Our Supreme Court

[76Red18]

Folks - From first hand experience working 5 years in the Department of Justice, Federal Prisons, in both Colorado and California (I ran the prison maintenance shops and had cons as my crew)...there is no such thing as rehab! These guys are predators and deserve hard time for most infractions or the death penalty for some of the ones listed in this post. I have had MANY cons tell me that prison life now is a joke. We spend upwards of $30-40K per year to house t hem and they literally laugh at us for thinking that anything but hard time in maximum security is a detereent. The get schooled in the joint, they hold jobs in Prison Industries---and get paid---, they have movies, sports, internet, phones, good food and sex! The prisons (low and medium security) are a vacation for them.

I have also had hundreds of cons tell me they have NO RESPECT for any of our property or our lives. They will, however, fight to be the one that sticks a shank into a child molester or rapist...even they have some standards. SOOOOO if even cons can't stand to let a child molester or rapist have any slack why should we.

You forgot to mention top of the line health care. Florida increased the prison system health care budget by 9 million this year.

[Fr. Frank]

Okay, now it's time for the moral, as opposed to visceral, viewpoint. BTW, I don't speak from an abstract viewpoint, I speak from experience, and personal involvement.

Abuse of a child, - any abuse -, is a heinous crime. I have dealt with the after effects of child abuse from four differing viewpoints. I CHOOSE to get involved with child advocacy and mentoring.

I have held a sobbing 13 yr. old girl who wanted to know why her mother let her boyfriend fondle her, why her mother hated her so much as to let it happen repeatedly. I called the sheriff's department. The mother is a deputy sheriff. When the mother informed the state's attorney's office that the girl was sexually active, and that she (the mother) didn't believe her daughter's accusations against the boyfriend, they declined to prosecute. This girl ran away 3 months later, and her whereabouts are still unknown. If she's still alive, she would now be 17.

I have listened to the private confession of a child molester who hated what he did, and who begged the judge at his sentencing for fondling young boys to give him life without parole so he wouldn't offend again. ...The judge gave him 8 years probation because it was his first offense. When this deeply unstable man came to my office 2 days after getting out of jail on probation, he admitted the only way he would not repeat his offense was if he was in jail or in prison. I told him what happened to child molesters in prison, but he still thought that was better than harming a child again. He did not want to re-offend. As I could not disagree, I counseled him to commit a crime that was obvious, public, hurt no one, and would get him sent to prison. Later that day he smashed a jewelry display, grabbed some jewelry, and then waited for the police. He is now serving 10+5 consecutive, and glad to be in prison.

I have counseled and heard the confession of a law enforcement officer who knowingly allowing himself to be "overpowered" by prison inmates, and so participated in the premeditated murder of a repeat offender child molester. Now he struggles daily with the certain knowledge that he is a murderer, and thus no better than the man he helped to kill. His life is in shambles.

I have tried to console Mark Lundsford, the father of a little girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered. I assured him of his daughter's presence before God our Father. His anger, now years later, still burns hotly against this type of crime, and injustice to our children. He is still angry with God, as well. My son, who was 2 years older than Jessica, played with her along with other children, just 2 days before her kidnapping.

Finally, people DO CHANGE. I myself am an ex-felon, sentenced to Life + 5 years in prison for a drug-related armed robbery when I was 18 years old. I served 5 years. It was after 3 years in prison that I realized my need for Jesus, and it is Jesus Christ who has worked this change in me.

Even a child molester can change. But only God can change them. And if we take their live unnecessarily, we have murdered them, and taken away any chance of God working a miracle in their life.

By definition, murder is the unsanctioned and unnecessary killing of a human being. No matter why you do it, it is still murder. If taking someone's life is necessary to save other lives, its a tragedy, but not murder. There are some people for whom this is true. Executing them is not murder, but self-defense on the part of our society, which is morally permissible, and even morally required.

But if you do it as retribution for a crime committed, it is no more than revenge, and morally is nothing less than putting ourselves and our society in the place of God.

From a human, gut-level point of view, especially as the father of two children, I completely understand and even share in a desire to punish child molesters with the worst torment possible, and then death. From a Christian point of view, I know that is a sinful response.

Sometimes, you have to choose to serve either God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, or choose to serve society and your own baser instincts.

Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’ Joshua 24.15

[BigLew]

Fr. frank walks the walk:
"Common Sense is learning from your mistakes.
Wisdom is learning from the other guy's mistakes."

Personally, and just personally, I did support the death penalty up until a few years ago until I asked myself, Could I pull the switch myself? In the end I admitted to myself that in most, MAYBE NOT all, cases I could not and still live with myself. It was then that I decided that if I can't, then how can I pay someone else to do it for me.

My dilemma now is how do we fix the judicial system that allows these low lifes to ever walk the streets again?

Just my 2 cents.

[Spidercrab]

Personally, and just personally, I did support the death penalty up until a few years ago until I asked myself, Could I pull the switch myself?

no problum
i pull plug or triggar fer ya biglew

sam