Would you consent to being on a jury that will decide whether someone will live or die?

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Miss_Felicity said:
I would not. I strongly disagree with the death penalty. The wonderful thing about jury duty is that if you have religious/moral reasons for being unable to do it, they will either reassign you to another case or decide that you have fulfilled your one day/one trail obligation.
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Same here. I am strongly opposed to the death penalty.
 
Fairwinds said:
this statement is factually incorrect.
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The point is, if the option for the juror exists to incarcerate without putting someone else (such as a corrections official or other inmate) in undue mortal danger, it is better to give the offender the most possible time to repent of their crime. It is not just that we may not play God, but also that we must hope for the most chances for the soul of the murderer to escape eternal punishment. For us, that means not shortening someone’s life artificially when protection of another life from their aggression doesn’t require us to do so. Still, I think it has to be allowed that some offenders could be fairly seen as ticking time bombs. If it is only a matter of time before they murder again, it is an act of defense of their victims to give them the death penalty. I’d think that a fairly rare case in the US, although I’d listen if a prosecutor made it.
 
EasterJoy said:
The point is, if the option for the juror exists to incarcerate without putting someone else (such as a corrections official or other inmate) in undue mortal danger, it is better to give the offender the most possible time to repent of their crime. It is not just that we may not play God, but also that we must hope for the most chances for the soul of the murderer to escape eternal punishment. For us, that means not shortening someone’s life artificially when protection of another life from their aggression doesn’t require us to do so. Still, I think it has to be allowed that some offenders could be fairly seen as ticking time bombs. If it is only a matter of time before they murder again, it is an act of defense of their victims to give them the death penalty. I’d think that a fairly rare case in the US, although I’d listen if a prosecutor made it.
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that’s the kind of open mind needed for the rare case that the CCC permits the DP.
 
Fairwinds said:
that’s the kind of open mind needed for the rare case that the CCC permits the DP.
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The question is weighing the danger from that kind of inmate (and I don’t know enough about corrections to know the realities of inmate control) with the danger of over-use of the death penalty on inmates who could be incarcerated without posing a threat.

One thing I’d like to put forward is that I don’t think that whether or not the inmate wants the death penalty has a thing to do with it. The death penalty can’t be allowed to become optional state-assisted suicide for inmates that would rather die than live in prison with a chance to reflect on their lives. On that account, I would not put inmates in charge of the appeals process with regards to whether or not they will receive the death penalty (as opposed to whether or not they were convicted entirely according to the law.)
 
EasterJoy said:
The question is weighing the danger from that kind of inmate (and I don’t know enough about corrections to know the realities of inmate control) with the danger of over-use of the death penalty on inmates who could be incarcerated without posing a threat.

One thing I’d like to put forward is that I don’t think that whether or not the inmate wants the death penalty has a thing to do with it. The death penalty can’t be allowed to become optional state-assisted suicide for inmates that would rather die than live in prison with a chance to reflect on their lives. On that account, I would not put inmates in charge of the appeals process with regards to whether or not they will receive the death penalty (as opposed to whether or not they were convicted entirely according to the law.)
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the court will instruct on the DP, but these instructions won’t be based on CCC teaching. so its important that Catholics who are potential jurors understand the narrow exception that the CCC allows. this won’t happen. the vast majority of Catholics against the DP will always be against the DP and aren’t interested in the nuances of the issues. personally, I think this is in disobedience to teaching, since these people are substituting their personal opinions in instances where discretion is to be exercised by explicit standards. even now there’s one of those threads where people cut and paste the same prayer for a guy who is on death row, not for the original murder of his girlfriend, but for the murder of his cellmate.
 
Fairwinds said:
the court will instruct on the DP, but these instructions won’t be based on CCC teaching. so its important that Catholics who are potential jurors understand the narrow exception that the CCC allows. this won’t happen. the vast majority of Catholics against the DP will always be against the DP and aren’t interested in the nuances of the issues. personally, I think this is in disobedience to teaching, since these people are substituting their personal opinions in instances where discretion is to be exercised by explicit standards. even now there’s one of those threads where people cut and paste the same prayer for a guy who is on death row, not for the original murder of his girlfriend, but for the murder of his cellmate.
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Well, we are responsible to keep his cellmate safe, even if his cellmate is in prison because he murdered his girlfriend.
 
EasterJoy said:
Well, we are responsible to keep his cellmate safe, even if his cellmate is in prison because he murdered his girlfriend.
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that would be the problem. how do you prevent even run of the mill, garden variety killers, from killing again with any tools at hand. the guy on the cut and paste prayer thread used a board from a bunk, with handy exposed nails. “supermax” prisons are expensive, and even that couldn’t keep the terrorist (the first WTC attack convict) from ordering mayhem abroad.
 
sojo said:
Absolutely not. I do not believe in the morality of the death penalty in this country. I support the opinion our Church that it is only ethical when there is absolutely no other way to keep society safe. Our prisons are more than adequate to keep us safe from 99.9999% of the criminals in this country.

Further, to think our prisons cannot keep us safe from a 120 lb female… ludicrous. Life in prison is sufficient for such a criminal and it saves us money over the death penalty appeals as a bonus.

I am firmly pro-life, any life - pre-born, elderly, sick, disabled, criminal. All life is sacred and belongs and remains in the hands of God, not man.
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Amen

x 100000000000
 
Fairwinds said:
that would be the problem. how do you prevent even run of the mill, garden variety killers, from killing again with any tools at hand. the guy on the cut and paste prayer thread used a board from a bunk, with handy exposed nails. “supermax” prisons are expensive, and even that couldn’t keep the terrorist (the first WTC attack convict) from ordering mayhem abroad.
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There isn’t a moral imperative to remove all danger that they might re-offend. The imperative is that the death penalty is permissible only if it is deemed that other ways of preventing this person from re-offending are deemed too likely to fail unless the prison resorts to cruelty in order to restrain the person. There’s not a hard-and-fast line there.
 
EasterJoy said:
There isn’t a moral imperative to remove all danger that they might re-offend. The imperative is that the death penalty is permissible only if it is deemed that other ways of preventing this person from re-offending are deemed too likely to fail unless the prison resorts to cruelty in order to restrain the person. There’s not a hard-and-fast line there.
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the best efforts, special administrative procedures used in a federal pen, failed to keep the WTC bomber (the first attack) using his attorney to pass messages ordering killings in Egypt.
 
AllSeasons said:
I just read a news article about the Jodi Arias trial. I haven’t been following the story, but reading the article prompted the question. As a Catholic, would you consent to being on a jury that will decide whether someone will live or die? Personally, I’d have a lot of reservations about it.
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It would be very difficult for me to be on any jury given that two relatives are on the force and my disability.

I suppose I’m fortunate to not be in ideal situation to face that.
 
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