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Yesterday, two employees of a Walmart in Glendale were gunned down while gathering shopping carts in the parking lot. it's the middle of the day, and a guy drives in and shoots the two employees. He then reloads and shoots them again. He was later arrested at his home.
These two guys were at work, doing something they did every day. Now they're dead. One of them had a wife and kids. It's a crazy world we live in. Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Apparently there was "no motive". NO MOTIVE connecting the shooter to the employees. Those two people could've been the nicest most unoffensive people around, but they still died because some idiot decided he wanted to kill them.
Let their families decide what to do to him/her (I don't know if it was a female or male).
Posts: 1533 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Yeah, Glendale Arizona. From what I've seen on the news, the guy just drove in and shot them. It wasn't revenge. They just happened to be out there when he drove in. Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
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That means his lawyer will probably try to get him found not guilty by reason of insanity. He'll probably end up in the state hospital. I've driven by there and it's a scary looking place.
Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
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I had a funny joke about the guy wearing a smiley faced mask, but in light of actual deaths I don't think it's appropriate.
God be with the families and the shooter better hope he's clinically "completely wacko" because if not I hope they throw the book at him.
Posts: 1533 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by CStroman: Let their families decide what to do to him/her (I don't know if it was a female or male).
No! Punishment of criminals should never be decided by the victims and their families. That's revenge not justice. A civilized society sentences criminals to keep them from commiting further crimes and to deter other criminals, but never for revenge.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:Originally posted by CStroman: I had a funny joke about the guy wearing a smiley faced mask, but in light of actual deaths I don't think it's appropriate.
God be with the families and the shooter better hope he's clinically "completely wacko" because if not I hope they throw the book at him.
I completely agree with you on this on Stro....
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: It says he's mentally disturbed in the article I saw.
Apparently.
But besides mental illness, this is just evil. There is evil in the world, and this is an example. I try, and so should we all, to increase the sum total of good in the world, through righteous deeds, so that good will prevail and we can heal the world from evil.
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Revenge is one word, retribution is another. If not retribution then for what cause do we punish? Rehabilitation? A sane person who commits this crime does not deserve a second chance and so rehabilitation is wasted on him. At that point who better than the victims' families to decide which punishment within the bounds of the law is best? I think out of all likelihood a sane person who commits this crime deserves the worst punishment possible unless the victims' families wish to provide for leniency.
Posts: 3446 | Registered: Jul 2002
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quote:Originally posted by newfoundlogic: Revenge is one word, retribution is another. If not retribution then for what cause do we punish? Rehabilitation? A sane person who commits this crime does not deserve a second chance and so rehabilitation is wasted on him. At that point who better than the victims' families to decide which punishment within the bounds of the law is best? I think out of all likelihood a sane person who commits this crime deserves the worst punishment possible unless the victims' families wish to provide for leniency.
We punish as a society (rather than as individuals) for many reasons. One, if not the, important reason is to show solidarity to the victim. By taking the responsibility for punishment from the victim we are saying that we as a society do not condone the act and that we have the will and power to uphold and enforce the laws we create. If this were left up to the family, why should anyone have any confidence in law? We'd become a nation of vigilantes where only the powerful obtain justice.
Secondly, by punishing as a society, we remove the burden of vengeance from the victim. We, as a committee, decide and enforce the punishment. The victim is spared the stigma of being executioner and being forced to make unrepentable decisions in one of their weakest emotional moments. We also create a situation where the truth can be found (to the degree that is possible) in an objective way, which is really the only way justice can be served.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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And for the record, very few murder casses, even senseless ones like this one get the innocent by insanity plea; even fewer are actually found that way. The legal definition for the insanity plea is fairly stringent.
quote:If not retribution then for what cause do we punish?
I thought I answered that in my original post. We punish to deter future crime. This is the only reason that can make sense ethically. Punishing the criminal does not eliminate or even reduce the harm caused by the crime. Unless punishment acts are a deterent, it only increases the total suffering caused by the crime.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:And for the record, very few murder casses, even senseless ones like this one get the innocent by insanity plea; even fewer are actually found that way. The legal definition for the insanity plea is fairly stringent.
If he's schizophrenic or otherwise clinically insane, I think he'll be innocent by insanity. This isn't a case where he had his period or a fit of temporary rage; everything I've read says he seems constantly disturbed all the time.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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