One of these things is not like the other one

[rich]

and then you have this case. there's always exceptions

A jury sentenced Steven J. Hayes to death on Monday for his part in a
home invasion in Cheshire, Conn., in which a woman and her two
daughters were killed, in a crime of such incomprehensible savagery
and randomness that the trial upended a debate about capital
punishment. [NYT] The sentencing followed trial that lasted nearly two
months, during which jurors were “exposed to images of depravity and
horror no human being should have to see,” as Judge Jon C. Blue of
State Superior Court said while thanking them. (Also see The New York
Post and The Wall Street Journal.)

Jurors said that they were in accord about choosing the death penalty
and that their three days of deliberations were spent solemnly
considering when capital punishment can be invoked and wading through
the complex legal questions it entails. Also, the punishment may not
be rendered anytime soon. Mr. Hayes will now enter the appeals process
that follows any death penalty verdict, a legal labyrinth that can
last decades. [NYT]



On Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 11:06 AM, Robin Landseadel
<robinlandseadel at comcast.net> wrote:
> From "Outside the Beltway"
>
> A Comparative Fact Regarding the Death Penalty that Gives One Pause
> STEVEN L. TAYLOR
>
>        Gallup released a new poll on US attitudes towards the
>        death penalty and unsurprisingly finds that support has
>        remained relatively steady since 2002:  In U.S., 64%
>        Support Death Penalty in Cases of Murder.
>
>        What struck me was the following observation:
>        The use of the death penalty has been declining worldwide,
>        with most of the known executions now carried out in five
>        countries — China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United
>        States.
>
>        When dealing with issues of justice and human rights, that
>        isn’t exactly the company I would think that the US would
>        aspire to keep.  We are talking about three authoritarian
>        regimes with questionable human rights records (China,
>        Iran and Saudi Arabia), a pseudodemocracy in the context
>        of an ongoing conflict (Iraq), and the country that sees itself
>        as a beacon of liberty and democracy (the US).  One of
>        these things is, theoretically, not like the others.  At a
>        minimum this comparison ought to give us all pause for
>        thought.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/23oglwb