Brainfade Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 http://news.yahoo.com/man-cleared-nyc-murder-25-years-prison-182841043.html NEW YORK (AP) — From the day of his 1989 arrest in a deadly New York City shooting, Jonathan Fleming said he had been more than 1,000 miles away, on a vacation at Disney World. Despite having documents to back him up, he was convicted of murder. Fleming, now 51, tearfully hugged his lawyers as relatives cheered, "Thank you, God!" after a judge dismissed the case. A key witness had recanted, newly found witnesses implicated someone else and prosecutors' review of authorities' files turned up documents supporting Fleming's alibi. "After 25 years, come hug your mother," Patricia Fleming said, and her only child did. "I feel wonderful," he said afterward. "I've always had faith. I knew that this day would come someday." What if the State had killed him based on the evidence available at the time of conviction? He would never have had a chance at redemption. In a civil society, it is better to err on the side of life - every time.
yoda Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 So a life sentence is OK? Issue is not death penalty, rather convicting someone on the basis of flimsy evidence. The guy lost 25 years of his life, as good as a death sentence.
Old guy Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 So a life sentence is OK? Issue is not death penalty' date=' rather convicting someone on the basis of flimsy evidence. The guy lost 25 years of his life, as good as a death sentence.[/quote'] actually no..death penalty makes mistake permanent and even worst its like saying since they already ****ed up so much whats the big deal in ****ing up more ? just look at this guy..even now he is happy to be out obviously he will feel he has lost major chunk of his life but he is still alive and still thankful to be out and its good argument that there are lots of mistakes and killing someone over mistake can never be changed back ..person cannot be bought back to life
CG Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 Death penalty is given on rarest of rare cases in india.
CG Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 So a life sentence is OK? Issue is not death penalty' date=' rather convicting someone on the basis of flimsy evidence. The guy lost 25 years of his life, as good as a death sentence.[/quote'] true
Desi Cartman Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 I personally would prefer to be killed than to stay in a prison for 25 years.
Zelig Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 I personally would prefer to be killed than to stay in a prison for 25 years. +1
FischerTal Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 I personally would prefer to be killed than to stay in a prison for 25 years. yup
Old guy Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 It's so easy to say I will choose death...there are still many people who will gladly take life in prison for ever over it..you just cannot imagine the situation with same feelings thinking about dying and when you are actually facing it are entirely different things
FischerTal Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 It's so easy to say I will choose death...there are still many people who will gladly take life in prison for ever over it..you just cannot imagine the situation with same feelings thinking about dying and when you are actually facing it are entirely different things nobody is arguing in favor of death penalty. just saying if both options are before you, what would you pick?
Old guy Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 nobody is arguing in favor of death penalty. just saying if both options are before you' date=' what would you pick?[/quote'] Life every time as there is still hope and what is after death ? I am not gonna argue about what people believe in but it's just very easy to say I will choose death but truth is most people on death penalty I will gladly choose life in prison and sometimes that's what they fight for no? Anyway i can totally get why people will think 2 minute of suffering is better than 25 years but it's different story to face it ur self then just imagining that's all iam saying Anyone who has come close to death will tell you how different they feel about it and what they will do to survive :winky:
Raghav_12 Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 nobody is arguing in favor of death penalty. just saying if both options are before you' date=' what would you pick?[/quote'] There are all the indications that people prefer life, even if that is in prison, over death. What people saying on ICF about their preferences is absolutely irrelevant. You have to ask people who have realistically faced these situations. Sadly, in India there is increasing trend of death penalties. We seem to be going in reverse direction from rest of the world.
CSK Fan Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 So a life sentence is OK? Issue is not death penalty' date=' rather convicting someone on the basis of flimsy evidence. The guy lost 25 years of his life, as good as a death sentence.[/quote'] I don't think one in a million person actually chooses death over life imprisonment. Pretty easy to sit at home and make claims
hhunaeh Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 I think some american posters are thinking about prison horror stories you hear in the media and movies when they say death is better than a 25 year life sentence. I don't think a prison sentence in india has that kind of a reputation.
Brainfade Posted April 10, 2014 Author Posted April 10, 2014 So a life sentence is OK? Issue is not death penalty' date=' rather convicting someone on the basis of flimsy evidence. The guy lost 25 years of his life, as good as a death sentence.[/quote'] OK, just to humor you, let me state that I am vehemently against wrongful convictions too. That is obvious. And, of course, that is an issue. But the finality of the death penalty is also an issue and the point of this thread. Given that a wrongful conviction happened (again, it was wrong, but it happened and you can't dial it back), at least the guy had a chance to let the legal system correct its mistake, something that would not have happened if he had been sent to the gallows. The legal system is not perfect, but it is better than it was 25 years ago. And who are we to suggest that death is as good as a 25 year imprisonment? He is only 51 years old. He got to see his mother again. He may even be able to get a job and do something productive for 15 - 20 years.
Brainfade Posted April 10, 2014 Author Posted April 10, 2014 I don't think one in a million person actually chooses death over life imprisonment. Pretty easy to sit at home and make claims Amen. At least, there is a chance at redemption, which you would not have with death. Unless, some ICFers know something we don't.
akshayxyz Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 I personally would prefer to be killed than to stay in a prison for 25 years. +1 yup Say that when you are staring at death in the eyes. Not that everyone would pick only one single option. But, unless you are really cold-blooded, or have no guilt/remorse (that means you actually committed crime), absolutely no emotional attachments to this world (in fact bordering on hating the world). Then overwhelmingly more often than not you would beg to live one more day, one more week, one more month... and you would not know how 25 years passed by.
SLICKR392 Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 It's so easy to say I will choose death...there are still many people who will gladly take life in prison for ever over it..you just cannot imagine the situation with same feelings thinking about dying and when you are actually facing it are entirely different things ++
Lord Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 in some exceptional cases like Kasab one,death penalty is necessary imo
moniker Posted April 10, 2014 Posted April 10, 2014 I personally would prefer to be killed than to stay in a prison for 25 years. All the more reason to abolish the death penalty. Why give the criminals something they'd prefer?
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