I think we should try to move on from the devastating election loss and stop the self-flagellating. This is a sort of "shoulda coulda woulda" talk that fans of losing teams engage in. It is unproductive, takes agency away from the winning side and downplays larger trends and global shifts that led to that outcome. It also takes energy away from dealing with current reality.
Trump would have beaten any candidate, Republicans swept the election up and down the ballot. Kamala had enough time - her polls peaked about a month prior to the election before starting a steady slide. The world is turning to the right in general, right wing propaganda, xenophobia, anti-science, and distrust in governments are all on the rise. These are the forces that are endangering our future now and the ones we should be striving to combat, not the octogenarian who will shuffle off into history books next month.
Regarding Quarterbacks not getting charged with an incomplete pass that was the fault of a receiver, I think that already exists. I think every good player agent should be keeping such records for contract negotiation time.
I’m not much of a stats or analytics person. But here’s something else to think about. Caleb Williams has some decent stats, which might not be saying much considering the history of Bears quarterbacks. But the team still has a losing record and a long losing streak. This is still a team game. However someone wants to tweak individual stats, the most important ones are still wins and losses. Publishing stats is mostly a fan thing anyway. The people that run the teams can tell from practices and games whether or not someone is doing what they are expected to do.
It would have been better for President Biden to have commuted all the federal death sentences out of his Catholic conviction. After all, leaving aside it was the civilised and practical thing to do, what are political consequences to him? He is already being politically vilified (quite unfairly in my view) and it would deprive Agent Orange of more performative cruelty.
Life without parole in a maximum security prison is "mercy." I do not think that is true.
Joseph may not be mentioned again in the Bible, but there's a marvelous painting by Simone Martini, "Christ Discovered in the Temple", in which he is clearly grounding Jesus who is pouting just like any other teenager who just had his electronics taken away: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/christ-discovered-temple
Publications can clean up quotes and letters per their style guide. That said, it makes the letter look more genuine in an advice column like Ask Eric when it is published as is. I often thought some advice column questions were compilations of several readers asking the same question, cut and pasted together to get a good story.
Eric and I suspect most of the Picayune Sentinel audience, are devout prescriptivists. But there is a growing movement among younger people (mostly POC) that argues that correcting grammar and spelling, especially when the meaning is still clear, is elitist, classist, racist...all the ISTs.
Incidentally, without spellcheck, autocorrect, and the Grammarly browser add-in, this comment was initially chocked full of errors!
I appreciate it when EZ cleans up my comments as I'm obviously not a pro writer, but in general I do have doubts that it's a good practice. Some of the tone or "flavor", if not meaning, does get lost. This also makes me think of how the media sometimes sanitizes and sane-washes Trump's rhetoric when they clean up his quotes.
True, I am a prescriptivists, but I try to remember the words Winston Churchill, on being corrected by a flunkie - "This is an impertinence up with which I will not put."
Just want to send some gratitude for this newsletter. I really, really appreciate it. I look forward to it, including the quips and visual humor. They're right at my level. As I say about the Farmer's Market Band, "Come for the music, stay for the jokes." Which tells all you need to know about my sense of humor. Merry Christmas to you, Eric.
Why does a quarterback get credit for Yards After a Catch? Occam's Razor's answer is that fans love high numbers from their team.
A deeper answer might be that a quarterback is responsible for every offensive play, and he gets rewarded and blamed for outcomes and successes that are not necessarily his doing. It's kind of like the inflated bonuses CEOs get in Corporate America.
I've often thought we should have an Unearned Interception stat for when the ball is placed correctly, but the receiver botched it, leading to a turnover.
on top of that, in Sunday's pad the Lions' stats game against the Bears, the announcer said that Caleb Williams was credited with the fumble on the end around play, even though the RB botched it. I haven't checked to see if the officials scored it that way.
i agree with what [i think] is EZ's POV on this - there are only 'x' # of yds achieved [or awarded] on a completed pass play [which cd be negative too]. QB shd get credit for yds gained from line of scrimmage to where the catch is made. receiver shd get credit only for YAC. sum shd = total yds awarded on the play.
If we’re going to recalculate QB stats, we could also assign blame for turnovers to the player responsible. For example, when the center snaps the ball over the QBs head or the WR pops the ball up into the air. We could also give the QB negative rushing yards for sacks when he holds onto the ball too long.
The biggest fault concerning Joe Biden is not his choosing to stay in the race. It is the media and close advisers that lied about his cognitive decline. When grandma can no longer safely drive she also is not able to decide not to drive.
The real threat to us all is the close advisors and media in the White House covering his decline. PS --- Picayune shares in this deception. As a professional writer and commentator how did you not raise your hand? Honestly, you had no idea?
"When grandma can no longer safely drive she also is not able to decide not to drive."
That is not true. Some people cannot safely drive for physical reasons (slower reaction times, etc.), but that does not mean they cannot decide not to drive. That was exactly the case with my mother, who realized she was not physically able to drive safely and gave it up, a decision she made on her own, fully cognizant of the situation.
amen, KM. tho my dad [RIP] did not make quite so noble a choice, he did decide on his own to stop driving and sell his car around age 85. his drivers license was from FL, where seniors rule, and the DMV is not circumspect in awarding/renewing DL's for sr's. when he & my mom moved back to IL, he pretty quickly figured out that, after the george ryan/SOS scandal, he was not going to be able to get a 'free pass' DL in IL.
EZ is not a Washington insider. I do not fault him for possibly knowing more than the rest of us. But I do think that Biden's decline was obvious from his exclusively working from a script in a notebook or on cards, his lack of press conferences, the obvious actions of aides to guide him in public, etc. - all of which were critiqued here. If I were EZ, I would be angry about getting snowed by the insiders, which led to his defense of Biden through those years.
The problem is that when I see these kinds of comments, I tend to wonder how much of it is honest medical analysis and how much of it is political opposition. It works on both sides. How many conservatives have gone overboard on criticism while what signs, if any, were ignored by liberals? Remember during Trump’s first term, there many professional medical people that analyzed Trump’s behaviors that concluded he had serious issues. Obviously they were doing from a distance, not having actually visited the White House and tested him. Presidents have always been judged by people with no medical knowledge, whose judgements are based more on political disagreement than legitimate medical diagnosis. Don’t forget Reagan had lapses during his presidency and some think he was the greatest president ever.
But how in the world did the entire press NOT talk endlessly about the non-existent competence of Trump.. It was obvious since ?? 2017 that he lacked / lacks the mental capacity to do anything more challenging than looking in the mirror.
Pretending his rants were policy and ignoring the absolute and terrifying ignorance of matters big and small (electric boats & sharks; how tariffs work, e.g.)
Actually the press did report a lot of it. The media is where I found out that many medical professionals questioned his mental stability. Of course, the little people that surrounded him claimed that he had been examined by the best and found to be mentally superior. This, to me, raised a number of questions. Who examined him and why? If the people around him had him tested, what did they suspect? How many reading this get a mental examination when not believing there is a problem?
I like a more conversational tone (aka less grammar editing) for advice columns, especially the questions. Makes it feel like an actual person submitted a Q.
So is the “Santa reads your social media“ quip (today’s only amusing quip) actually at 28%? Right now it’s showing as two separate line items, each with 14%.
“Greenland is a dreadful place, / A land that’s never green, / Where there’s ice and snow and the whale fishies blow, / And daylight’s seldom seen, brave boys, / And daylight’s seldom seen.”
With climate change, the arctic ice will be gone in summer, and the old dream of a Northwest Passage will come true. Elon and Bezos and the other bros rely on shipping routes for their stuff.
Maybe if you invented different words for it, so it wasn’t about whaling, you’d like the tune better. Not that the current words make whaling very attractive.
I appreciate the opening joke(?) about wishing everyone Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas until Mein Trumpf -- that saintly man -- takes over again. While 60-70% (and apparently dropping) of Americans believe in Jesus, and perhaps Christmas, the rest of us belong to other religions, are unaffiliated, or are agnostic or atheists. No, don't assume we're all charmed by the Christmas aura in all its forms. It can be pretty oppressive, especially since it's almost impossible to escape unless you don't leave your house for six weeks or more and you keep your radio and television turned off. Happily, New Year's is generally more universal and less sectarian, and so is the Winter Solstice. And yes, Happy Holidays can also include Christmas, Hanukkah (which starts tomorrow night, December 25), and Kwanzaa (which starts the 26th), and Bodhi Day, when the Buddha was supposed to have attained enlightenment (sorry, you missed it, December 8).
and also ricky henderson's birthday [RIP, Ricky] - for those of us who love baseball played at its highest level [and maybe lower levels] and also its greatest talents.
Eric, I think we need to keep Capital Punishment. My reasons are as follows:
1. We have innocent folks in the military, police and other occupations who are expected to risk their lives, sometimes fairly frequently. Why should we grant a group of criminals the guarantee of life?
2. I think we can tightened up executions to where only the truly guilty are executed. Where there is just eyewitness testimony or questionable circumstances, use that as a defense against the death penalty. But we have a fair amount of folks who are guilty beyond any doubt.
For example, gangs have enforcers in jail who commit murder to control turf. Most already are convicted murderers and in many cases commit the murder, admit to the murder and will provide evidence as a way to intimate guards and inmates.
3. And some of these enforcers and wackos become a danger to the guards, social workers, inmates and need to be put in solitary confinement where they slowly go mad.
It seems a quick death is a better solution, it saves money on solitary confinement, makes prison safer and seems more humane in the long run.
4. While some of these degenerates get off in killing and torturing folks, they still want to save their own skins. With a death penalty hanging over them, some have given up locations of the bodies, descriptions of their crimes and other useful information. They help the police and give comfort to victim’s families. Capital Punishment can be a useful tool.
5. Finally, let’s get real, a judge may pronounce a criminal to a life sentence, but that may be reversed by the prison system, guards and inmates.
The government can sentence you to life in prison, but cannot guarantee that in fact you will live out your natural life in prison. Take Jeffrey Epstein, he was not facing a life sentence or execution, but the prison system either failed from stopping him from suicide or murdered him, take your choice. Either way, they gave him a death sentence.
6. I am not from Texas or a Trumper, I do not want to use Capital Punishment as a first choice.
But it remains a useful last solution in certain circumstances and should be retained.
sorry, i couldn't disagree with you more. one of my best friends, [now passed], a staunch conservative, insatiable viewer of fox news, and trump supporter [we were best friends since college, so i did not disown him, nor he me] was foursquare opposed to capital pubishment.
his reason: the incompetent application of capital punishment, by govt at all levels. back in the day when we first discussed this topic, he claimed upwards of 75% of those conivted of capital crimes in the USA, going back many yrs, were not guilty of the crime for which they were charged. faulty police work [he was a cop for part of his career], faulty legal representation, unreliable witnesses [especially jailhouse witnesses], junk science, egregiouis racism, etc, led to many wrongful convictions.
the state killing prople convicted of a capital crime, for whatever alleged rationale, does not make it right or good. thus, i support abolishment of capital punishment.
I am sorry your friend has passed, but I find it hard to support Donald Trump and not realize he supports Capital Punishment and wants to use it liberally.
I see that as a contradiction in terms.
I also do not support widespread use of Capital Punishment, it should be used as a last resort.
I am a realist, taking a realistic position. If a death penalty sentence will force a criminal to detail where the bodies of his victims are…use it.
If an inmate convicted of murder then murdering inmates or guards in jail is a threat to everyone in jail…execute him.
As to right or wrong, easy to say nice things. What do you say to the guard that has to face a cold blooded multiple murderer (multiple convictions) who he knows will try to hurt or kill him if has the chance? You must put yourself in harm’s way because the State should never kill anyone?
Do we put this killer in solitary and let him slowly go mad (maybe he will kill himself)?
Does that make you feel okay?
The State did not technically kill him…but sort of let him die slowly via mental torture?
And if you are against all Capital Punishment, you must outraged by our military who regularly kills folks with NO due process based on “intelligence” sometimes good and sometimes bad. And sometimes it is just oops, we smoked your family via drone, you looked liked the terrorist, but guess not.
Are you out there demonstrating against our foreign policies too?
Lori Lightfoot was a terrible mayor. Brandon Johnson, “hold my beer”.
Still, it feels like there’s a difference between a merely terrible mayor and a grossly inept mayor.
I think we should try to move on from the devastating election loss and stop the self-flagellating. This is a sort of "shoulda coulda woulda" talk that fans of losing teams engage in. It is unproductive, takes agency away from the winning side and downplays larger trends and global shifts that led to that outcome. It also takes energy away from dealing with current reality.
Trump would have beaten any candidate, Republicans swept the election up and down the ballot. Kamala had enough time - her polls peaked about a month prior to the election before starting a steady slide. The world is turning to the right in general, right wing propaganda, xenophobia, anti-science, and distrust in governments are all on the rise. These are the forces that are endangering our future now and the ones we should be striving to combat, not the octogenarian who will shuffle off into history books next month.
Amen.
Regarding Quarterbacks not getting charged with an incomplete pass that was the fault of a receiver, I think that already exists. I think every good player agent should be keeping such records for contract negotiation time.
You are right. There is a football analytics platform called Pro Football Focus (PFF) that tracks all sorts of detailed stats, including various types of incompletions and attributing fault to either the WR or the QB, they explain it here: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-relationship-between-dropped-passes-quarterback-performance?form=MG0AV3
I’m not much of a stats or analytics person. But here’s something else to think about. Caleb Williams has some decent stats, which might not be saying much considering the history of Bears quarterbacks. But the team still has a losing record and a long losing streak. This is still a team game. However someone wants to tweak individual stats, the most important ones are still wins and losses. Publishing stats is mostly a fan thing anyway. The people that run the teams can tell from practices and games whether or not someone is doing what they are expected to do.
It would have been better for President Biden to have commuted all the federal death sentences out of his Catholic conviction. After all, leaving aside it was the civilised and practical thing to do, what are political consequences to him? He is already being politically vilified (quite unfairly in my view) and it would deprive Agent Orange of more performative cruelty.
Life without parole in a maximum security prison is "mercy." I do not think that is true.
I wonder if Trump would try to execute them anyway. He has no regard for the law, and if his DOJ would to his bidding, what's to stop him?
Joseph may not be mentioned again in the Bible, but there's a marvelous painting by Simone Martini, "Christ Discovered in the Temple", in which he is clearly grounding Jesus who is pouting just like any other teenager who just had his electronics taken away: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/christ-discovered-temple
Love the petulant look of Jesus's face!
Matthew W- I agree and wish I had bought the Nakatomi Advent calendar.
Publications can clean up quotes and letters per their style guide. That said, it makes the letter look more genuine in an advice column like Ask Eric when it is published as is. I often thought some advice column questions were compilations of several readers asking the same question, cut and pasted together to get a good story.
Eric and I suspect most of the Picayune Sentinel audience, are devout prescriptivists. But there is a growing movement among younger people (mostly POC) that argues that correcting grammar and spelling, especially when the meaning is still clear, is elitist, classist, racist...all the ISTs.
Incidentally, without spellcheck, autocorrect, and the Grammarly browser add-in, this comment was initially chocked full of errors!
I appreciate it when EZ cleans up my comments as I'm obviously not a pro writer, but in general I do have doubts that it's a good practice. Some of the tone or "flavor", if not meaning, does get lost. This also makes me think of how the media sometimes sanitizes and sane-washes Trump's rhetoric when they clean up his quotes.
True, I am a prescriptivists, but I try to remember the words Winston Churchill, on being corrected by a flunkie - "This is an impertinence up with which I will not put."
Lord.
"Prescriptivist." "Words of Winston..."
Patricia - You CAN edit your original error by hitting the three dots and hitting "Edit". I do so with almost every one of my posts.
Thank you!
thanks for that tip, JayG. now i know how to fix any of my many typos, half-thoughts, etc, after hitting enter. a valuable tool.
Just want to send some gratitude for this newsletter. I really, really appreciate it. I look forward to it, including the quips and visual humor. They're right at my level. As I say about the Farmer's Market Band, "Come for the music, stay for the jokes." Which tells all you need to know about my sense of humor. Merry Christmas to you, Eric.
Why does a quarterback get credit for Yards After a Catch? Occam's Razor's answer is that fans love high numbers from their team.
A deeper answer might be that a quarterback is responsible for every offensive play, and he gets rewarded and blamed for outcomes and successes that are not necessarily his doing. It's kind of like the inflated bonuses CEOs get in Corporate America.
I've often thought we should have an Unearned Interception stat for when the ball is placed correctly, but the receiver botched it, leading to a turnover.
Yeah, but if a QB hands the ball off to someone else who runs for 50 yards, the QB doesn’t get credit for rushing yards.
on top of that, in Sunday's pad the Lions' stats game against the Bears, the announcer said that Caleb Williams was credited with the fumble on the end around play, even though the RB botched it. I haven't checked to see if the officials scored it that way.
i agree with what [i think] is EZ's POV on this - there are only 'x' # of yds achieved [or awarded] on a completed pass play [which cd be negative too]. QB shd get credit for yds gained from line of scrimmage to where the catch is made. receiver shd get credit only for YAC. sum shd = total yds awarded on the play.
If we’re going to recalculate QB stats, we could also assign blame for turnovers to the player responsible. For example, when the center snaps the ball over the QBs head or the WR pops the ball up into the air. We could also give the QB negative rushing yards for sacks when he holds onto the ball too long.
Hi John - yardage lost from sacks is deducted from passing yards to arrive at the net passing yards.
but only in NFL - sack ydg is deducted from qb's rushing ydg in NCAA.
The biggest fault concerning Joe Biden is not his choosing to stay in the race. It is the media and close advisers that lied about his cognitive decline. When grandma can no longer safely drive she also is not able to decide not to drive.
The real threat to us all is the close advisors and media in the White House covering his decline. PS --- Picayune shares in this deception. As a professional writer and commentator how did you not raise your hand? Honestly, you had no idea?
"When grandma can no longer safely drive she also is not able to decide not to drive."
That is not true. Some people cannot safely drive for physical reasons (slower reaction times, etc.), but that does not mean they cannot decide not to drive. That was exactly the case with my mother, who realized she was not physically able to drive safely and gave it up, a decision she made on her own, fully cognizant of the situation.
Same with both of my parents. Self-awareness and responsibility are character traits that people demonstrate throughout life.
My dad at 85 realized that his reaction time had slowed. He sold the car and mailed his license back to the DMV. A class act.
amen, KM. tho my dad [RIP] did not make quite so noble a choice, he did decide on his own to stop driving and sell his car around age 85. his drivers license was from FL, where seniors rule, and the DMV is not circumspect in awarding/renewing DL's for sr's. when he & my mom moved back to IL, he pretty quickly figured out that, after the george ryan/SOS scandal, he was not going to be able to get a 'free pass' DL in IL.
EZ is not a Washington insider. I do not fault him for possibly knowing more than the rest of us. But I do think that Biden's decline was obvious from his exclusively working from a script in a notebook or on cards, his lack of press conferences, the obvious actions of aides to guide him in public, etc. - all of which were critiqued here. If I were EZ, I would be angry about getting snowed by the insiders, which led to his defense of Biden through those years.
The problem is that when I see these kinds of comments, I tend to wonder how much of it is honest medical analysis and how much of it is political opposition. It works on both sides. How many conservatives have gone overboard on criticism while what signs, if any, were ignored by liberals? Remember during Trump’s first term, there many professional medical people that analyzed Trump’s behaviors that concluded he had serious issues. Obviously they were doing from a distance, not having actually visited the White House and tested him. Presidents have always been judged by people with no medical knowledge, whose judgements are based more on political disagreement than legitimate medical diagnosis. Don’t forget Reagan had lapses during his presidency and some think he was the greatest president ever.
I blame Ronny for most all of it
But how in the world did the entire press NOT talk endlessly about the non-existent competence of Trump.. It was obvious since ?? 2017 that he lacked / lacks the mental capacity to do anything more challenging than looking in the mirror.
Pretending his rants were policy and ignoring the absolute and terrifying ignorance of matters big and small (electric boats & sharks; how tariffs work, e.g.)
I say a pox on all of them.
Actually the press did report a lot of it. The media is where I found out that many medical professionals questioned his mental stability. Of course, the little people that surrounded him claimed that he had been examined by the best and found to be mentally superior. This, to me, raised a number of questions. Who examined him and why? If the people around him had him tested, what did they suspect? How many reading this get a mental examination when not believing there is a problem?
I like a more conversational tone (aka less grammar editing) for advice columns, especially the questions. Makes it feel like an actual person submitted a Q.
So is the “Santa reads your social media“ quip (today’s only amusing quip) actually at 28%? Right now it’s showing as two separate line items, each with 14%.
“Greenland is a dreadful place, / A land that’s never green, / Where there’s ice and snow and the whale fishies blow, / And daylight’s seldom seen, brave boys, / And daylight’s seldom seen.”
This is the real estate that Trump covets??
Someone has told him about the mineral deposits being more accessible because of the climate hoax. There is a Musky stench about it.
Then there is his idol Putin--if he can dream of a greater Rus, why can't Mango Mussolini dream of a greater US?
With climate change, the arctic ice will be gone in summer, and the old dream of a Northwest Passage will come true. Elon and Bezos and the other bros rely on shipping routes for their stuff.
Love that song!
In this case I vehemently disagree with Eric. I have always despised that tune and I curse you for putting that stupid earworm in my head! LOL
Maybe if you invented different words for it, so it wasn’t about whaling, you’d like the tune better. Not that the current words make whaling very attractive.
I appreciate the opening joke(?) about wishing everyone Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas until Mein Trumpf -- that saintly man -- takes over again. While 60-70% (and apparently dropping) of Americans believe in Jesus, and perhaps Christmas, the rest of us belong to other religions, are unaffiliated, or are agnostic or atheists. No, don't assume we're all charmed by the Christmas aura in all its forms. It can be pretty oppressive, especially since it's almost impossible to escape unless you don't leave your house for six weeks or more and you keep your radio and television turned off. Happily, New Year's is generally more universal and less sectarian, and so is the Winter Solstice. And yes, Happy Holidays can also include Christmas, Hanukkah (which starts tomorrow night, December 25), and Kwanzaa (which starts the 26th), and Bodhi Day, when the Buddha was supposed to have attained enlightenment (sorry, you missed it, December 8).
Merry Christmas! Happy Chanukah! There, I said it! Send the feds to get me!
FWIW, December 25th is also Sir Isaac Newton's birthday -- something worth celebrating by all those who are subject to gravity. :-)
Yes. However did people manage before Newton invented gravity.
and also ricky henderson's birthday [RIP, Ricky] - for those of us who love baseball played at its highest level [and maybe lower levels] and also its greatest talents.
Eric, I think we need to keep Capital Punishment. My reasons are as follows:
1. We have innocent folks in the military, police and other occupations who are expected to risk their lives, sometimes fairly frequently. Why should we grant a group of criminals the guarantee of life?
2. I think we can tightened up executions to where only the truly guilty are executed. Where there is just eyewitness testimony or questionable circumstances, use that as a defense against the death penalty. But we have a fair amount of folks who are guilty beyond any doubt.
For example, gangs have enforcers in jail who commit murder to control turf. Most already are convicted murderers and in many cases commit the murder, admit to the murder and will provide evidence as a way to intimate guards and inmates.
3. And some of these enforcers and wackos become a danger to the guards, social workers, inmates and need to be put in solitary confinement where they slowly go mad.
It seems a quick death is a better solution, it saves money on solitary confinement, makes prison safer and seems more humane in the long run.
4. While some of these degenerates get off in killing and torturing folks, they still want to save their own skins. With a death penalty hanging over them, some have given up locations of the bodies, descriptions of their crimes and other useful information. They help the police and give comfort to victim’s families. Capital Punishment can be a useful tool.
5. Finally, let’s get real, a judge may pronounce a criminal to a life sentence, but that may be reversed by the prison system, guards and inmates.
The government can sentence you to life in prison, but cannot guarantee that in fact you will live out your natural life in prison. Take Jeffrey Epstein, he was not facing a life sentence or execution, but the prison system either failed from stopping him from suicide or murdered him, take your choice. Either way, they gave him a death sentence.
6. I am not from Texas or a Trumper, I do not want to use Capital Punishment as a first choice.
But it remains a useful last solution in certain circumstances and should be retained.
Re: your #2 - guilty beyond any doubt would work. DNA, caught-at-the-scene, clear video evidence.
sorry, i couldn't disagree with you more. one of my best friends, [now passed], a staunch conservative, insatiable viewer of fox news, and trump supporter [we were best friends since college, so i did not disown him, nor he me] was foursquare opposed to capital pubishment.
his reason: the incompetent application of capital punishment, by govt at all levels. back in the day when we first discussed this topic, he claimed upwards of 75% of those conivted of capital crimes in the USA, going back many yrs, were not guilty of the crime for which they were charged. faulty police work [he was a cop for part of his career], faulty legal representation, unreliable witnesses [especially jailhouse witnesses], junk science, egregiouis racism, etc, led to many wrongful convictions.
the state killing prople convicted of a capital crime, for whatever alleged rationale, does not make it right or good. thus, i support abolishment of capital punishment.
I am sorry your friend has passed, but I find it hard to support Donald Trump and not realize he supports Capital Punishment and wants to use it liberally.
I see that as a contradiction in terms.
I also do not support widespread use of Capital Punishment, it should be used as a last resort.
I am a realist, taking a realistic position. If a death penalty sentence will force a criminal to detail where the bodies of his victims are…use it.
If an inmate convicted of murder then murdering inmates or guards in jail is a threat to everyone in jail…execute him.
As to right or wrong, easy to say nice things. What do you say to the guard that has to face a cold blooded multiple murderer (multiple convictions) who he knows will try to hurt or kill him if has the chance? You must put yourself in harm’s way because the State should never kill anyone?
Do we put this killer in solitary and let him slowly go mad (maybe he will kill himself)?
Does that make you feel okay?
The State did not technically kill him…but sort of let him die slowly via mental torture?
And if you are against all Capital Punishment, you must outraged by our military who regularly kills folks with NO due process based on “intelligence” sometimes good and sometimes bad. And sometimes it is just oops, we smoked your family via drone, you looked liked the terrorist, but guess not.
Are you out there demonstrating against our foreign policies too?