Scot Peterson

by Valis 65 Replies latest social current

Big Tex

if one of those cocktails only contains extreme values, it's very likely for the resulting person to let the psychopath or demon most of us, if not all, have inside us, take over control

My problem with this, is that it leaves out choice. As a small child, I experienced some of what you call 'extreme values'. Some of the abuse I've talked about here, but much of it I have not. I saw and experienced sex and violence of an extreme nature. By your thinking I am now programmed to become either a pedophile or a mass murderer. I am neither, because I choose not to repeat what was done to me, not because I am an extraordinary person (God knows I'm not!) but because I have the desire to make a different choice. I am no different than anyone else who also makes a choice on how to live their lives.
I reject the notion that simply because someone has experienced some dysfunction in their life, that gives them an excuse to commit some horrible atrocity. Can abusive treatment in childhood be a factor? Certainly, but I do not believe that gives the criminal (for example Scott Peterson) a verdict of not guilty. He was found guilty of a hideous act, and should be punished. The 'how' is debateable, but I think it would be wrong to let a criminal free simply because he is a victim of poor genetics/background.
but now that someone commited a cruel crime, how to deal with him (or her, for the feminists out there)? kill him and wait for the next incident to happen? what about trying to find out what happened? try to therapy the cause?

So what are you saying? I realize you are against the death penalty, but you've got a man who murdered his pregnant wife. What do you think should happen to him now? Should he be imprisoned for life? Or are you saying he needs psychiatric counseling and then should be released?
and for those of you who prefer to spend their taxes on buying WMDs instead of improving humanitarian aid and science, why not let him work for the costs he causes?

What do weapons of mass destruction have to do with the death penalty?
googlemagoogle

that's basically what i'm saying, with the exception that i wouldn't call it a historical inevitability, as circumstances are a matter of chance/coincidence. so yes, i'm saying noone is completely responsible for his acts, but for security reasons such a person has to be locked away and looked after by a professional psychologist.
Narkissos

And, since he had no choice in the matter, how could we as a society punish someone that was victimized by their own genetics and society?

"Punish", I think, is the central notion. Most countries which abolished the death penalty have retained the concept of punishment. Personally I would question it. Yes, why punish? From what immemorial religious background does this "necessity" come? Didn't at least a part of Christianity question it? If it is not a "sacred" issue, what is punishment worth in terms of efficiency? I tend to agree with googlemagoogle that the most punishing societies are also the most violent.
I, of course, understand the need for the society to protect itself from dangerous individuals. This means prevention rather than punishment. Stop the killer before s/he kills. Of course, not let a potential recidivist run. But not all prospective killers are convicts, and not all convicts are potential recidivists. On a global scale education and social issues are essential. There is a direct relationship between problems in those areas and crime rate. But this is not all. Some individuals have to be isolated and, if possible, helped until they work it out. Some never will. But how many of them?
googlemagoogle

By your thinking I am now programmed to become either a pedophile or a mass murderer.

no, that's only one ingredient in one big cocktail of circumstances. i had a very abusive childhood too, i would never say that everyone who was abused as a child will do this and that. it's just one variable. you and me probably had better friends then or better dna or a better social situation or whatever - something was different.

Should he be imprisoned for life? Or are you saying he needs psychiatric counseling

definately.

and then should be released?

of course not! this person is a threat to other people. but that doesn't give anyone the right to kill him.

What do weapons of mass destruction have to do with the death penalty?

last time i checked a pretty big amount of dollars was used to buy weapons... and i guess it wasn't the presidents savings that were used.
googlemagoogle

yeah, i wanted to add what narkissos already said: it's about protecting, not about punishing.
Robdar

i believe in something i'd call "predestination by circumstances". we do what we do and we are what we are because of a big and complex cocktail of DNA, how/where we grew up, how we were educated, which friends we have/had, how people treat(ed) us, if we were victims of violence, physical disease, drug addiction or mental disorders and millions of additional variables which make every one of us view the world at least a little bit different.

if one of those cocktails only contains extreme values, it's very likely for the resulting person to let the psychopath or demon most of us, if not all, have inside us, take over control. someone who kills - or commits another cruel crime - simply aint "normal". explore this persons past and you'll probably find the reason why he's not normal. but many have the attitude to blame the result instead of the cause. remove the cause to minimize the bad results.

So the rest of our citizens must suffer because a psychopath had an extreme dna cocktail? I suppose that you, yourself, don't mind dying at the hands of one of these hellions? What about your family? Do you mind a psychopath killing them?
There is not a human alive today that hasn't suffered some sort of physical, mental or emotional abuse. The difference between us and the murderers is that we choose a different way of expressing our pent up rage and psychological scars. We choose to make a difference and do not make the choice to murder.
It is nonsense to say that Scott behaved the way he did because he couldn't help it. That is a victim mentality. You have gone one step further and extended your victim mentality to include sympathy for the predator. We all make choices and decisions. Noboby and nothing can make us do things that we do not want to do. There is no excuse for what Scott Peterson did.
If Scott Peterson is one of the "predestined by circumstances" criminals, he shouldn't have murdered his wife in a state that has the death penalty. He knew the score and he played the game. He lost. He dies. Too bad. So sad.
i think the reason why people want to see a murderer dead, is simply revenge. revenge has always been the cause of really bad bad things. look at rwanda. i for one am glad to live in a country that doesn't play with human rights (yeah, "living" is a human right) - and guess what, even though we don't have the death penality here, this is a much much saver place to live than the usa is.
What? People don't get murdered in your country? Wow!
Since you are so much more civilized and advanced than we are here in the US, it would seem that you would feel less sympathy for the criminal and more for the victim.
Robyn
Sunspot

I watched the court/tv channel every day on this trial. As fas as the penalty went, I'd rather have seen him have to "do" without his spoiled brat existence and live according to prison rules for the rest of his life. Getting a needle in the arm like going into surgery, is waaaaay too good for him.
I did hear-as Mulan did-that he will most likely die of old age before the death penalty is actually administered---so the result remains the same. I heard yesterday that on Death Row, the inmates aren't allowed family visits, so he won't have any communication with them other than by phone and mail---which of course---is all monitored and subject to censorship ingoing and outgoing! So he won't have anyone fawning over him or pitying his "fate".
Annie
googlemagoogle

So the rest of our citizens must suffer because a psychopath had an extreme dna cocktail?

did you actually read what i posted?

I suppose that you, yourself, don't mind dying at the hands of one of these hellions? What about your family? Do you mind a psychopath killing them?

of course would i mind. but i wouldn't want the murderer to be killed, just locked away and receive psychological treatment.

We all make choices and decisions.

that's right. and we make choices and decisions based on who we are and how we see things. if your personality aint normal, your choices and decisions are not normal.

So sad.

yeah, it's sad that some states still have such archaic rules.

What? People don't get murdered in your country? Wow!

extremely rarely.

it would seem that you would feel less sympathy for the criminal and more for the victim.

how would you know what i feel for the victims? and when did i say i have sympathy for the criminal?
Perry

Personally, I felt that he should have gotten the death penalty simply because he was so stupid.
"I was too at the scene of the crime.....I've got proof"!
Seriously though, this case really seems to fly in the face of the nurture vs. nature argument. I mean this guy was decent looking, white, university educated, and employed with a nice brick home. Could the answer really be so simple that he was just extremely selfish and didn't want to go through the hassel of a divorce?
Robdar

did you actually read what i posted?

Yes, I did.
that's right. and we make choices and decisions based on who we are and how we see things. if your personality aint normal, your choices and decisions are not normal.
And so we should what? Just let them be? Excuse what they did as not normal? Not normal? Do what nature failed to do: Abort the abnormality.
So sad.
yeah, it's sad that some states still have such archaic rules.
Sad that certain people call others Barbarians for trying to put a stop to murder. Even sadder when those same "certain people" cant come up with a better example of what should be done.
Archaic? About the only good thing to come from the Bible is the idea of the death penalty. Murder is the one thing that we all know, deep down inside, that we are not to commit. You can call it archaic all day long. It doesn't change the fact that murder is wrong. People who murder do not play well with others. Scott knew he shouldn't murder. He knew the penalty. He didn't care about the outcome. Why should we?
What? People don't get murdered in your country? Wow!
extremely rarely.
There are still murders committed in your country. You do not have less murder because you do not have a death penalty nor because your country is somehow morally superior to another. It comes down to population and statistics. Less of a population, less of a criminal class, less of a problem.
how would you know what i feel for the victims? and when did i say i have sympathy for the criminal?
Have you even read your own post?

Scot Peterson

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