JamieJan 19, 2023
Courtney Heard 🇨🇦

Data suggests that 4% of capital cases in the US are wrongful convictions. With over 2400 people on death row in the US, that means ~96 innocent men and women are waiting to be killed by your tax dollars right now, while the true perpetrators go free.

It is time to end the death penalty.

#EndTheDeathPenalty

Jan 18, 2023 at 4:13pmWeb
Show threadCameron WattersJan 18, 2023
@godlessmom Agreed. And, even if we could guarantee 0 wrongful convictions, the death penalty would still be unjust and inhumane.
Show threadThirteenth WorrierJan 18, 2023

@godlessmom also we know for a fact we have executed people for crimes they did not commit. That fact alone should be so bone-chilling as to put us off the death penalty.

The probability that we are on track to do it again as many as 96 times...

Show threadKevin Karhan Jan 18, 2023

@godlessmom #Germany abolished #DeathPenalty aka state-sanctioned #murder simply because unlike #prison one can't be un-killed.

Whereas one wrongfully sentenced can be rehabilitated, the conviction wiped from their records, reimbursed and reincluded into society.

Show threadSparkieMarkJan 18, 2023
@godlessmom The last man hanged in Australia was more than likely innocent of the crime for which he was hanged.
Show threadStargeezer SmithJan 18, 2023

@godlessmom
It's not just the possibility of prosecuting the wrong person, studies have shown that the death penalty costs more than life imprisonment.

https://ejusa.org/resource/wasteful-inefficient/#:~:text=Many%20people%20believe%20that%20the,making%20it%20much%20more%20expensive.

Wasteful & Inefficient

Many believe that the death penalty is a cost-effective approach to justice. In reality, the death penalty’s complexity, length, and finality drive costs through the roof, making it much more expensive.

Equal Justice USA
Show threadCourtney Heard 🇨🇦Jan 19, 2023
@stargazersmith there are so many reasons. It also victimized the prison and medical staff involved, as well as any innocent people who care for the inmate. It doesn’t deter, in fact some studies have concluded that homicides are more likely in states with the death penalty. It doesn’t provide closure for victims families, some have come forward afterward and reported that it made things worse.
Show threadStargeezer SmithJan 19, 2023

@godlessmom
As to lack of deterrence, I once read an example I think from a British study.

They cited an example of a pickpocket being hanged in a public square for his crime, as other pickpockets were working the crowd.

Show threadRRBJan 19, 2023

@godlessmom @stargazersmith

Many states will not extradite criminals to countries where the accused may face the death penalty.

This map alone should be a good argument for stopping the death penalty in the USA (FFS):

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-death-penalty

Countries with Death Penalty 2025

Discover population, economy, health, and more with the most comprehensive global statistics at your fingertips.

World Population Review
Show threadAmanda HugankissJan 19, 2023
@godlessmom You can’t “unexecute” somebody later on.
Show threadtoxtethogradyJan 19, 2023
@AnOldGuy @godlessmom Yet our wonderful Supremes long ago concluded that it's okay to kill them all, provided they got a "fair trial". And no do-overs based on minor considerations such as actual innocence...
Show threadtoxtethogradyJan 19, 2023
@AnOldGuy @godlessmom The risk of executing the innocent being so non-zero, there should be no use of the death penalty anywhere in the US. There is no corresponding risk in keeping the guilty alive. And we have some who serve out their sentences and are back on the street...
Show threadLarry SadlerJan 19, 2023
@godlessmom
I respectfully disagree. I don't see the needless waste of money spent on the likes of Charles Manson. How much tax money was spent keeping him alive and well. He got full medical, dental, three meals a day , and a nice dry warm bed to sleep in. That money could have been spent on the homeless, or a variety of other programs that actually help people.
Show threadtroy_friz_zellJan 19, 2023

@grey_ghost @godlessmom

So how many innocent people are you willing to execute so that a Charles Manson gets killed?

Show threadLarry SadlerJan 19, 2023
@troy_frizzell @godlessmom
How many people are you welling to let die in the streets, caused you would rather house a multiply convicted serial killer.
Show threadLarry SadlerJan 19, 2023
@troy_frizzell @godlessmom
I'm not talking about a single conversation. People that have committed multiple murders in some of the most horrific ways. Why should that person live out his days comfortable with full medical and dental?
Show threadtroy_friz_zellJan 19, 2023

@grey_ghost @godlessmom

Yes, there are some horrible people. But in reality, innocent people are dying in order to allow the state to execute some that are guilty. Innocent people are dying and will continue to die.

That's the point.

Show threadLarry SadlerJan 19, 2023
@troy_frizzell @godlessmom
That's true, innocent people die every day, but what is the point of housing people who have multiple conversations for murder. They will never see the free world again. They will live the rest of their lives and never contribute to society. I don't believe in single conviction death sentences.
Show threadCourtney Heard 🇨🇦Jan 19, 2023
@grey_ghost @troy_frizzell 1. It’s less expensive to keep someone in custody for life than it is to execute them. 2. Prison staff involved in executions suffer sever PTSD and commit suicide at a higher rate than veterans. 3. The death penalty is demonstrably NOT a deterrent, in fact states with it have a higher homicide rate 4. Loved ones of the inmate are victimized in the same way the victims family is, despite being innocent.
Show threadCourtney Heard 🇨🇦Jan 19, 2023
@grey_ghost @troy_frizzell 5. Victims families often report that the execution did not provide closure and, in fact, made things worse. 6. Journalists and police officers attending the execution report severe PTSD after the fact. 7. And this is the most important one, if we’re wrong, we cannot correct it once someone has been executed.
Show threadCourtney Heard 🇨🇦Jan 19, 2023

@grey_ghost @troy_frizzell so, essentially, supporters of the death penalty want to pay more to create more victims, including wardens, COs, medical staff, inmates families and journalists, and make things worse for the family of the victim, all while correcting and deterring nothing.

Zero logic.

Show threadPaul LalondeJan 19, 2023
@godlessmom @grey_ghost @troy_frizzell I believe that the cruelty is the purpose.
Show threadLarry SadlerJan 19, 2023
@godlessmom @troy_frizzell
Like I said I respectfully disagree. I believe that there are some people who don't deserve to take another breath for the cruel and inhumane things they did.
Show threadMarleyMuskokaJan 19, 2023

@godlessmom @grey_ghost @troy_frizzell

What could be a better way to teach someone that killing is wrong by killing them?

Show threadAwkward HereticJan 19, 2023
@godlessmom agreed. You can't undo an execution once you've realized you executed the wrong person.