A video that captured the brutal arrest of a Black college student pulled from his car and beaten by officers in Florida has led to an investigation and calls for motorists to consider protecting themselves by placing a camera inside their vehicles.
The footage shows that William McNeil Jr., 22, was sitting in the driver’s seat, asking to speak to the Jacksonville deputies’ supervisor, when authorities broke his window, punched him in the face, pulled him from the vehicle, punched him again and threw him to the ground.
The death penalty is an abomination. No.
I get the sentiment, and share it to a large degree, but death penalty? WTF?
The traditional penalty for treason is death by hanging, at best. This is treason against the most fundamental values of what our nation is supposed to stand for. If you do this kind of thing, you have committed an unforgivable offense against everything this nation is supposed to stand for. If you’re a police officer that flagrantly violates someone’s rights, you should hang for it. If you’re a police officer that plants evidence on someone, you should hang for it. If you’re a police officer that shoots an innocent person, you should hang for it.
I have zero problem with holding police officers to a much higher standard that regular citizens. They want to go around calling themselves “officer?” Fine. I have no problem holding them to a brutal system of military justice. Make them earn their titles for a change.
I think you’re misunderstanding me, I’m not disagreeing with how unacceptable, reprehensible and un-fucking-ethical police behaviour is: the Police suck and are, in many cases, an unfixable organisation.
I’m disagreeing with the death penalty.
The fact that it’s traditional is entirely irrelevant and, at worst, an appeal to tradition.
End the death penalty.
And it shouldn’t exist for the regular citizen. But those we imbue with power should be held to a higher standard. There should absolutely be harsher, even stark penalties for those that abuse the power we imbue them with.
…why? What purpose does it serve?
What purpose does holding those we imbue with power to higher standards serve? Look around at what the fuck happens when we don’t and ask yourself that question again.
Holding them to higher standards would mean prosecuting their failures more. Like a ton more, that part is obviously needed. But the threat of death penalty does nothing but satisfy lust for revenge.
Whatever you believe the worst punishment we should give people is, be it death or life in prison, is what it should be.
That’s what it comes down to. It’s not that I’m particularly pro-death penalty. Generally I’m not. But if you’re going to have the death penalty for anything, flagrantly violating someone’s civil rights should be right up there with murder in the list of eligible offenses.
Hell, of anything, using one’s position as a sworn elected or appointed government official to “flagrantly [violate] someone’s civil rights” should be further up that list than murder. Again I say, tattoo their badge to their forehead and throw them in with GenPop.
While I strongly agree that they should be held to a higher standard, I’m opposed to the government dealing out the death penalty for any infraction. And to using the prison population as a deterrent as well, satisfying as that would be - that reinforces the idea of prisoners as other than human, I feel.
But I want to emphasize again, we agree they should absolutely be held accountable - we just differ on what the punishment should be!
I’m not convinced you’re asking yourselves the right question. Do you want revenge and punishment, or do you want a better society?
Don’t get me wrong, the USA are so fucked up currently it’s hard not to want to get back at those causing so much damage. I share that feeling.
But we know from evidence that prison as punishment just generates more violence and horror and doesn’t create a better society. Prison as rehabilitation does a lot better towards that goal.
Literally the same thing as the other person, whatever you believe the highest punishment should be, that’s the punishment this deserves. If you’re morally opposed to life in prison then whatever you think the longest amount of time should be.