My Cousin Vinny (1 Viewer)

[NguyenRhymesWithWin]

In this fantastic movie and comedy classic, two young men (or yoots) are facing a murder trial in which many witnesses testify against the two young men and the evidence against them is very strong.

I was listening to the Directors Commentary to this film and he said that this movie just goes to show how innocent people can be wrongfully executed.

After that comment I found this movie, although fiction, to be a very strong example for me, as someone who is undecided on the Death Panelty.

 

[Parmenion]

If it can be proven beyond all shadow of a doubt that a rapist, paedeophile or murderer committed the acts he is being accused of then the death penalty should in my opinion be warranted.

Life imprisonment for such people creates a burden on the state in which they reside given they do not actually produce anything and therefore are consuming resources that could benefit the society better if said resources were to be given to productive members of the society in which they reside.

 

[Iriemon]

If it can be proven beyond all shadow of a doubt that a rapist, paedeophile or murderer committed the acts he is being accused of then the death penalty should in my opinion be warranted.

Life imprisonment for such people creates a burden on the state in which they reside given they do not actually produce anything and therefore are consuming resources that could benefit the society better if said resources were to be given to productive members of the society in which they reside.

Is it too much of a burden if the person is innocent? That is the question posed.

The test used in criminal cases is not beyond a shadow of a doubt, but beyond a reasonable doubt. As has been shown hundreds of times, however, that test is far from perfect and innocent people are found guilty all the time.

 

[Parmenion]

When i say beyond a shadow of a doubt I mean if there are more than one actual eye-witnesses the the event or proceedings of the event itself.

If some innocents are caught in the crossfire, so be it. Innocents are casulaties of circumstance on occasion and even if the percentage was that one innocent person was executed for every ten guilty people, that is an acceptable (but unlikely, it would be more like 1 to 2000) ratio. Less innocent mouths to feed also help to curb population control. Background checks into the uselfulness of the individual involved to society should also be a determining factor.

Example: the perpetrator is a scientist of someone reknown with breakthrough theories etc. Life imprisonment should be the sentence as execution would ultimately deprive the society of that beneficial knowledge. If the scientist proves useless as a captive then the death penalty should be enforced etc.

 

[Iriemon]

When i say beyond a shadow of a doubt I mean if there are more than one actual eye-witnesses the the event or proceedings of the event itself.

If some innocents are caught in the crossfire, so be it. Innocents are casulaties of circumstance on occasion and even if the percentage was that one innocent person was executed for every ten guilty people, that is an acceptable (but unlikely, it would be more like 1 to 2000) ratio. Less innocent mouths to feed also help to curb population control. Background checks into the uselfulness of the individual involved to society should also be a determining factor.

Example: the perpetrator is a scientist of someone reknown with breakthrough theories etc. Life imprisonment should be the sentence as execution would ultimately deprive the society of that beneficial knowledge. If the scientist proves useless as a captive then the death penalty should be enforced etc.

You are entitled to your beleifs -- I don't hold life so meaningless as you apparently do that I would so flippantly dismiss the killing of innocent people.

 

[Parmenion]

You are putting words in my mouth.

I DO NOT hold life as meaningless. I hold life as being useful into whichever society the life is born into or chooses to reside in. I believe that the welfare of the state should be paramount to the whims of any given individual.

I believe in collectivism. Not in a communistic or marxist sense but within the framework of natural evolution.

 

[Iriemon]

You are putting words in my mouth.

I DO NOT hold life as meaningless. I hold life as being useful into whichever society the life is born into or chooses to reside in. I believe that the welfare of the state should be paramount to the whims of any given individual.

I believe in collectivism. Not in a communistic or marxist sense but within the framework of natural evolution.

I did not put any words in your mouth. I gave my opinion of your apparent view based upon how flippantly you dismissed the killing innocent people.

After all, "Less innocent mouths to feed also help to curb population control," right?

 

[Purple]

I have a hard time believing that there is such a thing as beyond a shadow of a doubt. Even with an eyewitness there is doubt because that witness is human and so is fallible. The death penalty is too certain a punishment for our legal system which is full of human imperfections.