Texas stops giving "last meals" before they murder people

[the last donut of the night]

So instead of a last meal, the prisoner should be allowed to at least get drunk or smoke a few doobies.

but what are a few doobies with no munchie snacks?

[redtex]

The death penalty isn't murder, unless they was innocent. I'm all for the death penalty as long as it is 100% known that the person did it. The point of the death penalty is to remove a dangerous person from society.

No. Just no. The state CANNOT 100% KNOW that anyone did anything. There have been many many innocent people released under the Innocence Project http://www.innocenceproject.org/ whom the state had convicted because the state was 100% convinced they knew the truth. This because Innocence Project attorneys went back and used DNA evidence to prove their innocence and other methods.

Also, here where I live in the Death Penalty capital of the world the Houston Police Crime Lab was actually SHUT DOWN by the federal government because they had falsified so many DNA tests.

Also here in Texas if the prosecutor has exculpatory evidence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exculpatory_evidence he does NOT have to give it to the defendant! I saw an interview of the Harris County District Attorney (Chuck Rosenthal) several years back where a reporter asked him why he didn't give the defendant the exculpatory evidence in a particular case which most likely would have led to his release, Chuck Rosenthal actually LAUGHED on camera and said, "because he wasn't entitled to it" (by law). See? It doesn't matter to the state whether you're guilty or not. What matters is the prosecutor's record of wins/losses. And if they have to lie, falsify DNA evidence, intimidate witnesses, they will do it.

While I'm at it, if you think DNA tests are 100% accurate, you're wrong. They are so easily falsifiable. And in some cases, even when performed correctly can have errors as much as 1:7000.

[ВАЛТЕР]

Death penalty is a crime against humanity. The only time I would support executions would be in times of revolutionary warfare. Other than that, absolutely not. It is a horrid thing to put another human to death. Also, I believe it is proven that it provides no deterrence to crime. I see it as more like a sick form of revenge made by the state.

[RedAnarchist]

No surprise here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...ook-last-meals. Texas requests an offer from a prison cook to offer last meals for free.

As for states murdering people, Florida is going to murder Cuban-born Manuel Valle tomorrow, after he has spent 33 years (which is more than half of his whole life, as he is only 61) on Death Row there.

[KevlarPants]

There's also the fact that the death penalty is not having any positive effect on crime rates, nor does it prevent murders from taking place.

Well... It does, actually. You know, since you kill a murderer/rapist, that could very well kill/rape more people, in prison or on the outside.

I kinda feel like a piece of shit for contesting what an Admin said, but hey, we're communists, so it doesn't matter.

[RedAnarchist]

Well... It does, actually. You know, since you kill a murderer/rapist, that could very well kill/rape more people, in prison or on the outside.

True, but it doesn't have a noticeable part in lowering the crime rate.

I kinda feel like a piece of shit for contesting what an Admin said, but hey, we're communists, so it doesn't matter.

No need to feel like a piece of shit at all.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Listened to an interview on NPR with the cook who offered to pay for "last meals". The fact that they rejected his offer means that the concept of "budget cuts" is nonsense, of course. Also, he mentioned in the interview that all last meals had to be prepared with available ingredients from the prison commisary, so if you were to order, for example, a t-bone steak and a pizza, what you'd get probably wouldn't look very much like what you were expecting.

[MarxSchmarx]

Racist in their use of the death penalty? I'm assuming that you mean they execute black people more than whites? I'm not sure how states decide to use it, whether it be anyone who commits murder or if it is up to the decision of the judge. I'm sure it changes by state. Would have to look at individual stats. But even if judges had more black people executed, that still doesn't make it murder. More black being convicted is a different issue that should be resolved. Also it's not about having a positive effect on crime rates, it's about removing a dangerous person from society.

Good point - a lot of the arguments against the death penalty (esp. the injustice of sentencing an innocent) also apply to insane prison sentences running decades. A lot of the shit that goes on in death penalty trials in America (or most countries with the death penalty) like racism and prosecutorial misconduct are magnified several fold when a person's life is not immediately at stake.

If the death penalty were not so abhorrent and it abolition everywhere such a compelling priority, I would be very tempted to call people out on creating the impression that the kinds of injustices you point out are somehow uniquely problematic to the death penalty.

[ClearlyChrist]

What's Funny Is That I've Heard Many Reports Of People Asking For A Hamburger, Fries, And A Coke For Their Last Meal. Now, I Don't Know About Americans, But I've Come To Know This As A Happy Meal, Which Is Fucking Hilarious When You Think About It.