Georgia prepares to execute man convicted in beating death

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Georgia prepares to execute man convicted in beating

Updated 3:58 pm, Thursday, March 31, 2016

JACKSON, Ga. (AP) — Georgia is preparing to execute a death row inmate convicted of beating another man to death while trying to steal his car keys after a night of drinking and drug use.

Joshua Bishop is scheduled to die at 7 p.m. Thursday at the state prison in Jackson by injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital. The 41-year-old inmate was convicted in the June 1994 killing of Leverett Morrison in Milledgeville.

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles issued an order Thursday morning denying Bishop clemency, a day after a hearing on the request. As is customary, the board didn't provide any reason for its denial other than its members considered the facts and circumstances of the case.

The board is Georgia's only entity authorized to commute a death sentence.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Georgia-to-execute-man-convicted-in-beating-death-7219443.php

[Jackie Wilson Said]

1. Wrong wrong wrong. Death penalty, wrong wrong wrong.

[thesquanderer]

3. And the plea affects the punishment, too.

Besides the other big death penalty issues (like possibility of error, and racial bias in its use), this article points out another issue:

"After a trial, a jury convicted Bishop and sentenced him to die. Braxley pleaded guilty and got life in prison with the possibility of parole."

The two of them were responsible. The lesson here seems to be, if you plead guilty, you get the leniency of being spared the death penalty and even getting the possibility of parole. But if you choose to try to defend yourself, which should be your right to do, the same crime gets you the death penalty.

You shouldn't be punished more severely for attempting to mount a defense.

Basically, this guy got the death penalty because he was unlucky enough to be the first to be tried. The other guy, seeing what happened, then took the better deal. If the other guy gets tried first, probably he's the one who gets the death penalty. Strictly luck of the draw.

Getting the death penalty should not come down to luck of the draw.

[840high]

2. He got to live a long time.

[Socal31]

4. Looking at an individual situation is not a good argument against the death penalty.

Even the most extreme opponents of capital punishment possess an instinct for revenge that can be exposed by presenting the right scenario. There are plenty of convicts put to death that were detestable examples of human life. That by their own actions, became less valuable to society than a stray animal.

The valid argument against the death penalty is based on the totality of the institution. Railroading based on race. Corrupt police and prosecutors. Unlucky suspects with a criminal history that made them seem guilty. The financial burden of implementing execution.

The real debate will start when both sides accept the emotional viewpoint of the other, but agree that the impracticality of state sponsored killing renders it obsolete.