Moussaoui Should Not Die

[headscratcher4]

The Moussaoui trial is now considering the death penalty.

I can't help, based on what I've heard, but to think that he is crazy...not just politically crazy, but actually certifiably crazy.\

Further, he wants the US to put him to death.

So, why not really punish him?

Call him and his ideas "insane" and give him life without parole.

Just thinking that we, as a society, should begin to define such fanaticism for what it is..."insane."

Just thinking out loud here...

 

[Mephisto]

As much of an advocate for the death penalty as I am, I also believe he shouldn't be executed. It might make him a martyr, but it would definitely shorten the length of his suffering as a forgotten wanna-be.

OR, put him on death row until he "finds Jesus" then film his conversion and turn him loose in Afghanistan.

 

[BPSCG]

I don't think he's crazy. Read in the paper the other day that he was very careful to launch his tirades against the judge, the court system, his lawyers, the US, etc., etc., while the jury was out of the room.

As for the argument that we'd be making a martyr out of him, there's a simple way out of that. Have his naked body smeared with pig grease just before he gets the injection, and jam a Jimmy Dean pork sausageTM into his mouth and duct-tape it shut. Then execute him, cremate the body (against Islamic practice, if I'm not mistaken) and issue a press statement explaining the details of the ritual. This will put the Islamist world on notice that if you murder Americans, you ain't getting your 72 virgins.

 

[drkitten]

As for the argument that we'd be making a martyr out of him, there's a simple way out of that.

I observe that Constitutional limitations don't bother you any more than they bother the White House.

 

[headscratcher4]

I don't think he's crazy. Read in the paper the other day that he was very careful to launch his tirades against the judge, the court system, his lawyers, the US, etc., etc., while the jury was out of the room.

As for the argument that we'd be making a martyr out of him, there's a simple way out of that. Have his naked body smeared with pig grease just before he gets the injection, and jam a Jimmy Dean pork sausageTM into his mouth and duct-tape it shut. Then execute him, cremate the body (against Islamic practice, if I'm not mistaken) and issue a press statement explaining the details of the ritual. This will put the Islamist world on notice that if you murder Americans, you ain't getting your 72 virgins.

You've thought about this a whole lot more than I have....

 

[Jocko]

The Moussaoui trial is now considering the death penalty.

I can't help, based on what I've heard, but to think that he is crazy...not just politically crazy, but actually certifiably crazy.\

Further, he wants the US to put him to death.

So, why not really punish him?

Call him and his ideas "insane" and give him life without parole.

Just thinking that we, as a society, should begin to define such fanaticism for what it is..."insane."

Just thinking out loud here...

Ever consider that the whole thing is just another "don't throw me in that thar briar patch," except the briar patch is life without parole?

The SOB is bluffing and I hope to God they call him on it. Besides, I'm more concerned with what we want, not what he may get out of it as a side benefit.

 

[BPSCG]

I observe that Constitutional limitations don't bother you any more than they bother the White House.

If you're talking about the prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishments", I submit that while it may be unusual, it is hardly cruel.

 

[Mephisto]

Ever consider that the whole thing is just another "don't throw me in that thar briar patch," except the briar patch is life without parole?

Yeah, but that briar patch would also hopefully include forceful, frequent anal rape from an East L.A. gangster named "Chaco" who loves to share with his friends. Getting "porked for life" shouldn't appeal to his Muslim sensibilities either.

 

[shemp]

I've never understood why so many people think that the death penalty is a worse punishment than life without parole. If I murdered someone, I would rather be put to death soon than spend maybe as many as 50 years rotting in a cell in a pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

 

[BPSCG]

You've thought about this a whole lot more than I have....

[Life of Brian(edited for stuttering)]
NISUS: (Palin)Oh. It's such a senseless waste of human life, isn't it?
JAILER'S ASSISTANT: (Idle)No, sir. Not with these bastards, sir. Crucifixion's too good for 'em, sir.
NISUS: I don't think you can say it's too good for them. It's-- it's very nasty.
JAILER'S ASSISTANT: Well, it's not as nasty as something I just thought up, sir.
NISUS: No.
JAILER: (Gilliam)Hm?
NISUS: Well--
JAILER: I know where to get it, if you want it.
[/Life of Brian]

 

[Cleon]

I've never understood why so many people think that the death penalty is a worse punishment than life without parole. If I murdered someone, I would rather be put to death soon than spend maybe as many as 50 years rotting in a cell in a pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

Not just any pound-me-in-the-ass prison, though. Federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison!

 

[JamesDillon]

Bertrand Russell once wrote (in one of the essays included in Why I Am Not a Christian, though I don't recall which one offhand and do not have the book handy) that moral indignation is frequently an excuse to induge one's sadistic impulses in a socially respectable manner.

Thank you all for illustrating his point.

 

[Jon_in_london]

I would rather be put to death soon than spend maybe as many as 50 years rotting in a cell in a pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

Hey, different strokes for different folks...

 

[Jon_in_london]

Bertrand Russell once wrote (in one of the essays included in Why I Am Not a Christian, though I don't recall which one offhand and do not have the book handy) that moral indignation is frequently an excuse to induge one's sadistic impulses in a socially respectable manner.

Thank you all for illustrating his point.

You say that like its a bad thing.....

Give sadism a chance!

 

[BPSCG]

Bertrand Russell once wrote (in one of the essays included in Why I Am Not a Christian, though I don't recall which one offhand and do not have the book handy) that moral indignation is frequently an excuse to induge one's sadistic impulses in a socially respectable manner.

Thank you all for illustrating his point.

You're welcome.

Questions:

• Do you believe he should be punished?
• If so, do you believe his punishment should be harsh?
• If so, what do you consider to be a punishment that is at once harsh, but not sadistic?

 

[JamesDillon]

I consider taking pleasure in the pain of another to be sadistic under any circumstances, which is what I see here. Moussaoui no doubt deserves whatever level of punishment the law ultimately decides to impose on him, but that's no justification for our sinking to his level of bloodlust.

 

[DaChew]

As for the argument that we'd be making a martyr out of him, there's a simple way out of that. Have his naked body smeared with pig grease just before he gets the injection, and jam a Jimmy Dean pork sausageTM into his mouth and duct-tape it shut. Then execute him, cremate the body (against Islamic practice, if I'm not mistaken) and issue a press statement explaining the details of the ritual. This will put the Islamist world on notice that if you murder Americans, you ain't getting your 72 virgins.

Jeez, what are you - a terrorist lover? He doesn't deserve actual Jimmy Dean sausage. I'd use a regular generic brand.

Also, I think Crazy Glue would work better than duct-tape. It'd be cheaper too. Remember, death penalty opponents are always complaining about how much it actually costs over the long run. Keep your eye on saving the pennies and the dollars will come don't you know.

 

[BPSCG]

I consider taking pleasure in the pain of another to be sadistic under any circumstances, which is what I see here. Moussaoui no doubt deserves whatever level of punishment the law ultimately decides to impose on him, but that's no justification for our sinking to his level of bloodlust.

If you're saying that it's a shame that there are those of us who get a visceral pleasure at the prospect of his being punished harshly, well, you can't argue with viscerae.

No, it does not ennoble us, it does not reflect the better angels of our nature. But there it is, nonetheless, the ugly side of every one of us that takes a grim pleasure in seeing terrible pain inflicted on those who do us grievous harm.

Fortunately, we have laws that stand between our viscerae and those we would punish. Otherwise, Moussaoui would be facing a far more gruesome death than he will likely get.

 

[sackett]

I doubt that he can be made into a martyr no matter what happens to him. Nobody loves a loser.

 

[Jocko]

Bertrand Russell once wrote (in one of the essays included in Why I Am Not a Christian, though I don't recall which one offhand and do not have the book handy) that moral indignation is frequently an excuse to induge one's sadistic impulses in a socially respectable manner.

Thank you all for illustrating his point.

What did he have to say about adopting a reflexively contrarian position in order to assume a convincing facade of moral superiority? Or did you learn that in another book?