Looks like VA got rid of the death penalty and is close to legalizing weed.  Interesting times we live in.  Old Sparky needs to be in a museum.

By the end of this current and the summer GA session, Virginia is going to make Commiefornia look relatively moderate.

I have mixed feelings about the DP. I used to be 100% for it, and yes, some mother fuckers shouldn't be allowed to live, but with the current state of the government I don't trust the system anymore.

They maintain that the government should maintain a monopoly on violence, and then refuse to enact violence.  

They also maintain that people should not have any means by which to enact violence, as may otherwise be necessary to protect one's home or family from those who might otherwise wish to impart violence & don't fear the consequences from the state.

If you really want to punish them, force them to get married.  

"May you live in interesting times" is actually a Chinese curse.

In "interesting times" there are wars, food shortages, and
other extra source of people dying.

Agreed.  The more I learn about the games that get played by police and prosecutors, the less I trust 'em.

As for the legalizing of weed, I think it's just another way for the gov't to get their grubby paws in the game...

The degree of prosecutorial misconduct is plain proof that the death penalty as applied needs to go.

Further, the psychos who admit it all and want the state to kill them don't deserve to have their suffering end - they can spend the rest of their natural lives in a locked room, eating mediocre food.

As far as weed goes - pot smokers don't beat their wives or girlfriends at anything near the same rate as alcoholics. The fact that prohibition enabled a whole criminal enterprise in the first place is cause enough to repeal it. We need to stop moralizing others' vices that don't hurt other people, and it's the criminal enterprises and corresponding law-enforcement crackdowns resulting from prohibitions that historically hurt the most people. Let addiction be a medical problem, because that's what it is.

Even getting the DP doesn't mean you're going to die right away. The average time it takes is 15 years until you're dead. About 1/3 of those people die from natural causes in that time frame.

So even with the DP, it's really not a sense of justice at all. But yes, the justice system as a whole is no doubt untrustable.

I feel like the DP and legalization of pot are due to them taking up so much resources on the government. So I think while the dems talk about grand standings, the point is they don't have to spend the money defending or pursuing the death penalty conviction. On top of that, legalizing pot means less people getting arrested and less people going into the system.

To top it off, it's free press. They get a boost for their agenda but at the same time, it keeps them in power longer by having more money to do their other agendas.

Both of these policies will cause the crime rate to go up. Prepare accordingly.

Yes, it's a known fact that whenever dems get into power, crime rate and poverty levels go really high.

Prepare to see a lot more homeless people and a lot more crime. They'll call it a "growth" problem and they'll be able to appeal to people's emotional side by promising they're going to do something but in the end just tax the middle class more. It's kind of amazing to me that people in the middle class would vote for democrats. They promise they'll use your tax money for the greater good but in the end they tax you so much that you're on the verge of becoming the very victims you're thinking you're helping.

Some CAs (Commonwealth Attorneys) have turned it into a political football.
Others have used it appropriately.

When there is no real question about the perpetrator and their actions I still believe it is warranted.
Especially when multiple people are killed.

There was no doubt about the CIA shooter.
It took years (IIRC 4)  for the FBI & CIA to find him in Pakistan, and then render him back to Virginia for trial.
Killed two, wounded three. Mir Aimal Kansi.

State lawmakers gave final approval Monday to a bill that will end capital punishment in Virginia, a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people in its history than any other.


https://apnews.com/article/virginia-death-penalty-ralph-northam-c98c16a996037a4d1e1d497787b7e6f1

We also have one of the longest histories of any state in the USA.

I'm of two minds on this. When you have a guy like John Mohammed, the DC sniper, or Dzokhar Whats-his-name, one of the Boston Marathon bombers, there's no question that the death penalty is the right way to go.
But I also think that there are many cases where an over-zealous prosecutor has sought the death penalty in cases where it wasn't so clear.

All in all, I think that it's better to err on the side of caution. There have been too many cases where death-row inmates have been found to be innocent after spending years and years waiting their turn to ride ol' sparky.
And there have certainly been cases where the guy was found to be innocent after he had the ride to eternity... even though the powers that be have done their best to cover it up.

Oh, and I almost forgot... What about the case in Oklahoma where the lab technician fudged the test results on a whole bunch of cases just because she thought it was "the right thing to do", and dozens of guys were sent to prison as a result of her manufactured and/or doctored evidence?