatible with death penalty.

I think we have a mutually satisfying agreement between the two points of view.

[samsingh]

51. is this the biggest issue on her mind?

he will either be in prison forever or, I would hope, get the death penalty. either way, isn't there more important things for her to worry about - such as ensuring such events don't happen again.

[Demit]

52. She also talked about the Democratic Party, student loan debt, the middle class,

and something called the Investor State Dispute Resolution.

But then you would know that if you had watched the interview at the link.