The best answers I can give is most cases on the death penalty are usually kept in the state or just not taken up by the Supreme Court due to being something they wished to handle unanimously or the court agrees with the lower court.
Hey JJ, love your videos. While I am no means a lawyer or an expert, I can give you one good reason why it’s so rare: the federal death penalty is procedurally different from the state death penalty. At the state level, the sentencing pursued in a case is up to the local prosecutor alone, and in death penalty states the death penalty is generally popular, so those prosecutors have an incentive to pursue it. At the federal level, the decision to pursue the death penalty must go through the US Attorney General, who is directly appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the president. While the death penalty is popular in specific states, it is extremely divisive nationally, so presidents are incentivized to get the US AG to set DoJ policy to either not pursue death penalty charges if the president is generally opposed to it, or to only pursue them in extremely unambiguous circumstances. A secondary potential reason, although this is far more conjecture on my part, is that the federal death penalty is extraordinarily slow. At the state level it’s extremely slow, and the federal death penalty usually has more regulations than state death penalty laws, slowing it down even further. That’s why Trump relaxing those regulations and speed running executions a couple of years ago was such a big deal. So given that capacity is so small for death row, and that the executions won’t happen for many, many decades, that may reduce the will of the DoJ to go for death penalties. That second one is just a guess though.
I used to be pro death penalty until I experienced the clear realization mistakes are made and prejudices do exists. Plus, a punishment of life in prison is not a lesser punishment than death in my opinion. Yea, you get to live but what kind of life do you now have? I truly understand why families of murder victims wants the killer to die.. I would too! But life long prison sentences could be a fate worse than death. Just my two cents…
Also, research on revenge has shown that getting revenge doesn't actually make the agreived party feel any better in the long run than other methods of fixing the situation. That applies to the death penalty, too. I think people just intuitively want revenge, due to some complicated mix of biological and societal factors, but when we are actually confronted with it, it doesn't help (most of the time).
I remember hearing that the death penalty was banned in the United States for a few years in the 1970's, but I never knew the context. Thank you, Mr. Beat!
Oh snap! I hear one of my tracks in the background. Thanks so much for the mention, and I’m glad that I was able to help out in a small way by providing some of the music for one of your awesome videos. Thanks again so much for the amazing and educational content that you make.
Mr Beat you should do a Top 5 Best and Top 5 Worst First Ladies in American History. Just an Idea. And also change your name to Mr A+ because your the best with these best videos ever!
3 types of people: 1. I'm against death penalty. It's cruel to the criminals. Think about their family members. 2. I'm supporting death penalty. Those criminals deserve to be killed, they deserve no sympathy and think about the victims and their families. 3. I'm against death penalty. It's not cruel enough, it'll be an easy way out.
I'm against it for none of those reasons. All justice systems are inherantly flawed. Prisoners deserve recourse no matter what if circumstances change or new evidence comes to light. Time and time again prisoners have been vidicated due to a flaw on the road that brought them to jail. Issuing a pardon to a corpse is worthless.
Being one of the poor folks in the USA I couldn't afford a computer or wi-fi until President Biden was on board with ACP. Thus I couldn't leave a comment sooner. I just discovered your channel. American history was always my favorite subject in school. Having said that (I sound like a politician spinning a question) I thoroughly enjoy your channel. First thing I want to do is acknowledge the Great Thurgood Marshall. He is definitely one of the heroes of this country. He bravely fought for civil rights, sometimes barely escaping lynching. The death penalty is not only constitutionally illegal but, morally wrong. It's not a deterrent. Can you imagine Dennis Rader thinking, "I better not bind, torture or kill these women because I might get the death penalty". I don't believe the government has the right to execute people. How many innocent people have been killed, especially black men, by the hands of the government. Two wrongs don't make a right. You end up with three wrongs. And how many wrongs will it take before the USA abolishes capital punishment? The UK abolished it in 1964 I think. I could be wrong on the year but, the year is unimportant. Maybe you'll read my comment even though it's a belated one. I have a suggestion for a video. Thurgood Marshall. And if any of you folks reading this comment doesn't know about Thurgood Marshall, I suggest you research this great American hero.
The argument that the death penalty makes the government murderes doesn't make sense to me. Does imprisonment make them kidnappers, do fines make them theives? This kind of argument quickly spirals into an argument aginst any punishment in a justice system. I understand some other arguments aginst it but the death penalty does not make us murderers.
check out The Death Penalty from Shaun who puts forth a strong argument against the death penalty from a standpoint of, even if you think the government killing people can be morally justified, endorsing the practical application of state sponsored killing is still a bad idea. His video is much more eloquent than any youtube comment of mine could be.
@TheClamfisher71 You are gonna have to explain to me in what way life in prison us justified and the death penalty isn't. You might just have not articulated it well but your argument seems to be the death penalty isnt justified because it isn't justified.
Even if you don't buy into the argument of "We can't kill someone as a punishment for killing someone", you should be against the death penalty simply for the fact that the justice system gets it wrong, and subjecting someone to a permanent, irreversible punishment should not be allowed. Too many people have been exonerated after years on death row; imagine how many people DIDN'T get exonerated who were innocent.
I am in favor of the death penalty because it seems like the more humane and compassionate compared to live in prison. With live in prison, they will be caged and treated like an animal. They must be careful to not drop the soap. They will live their whole life with no hope, happiness, family. Everything slowly driving them insane. If they get put in solitary confinement, they get trapped alone in a cage with their thoughts and the only thing they could feel Is anguish and pain. Rapidly sending them in a one way trip to insanity. Or you could give them a quick and honorable death?
@@jcgw2 Well what you described is more of a factor of United States prisons, as people tend to be treated much better in prisons of first world countries. Also putting an innocent man to death might be quick but is by no means honorable
@@jcgw2 That's just because the US prison system is literally dogshit and does nothing to rehabilitate people. You'd probably have your jaw on the floor if you saw what the justice system is like in countries like Finland. Needless to say, death would be the worse punishment there.
When it comes to issues relating to the death penalty, I'm always reminded of this quote by the late Nobel Peace laureate John Hume: "The taking of human life is the greatest injustice. Other injustices can be corrected. People can walk out of prisons, but people cannot walk out of their graves."
Nope the greatest injustice is to deny God. Executing a criminal for his or her actions is showing what happens to those who harm others with no care in the world.
a while ago, California had a failed proposition to repeal the death penalty the same year when we legalized weed (coincidently, the first election I ever voted in!). it felt so weird watching weed be legalized while the death penalty stayed...
Hi Mr. Beet, I've been enjoying your videos! I'm 64 years old and mostly, not always, vote on the conservatives side. I have also, with out much thought, been on the pro-death penalty side. This video as well as the comments after the video have gotten me to think more deeply on this subject, I have more thinking to do on this but have become somewhat agnostic at this time. Thanks again for making me think!
My views are constantly changing on the issue as well. I appreciate your willingness to learn and keep an open mind. I truly appreciate you supporting my videos!
@@deteon1418 I agree, but only because I tend to use the term "shoes" to refer to all footwear. Personally, I know that a lot of older people get confused when I say "shoes" and I'm referring to anything beyond dress shoes.
I oppose the death penalty for several reasons. 1 its unappealable/unrevokeable, which can create many miscarriages of justice. 2 giving the state the power to kill it's citizens is, I believe a bad precedent that can give way to tyranny. 3 evidence has shown that it is not actually a deterrent to criminals.
You’re first point is a very important one that people sadly overlook. As bad as locking up an innocent person for decades is, at least it can be overturned when the truth is discovered, but all that is lost if the innocent person is already dead.
@@joem4939 how do you overturned all the psychological torture they went though in solitary confinements. getting raped in prison. the treatment they went through. how do you overturn that?
It says a lot about regional differences in the United States that all of these cases, and most executions, are centered around the South (Especially Texas).
Great video Mr. Beat! I always learn a lot from these Supreme Court Brief videos! I was just discussing the Miranda v Arizona one you did a while back. I hope you keep making them!
There is a case here in Missouri, for a cattle farmer that is accused of murdering two brothers from Wisconsin. I have followed the news closely and substantial evidence is present that the man charged has a history of criminal intent. He has served time in federal prison for cattle fraud and has been charged with a restraining order, bad checks, mail fraud and endangering the food supply. The state is seeking the death penalty, I’m glad that Missouri has the death penalty. If he is found guilty of double murder, he deserves the outcome.
Fun fact: Though Blackmun at the time of these cases wasn't a fan of the death penalty, he still thought it was constitutional, but later on in his tenure he changed his mind regarding this and disavowed these decisions.
In all honesty, you can argue the death penalty is "cruel", but given the number of times prisoners have been executed, it's difficult to argue it's "unusual". Also, I have to wonder how the Court would have ruled these cases if Earl Warren had still been Chief Justice.
My opinion is that if you sentence me to life in prison or death, it's the same to me. You are ending my life either way. As for the point that you can't take back an execution, if you aren't sure the person is guilty to begin with you shouldn't be sentencing them to life in prison either. You can't operate under the assumption that you may be wrong, if you have any doubt then you shouldn't be sending them to life in prison either. Idk though. Whole thing is ******.
Ehhhh, for me PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN AMERICAN HISTORRRRRYYY edged it out. When I first discovered it I pretty much binge watched the entire series, watching every video about twice in a week or so.
I think that Doukakis answered very calmly and, to my opinion, correctly to the question regarding the death penalty but in a country where the death penalty exists since it's creation it's difficult to end it.
I wouldn’t go that far with solitary confinement because that’s mentally torturous. Just life in prison without any chance of being released if you mass murdered or raped.
@@Cristalack It's not tho. It takes years of legal processes actually result in the average taxpayer paying way more for death penalty verdicts than we would for life imprisonment. Read up on it.
@@Cristalack So if we’re looking for cheapness to kill people, why not take direct inspiration from people who have experience in that department? We’ll just replicate Nazi extermination centers.
@@koukkoufos2000 So suffering, but not too much? Interesting. I have a question, if you’re are 100% going to never see society again and rehabilitation is pointless, wouldn’t it be better to just give the convicted the option to take their own life? To be fair, then spending all that time there isn’t cheap, and it surely isn’t going to be a pleasant experience for them either.
“Homicide is illegal and death is the penalty.” -Masta Killah. Nice little quote pointing out the irony of the death penalty. Great video Mr. Beat. Nothing beats a Friday with another episode of SUPREME-COURT-BRIEFS! Looking forward to your next video, and I might just leave your channel running until then like you suggested!
seeing how the first line of the 5th amendment clearly and specifically provides for the death penalty it seems ludicrous that the other citations could be construed to indicate otherwise. it is terrifying how judges can twist normal everyday words into such an incomprehensible jumble of unrelated personal thoughts and agendas
Isn't it possible that parts of the Constitution contradict other parts of the Constitution? or that parts of the Constitution aren't written in clear language? It's not a perfect document. That's why the Constitution calls for the courts to apply their personal thoughts and agendas to the issue. Otherwise we're stuck with the personal thoughts and agendas of people from 250 years ago.
@@jupiterkansas can you find another part of the constitution that clearly states that it is not constitutional? as far as cruel and unusual i think it preposterous to say that lethal injection is cruel, or even a bullet to the head or the guillotine is cruel as the convict feels very little. as for unusual it has been one of the most common forms of punishment for the most serious crimes for thousands of years. it was practiced in the years before and after the founding of our nation. don't you think that if the authors of the constitution thought it wrong they would have put a stop to it? no it is not unconstitutional. disagreed with by many but that changes nothing. a state can choose to use it or lose it, but only based on its own constitution and laws
“ don't you think that if the authors of the constitution thought it wrong they would have put a stop to it?”. No because we don’t live in their world any they don’t live in ours
@@biteme9486 constitutionally speaking we live in the exact same world. it is pretentious to think otherwise. if people by a wide enough margin decide they want to change the constitution then they have the power to do so. obviously they haven't. not sure if yours is a position of anti-religion or soft on crime or that there is no evil in the world only different views and experiences so execution would go against nature but we the people still say it is a valid and valuable sentence
I believe the best way to go about the death penalty is if the evidence is concrete such as with the case with Joseph Duncan III in Idaho and the sentence should be carried out much faster.
I agree with Thurgood, Marshall the state apparatus and justice system is too inefficient and prone to error to carry out the death penalty effectively in any manner, both in cost and accuracy, giving criminals like this life in prison provides adequate punishment while allowing mistakes to be fixed. Not to mention our justice system is often racially biased so the manner in which it carries out the death penalty will also be racially biased
I often agree with Thurgood as well. And you're right about the bias. Not just racial, lately I've been noticing more religious, gender, and age bias in the justice system.
Imo, the death penalty only works with people who do not want to die. If someone wants to die, would they really be punished by killing them? If someone doesn’t want to die, killing them will be a punishment
Its a hard topic. Id consider myself a moderate in politics so my instinct would be against the death penalty. However as someone who likes true crime stories. Some people sre beyond evil. Its a difficult subject and I dont think either side has the monopoly of morality on it. So spoken like a true centrist. Im gunna fence sit.
I completely agree. I love your wording with "I dont think either side has the monopoly of morality on it" Also my problem with this issue is that we aren't ever talking about small crimes. The people put up for death row have generally committed a multitude crimes such as murdering multiple people or a combination of say murder and rape. These are some of the worst people we have and i find it hard to blindly defend their right to live after taking another.
@@chemicalfrankie1030 Ive never watched JCS as I didnt know what it was until now. Ill give it a watch. And I completely agree with that. If you convict someone whoes innocent and they go jail you can bring them and compensate them, although it massovely sucks they got convicted and got jailed. However if your dead, its kinda too late for that
@@iammrbeat you’re right but I don’t think it’s society’s place to enact punishments worse than death. Death is the most effective way to create the most good for society when it comes to the worst of criminals.
@@billytompkins6694 Im curious as to why you view being against the death penalty as the "moderate" position. The Death penalty has been the status quo for the majority of this country's history, and it's still on the books of most states, even though it's handed down less frequently than it used to. So how exactly is support for the death penalty an extreme or non mainstream position? I myself have nuanced views on the subject (the death penalty in theory is a different matter altogether from the death penalty in practice), but I wouldn't regard death penalty proponents as inherently non-moderate. If anything those passionately against it seem to be the ideologically driven ones.
@@saagisharon8595 as far as I'm aware, death row inmates appeal their cases for about 8 years before being executed. With lawyers and such this costs a lot. Keeping someone in prison with no parol costs about 30,000 per year I believe so ends up being cheaper
I recommend you to do a video about Brown v EMA. It's a relatively recent case that split the country and had an iteresting result. Plus, I think it needs to get more attention.
I mostly align with Thurgood Marshall on this. While in theory I’d have no issue with the death penalty if we could guarantee we weee never wrong in convictions, the possibility of sentencing an innocent person to death means that the death penalty allows for state sanctioned murder in cases of wrongful convictions.
That doesn’t make sense. Every prisoner has the right to commit suicide, if the death penalty was their preferred punishment they could do it on their own. Justice must be rehabilitative and punishment must come from society.
@@the8thgemmer467 I didn't mention anything about prison in my comment, and don't know where you read that. There are worse punishments than death, and some people deserve such for their crimes.
The Constitution In several places implicitly or explicitly approves the death penalty as such therefore the death penalty per se cannot be regarded as cruel and unusual punishment.. For example that the federal government and the states are prohibited denying anyone life ,liberty or property without due process of law.. Therefore a government may deprive a person of life if due process of law is followed.
I have never encountered an argument for the death penalty that is not an appeal to emotion. if the whole point of the criminal justice system is to punish the guilty, how allowing the guilty to escape punishment by removing them from the world is beyond me. "they deserve it" or "make them suffer" just seems like crass emotional reaction.
If a dog bites a kid, you have to put the dog down. If a man kidnaps, rapes and murders a child, we don't put him down? Some people don't deserve to share our resources. Its simple
I 100% oppose the death penalty. HOWEVER, arguments against the death penalty are also kinda based in emotional reasoning as well. I think this is just because all moral arguments boil down to emotional reasoning, unless one believes that some higher power bestowed upon us some fundamental moral truths. l
Think of it this way, if the death penalty doesn't deter crime, and we implement it, we have executed a bunch of rapists and murderers. Not a great loss to society. But if it does deter crime and we do not implement it, we have allowed more rapes and murders to occur. The second one is much more unacceptable.
Interesting video. I never liked the death penalty. I also think we need to replace punishment with rehabilitation. But accomplishing that? Difficult...
Got me thinking about the execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma. It's a complicated issue. On one hand, Lockett was a dangerous person who probably needed to be removed from society all together; on the under even he didn't deserve to go out in agony.
I’m against the death penalty, but I believe anything but lethal injection is unconstitutional. As far as the death penalty as a whole, I’m against it but if we have to keep it, if the crime is like really bad than lethal injection, but I think rehabilitation is better way to go. And I’m only saying lethal injection as it doesn’t seem as cruel and unusual as other methods but I maybe wrong.
I don’t purely because A: I believe prison should be rehabilitation not just punishment. B: their have many who have been killed who are innocent(just watch The Thin Blu Line) C: on some level I believe even the most despicable people in the world should treated with some human decency.I mean Charles Manson was just in prisoned for life with out parole, and never herd from him until his death in 2017, why isn’t that enough.
You need to add detail to that statement, otherwise you’re no better than the murderer. For example, our armed forces knowingly take life away on a daily basis, should we have the same casualties we inflict?
If there is clearly evidence of murder and they show no remorse or hint to any inclination to as much as assault someone in the future they should be eligible for being executed. If a wild animal kills a human then that animal is typically killed, and we have literally no way of identifying their motive.
President During this time: Gerald Ford Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger Argued March 30-31, 1976 Decided July 2, 1976 Cases Durations: 94 Days Decision 5-4 in favor of Furman Decision 2: 7-2 in favor of Georgia
I support the death penalty with appropriate sentencing guidelines and judicial review. Considering most death-row inmates have 10 years or more before their sentence is carried out, there is plenty of time to review the cases, have appeals made and, in some cases, be retried. Can mistakes be made? Yes. Maybe an innocent man dies? Yes. And yes it is horribly tragic. Just like the mistake of arresting a murderer, releasing him because no bail is required so he can go out and kill someone else. Or maybe the case of a felon released early so he can go out and crush a 17 year old girl to death. Which is more tragic? Please. Someone tell me? Which is the bigger mistake?
That's somewhat of a false equivalence, the fact that people reoffend, especially when mistakes happen in their favor, is one thing. The fact that some innocents get sentenced to death, is another. Or to put it another way: You CAN send reoffenders back to prisons as punishment. You simply can't have an innocently executed person give back what he or her was taken, namely their life. Murderers can be and are send to prisons, but judicial errors resulting in effectively a "judicial murder" remain unpunished, and again, can't be reversed once carried out. You can always revoke a life sentence, for example, though. Both are mistakes, but one should NOT be weighed against the other. We should strive to have both injustices be dealt with, not accept them in some sort of "two wrongs make a right"-kind-of-thinking.
If i remember correctly, Scalia was talking about death penaltyin some interview and said that it is constitutional because at the time of passage of 8th ammandment it was the only penalty for a felony. That of course doesn't mean it still has to be but that's up to Congress and state legislatures.
O-ho, Mr. Beat replied to my comment! Not an American but follow US politics (and other related stuff) very closely and love your videos. Keep up good work!
Personally I can only support death penalty under three conditions, all of which must be deemed unanimous by both the judge and jury. 1.) The defendant cannot be deemed insane. They had to have been in full control of their own actions and aware of their consequences. 2.) Premeditation has to be confirmed. Self-defense arguments have to be absolutely quashed. 3.) It had to have been their own decision, due to how malleable the human psyche is. If someone else manipulated them into their criminal act, the manipulator should be put on trial under a "by proxy" charge. If any of these three cannot be upheld with 100% certainty, life in prison is more justifiable than execution.
Texas and Georgia have the highest execution rates but also the strictest abortion laws and have outlawed assisted suicide. I have a huge issue with the state being given the right to kill somebody while the other two are considered "inhumane" and "murder".
The argument that's unconstitutional is ridiculous. The death penalty was very common when the constitution was written, including public hangings. The 8th amendment is clearly written to stop judges from quartering a man over a parking ticket. These cases were clear examples of legislating from the bench and should be revisited.
can congress over turn supreme court decisions or do they have to ammen d the consitution to do that? im very fuzzy on how the supreme court rules are.
There were two murder trials about three years ago. In one case the accused had a serious grudge against the victims and studied how to avoid leaving forensic evidence but some was found anyway. The second case involved a man with a meth addiction. He did not know the victims, no bodies were found nor any forensic evidence from the vehicle they had been in. The only evidence was the accused using a credit card of one of the victims. While out on bail the accused was arrested for breaking into a car within two days of being released. Both were convicted. Now I am pretty sure the first was guilty and even more sure the second wasn't. I have no doubt in my mind if Canada still had the death penalty they both would be worm food. The first accused for the actual crime and the second because the victims were a little boy and his grandparents going on vacation.
I wrote a new book all about the Supreme Court! Check it out here: amzn.to/3p8nV64 or visit www.iammrbeat.com/merch.html.
Gregg: "there's no way I'm dying a cruel and unusual death!"
*escapes prison*
*Gets shot and dumped into the river like some garbage*
Such a crazy life ending
Wait hey spoiler alert! 😄
Just saved everyone some time!
@@Filmansen Facts
@@Filmansen a time when a biker gang did have the heart and mind of people
Conclusion, we should no longer use the death penalty and instead sentence those convicted of capital crimes to biker bars.
LOL best comment yet
What's the deal with the *federal* death penalty? Why is it so much rarer?
The best answers I can give is most cases on the death penalty are usually kept in the state or just not taken up by the Supreme Court due to being something they wished to handle unanimously or the court agrees with the lower court.
Hey JJ, love your videos. While I am no means a lawyer or an expert, I can give you one good reason why it’s so rare: the federal death penalty is procedurally different from the state death penalty. At the state level, the sentencing pursued in a case is up to the local prosecutor alone, and in death penalty states the death penalty is generally popular, so those prosecutors have an incentive to pursue it. At the federal level, the decision to pursue the death penalty must go through the US Attorney General, who is directly appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the president. While the death penalty is popular in specific states, it is extremely divisive nationally, so presidents are incentivized to get the US AG to set DoJ policy to either not pursue death penalty charges if the president is generally opposed to it, or to only pursue them in extremely unambiguous circumstances.
A secondary potential reason, although this is far more conjecture on my part, is that the federal death penalty is extraordinarily slow. At the state level it’s extremely slow, and the federal death penalty usually has more regulations than state death penalty laws, slowing it down even further. That’s why Trump relaxing those regulations and speed running executions a couple of years ago was such a big deal. So given that capacity is so small for death row, and that the executions won’t happen for many, many decades, that may reduce the will of the DoJ to go for death penalties. That second one is just a guess though.
@@The_Powerhouse_Of_The_Cell great explanation! Thanks!!
I didn't expect J.J. to be here
Usually, the state governments and local governments will deal with legal cases. The federal government only deals with high-profile cases.
I used to be pro death penalty until I experienced the clear realization mistakes are made and prejudices do exists. Plus, a punishment of life in prison is not a lesser punishment than death in my opinion. Yea, you get to live but what kind of life do you now have? I truly understand why families of murder victims wants the killer to die.. I would too! But life long prison sentences could be a fate worse than death. Just my two cents…
Life is far cheaper then death penalty.
Great answer! I couldn’t agree more!
You pretty much summed up my historical and current views on the death penalty as well. lol
Also, research on revenge has shown that getting revenge doesn't actually make the agreived party feel any better in the long run than other methods of fixing the situation. That applies to the death penalty, too. I think people just intuitively want revenge, due to some complicated mix of biological and societal factors, but when we are actually confronted with it, it doesn't help (most of the time).
But there is always the possibility to reoffend.
I remember hearing that the death penalty was banned in the United States for a few years in the 1970's, but I never knew the context. Thank you, Mr. Beat!
Greg: Death, i will escape you!
Death: sure...
Like a Final Destination sequel.
Oh snap! I hear one of my tracks in the background. Thanks so much for the mention, and I’m glad that I was able to help out in a small way by providing some of the music for one of your awesome videos. Thanks again so much for the amazing and educational content that you make.
Well thank YOU, Quinn. Hey everyone, check out Quinn's music! It's amazing.
@@iammrbeat hello mr. Beat
Mr Beat you should do a Top 5 Best and Top 5 Worst First Ladies in American History. Just an Idea. And also change your name to Mr A+ because your the best with these best videos ever!
Based on what? How good they look? Lol
@@monkeystudios1 heavens naw!! Just on how they support their husbands, their backgrounds you know stuff like that.
He should also do Top/Worst First Children.
lol thank you, and thanks for the suggestion!
@@iammrbeat your welcome!!
George V. Georgia needs to be a thing.
Let's find a George and make this happen.
@@iammrbeat or just find a Georgia
Or Washington v Washington
3 types of people:
1. I'm against death penalty. It's cruel to the criminals. Think about their family members.
2. I'm supporting death penalty. Those criminals deserve to be killed, they deserve no sympathy and think about the victims and their families.
3. I'm against death penalty. It's not cruel enough, it'll be an easy way out.
3 is the correct answer.
Death is an easy way out.
I'm against the death penalty. It's not particularly cruel to criminals, but it's pretty cruel to the innocent people who inevitably get executed.
I'm against it for none of those reasons. All justice systems are inherantly flawed. Prisoners deserve recourse no matter what if circumstances change or new evidence comes to light. Time and time again prisoners have been vidicated due to a flaw on the road that brought them to jail. Issuing a pardon to a corpse is worthless.
If the third one is really an objection, then I am willing to consider torture for some crimes. Like burning them to death or crucifixion.
@@lukesmith1818 people like Dylan roof can be executed left and right in my humble opinion
Do you support the death penalty? Why or why not?
Yes
Yes
Yes, but only for serious crimes
Yes, for murder.
No, but yes for like really serious illegal crimes
Being one of the poor folks in the USA I couldn't afford a computer or wi-fi until President Biden was on board with ACP. Thus I couldn't leave a comment sooner. I just discovered your channel. American history was always my favorite subject in school. Having said that (I sound like a politician spinning a question) I thoroughly enjoy your channel.
First thing I want to do is acknowledge the Great Thurgood Marshall. He is definitely one of the heroes of this country. He bravely fought for civil rights, sometimes barely escaping lynching.
The death penalty is not only constitutionally illegal but, morally wrong. It's not a deterrent. Can you imagine Dennis Rader thinking, "I better not bind, torture or kill these women because I might get the death penalty". I don't believe the government has the right to execute people.
How many innocent people have been killed, especially black men, by the hands of the government. Two wrongs don't make a right. You end up with three wrongs. And how many wrongs will it take before the USA abolishes capital punishment? The UK abolished it in 1964 I think. I could be wrong on the year but, the year is unimportant.
Maybe you'll read my comment even though it's a belated one.
I have a suggestion for a video. Thurgood Marshall. And if any of you folks reading this comment doesn't know about Thurgood Marshall, I suggest you research this great American hero.
I like being early because you'll reply to our comments but idk what to say
You said it, and you said it perfectly.
Hey, at least "I'm here early" comments help with video engagement, and that helps Mr. Beat, so really no harm done.
@@iammrbeatwould of been funny if you just didn’t say anything lol
Not even a minute in and I'm hearing things I'd never expect Mr. Beat to say
Regardless of my feelings on the death penalty, I can see it being outlawed in my lifetime.
Me too!
unfortunately
@@donniefleuryy.29 🏛🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🇸🇪
not in our lifetime
The argument that the death penalty makes the government murderes doesn't make sense to me. Does imprisonment make them kidnappers, do fines make them theives? This kind of argument quickly spirals into an argument aginst any punishment in a justice system. I understand some other arguments aginst it but the death penalty does not make us murderers.
Oh snap, good rebuttal there.
check out The Death Penalty from Shaun who puts forth a strong argument against the death penalty from a standpoint of, even if you think the government killing people can be morally justified, endorsing the practical application of state sponsored killing is still a bad idea. His video is much more eloquent than any youtube comment of mine could be.
@TheClamfisher71 You are gonna have to explain to me in what way life in prison us justified and the death penalty isn't. You might just have not articulated it well but your argument seems to be the death penalty isnt justified because it isn't justified.
@@greenearth975 who cares death penalty cost to much
@TheClamfisher71 if the harm gives the victim's family closure, then it's justified.
I’d love to see one on PARC v PA. I would show it to the staff of my school to better understand what I do as a special education teacher
What a name for a case! Apparently it never went to the U.S. Supreme Court though?
Even if you don't buy into the argument of "We can't kill someone as a punishment for killing someone", you should be against the death penalty simply for the fact that the justice system gets it wrong, and subjecting someone to a permanent, irreversible punishment should not be allowed. Too many people have been exonerated after years on death row; imagine how many people DIDN'T get exonerated who were innocent.
That's honestly the biggest reason why I lean toward being against the death penalty.
I believe 4% of all people executed are eventually discovered to have been completely innocent.
I am in favor of the death penalty because it seems like the more humane and compassionate compared to live in prison. With live in prison, they will be caged and treated like an animal. They must be careful to not drop the soap. They will live their whole life with no hope, happiness, family. Everything slowly driving them insane. If they get put in solitary confinement, they get trapped alone in a cage with their thoughts and the only thing they could feel Is anguish and pain. Rapidly sending them in a one way trip to insanity.
Or you could give them a quick and honorable death?
@@jcgw2 Well what you described is more of a factor of United States prisons, as people tend to be treated much better in prisons of first world countries.
Also putting an innocent man to death might be quick but is by no means honorable
@@jcgw2 That's just because the US prison system is literally dogshit and does nothing to rehabilitate people. You'd probably have your jaw on the floor if you saw what the justice system is like in countries like Finland. Needless to say, death would be the worse punishment there.
When it comes to issues relating to the death penalty, I'm always reminded of this quote by the late Nobel Peace laureate John Hume: "The taking of human life is the greatest injustice. Other injustices can be corrected. People can walk out of prisons, but people cannot walk out of their graves."
"How thought-provoking, now face the wall"
Unless you're Russian apparently: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_of_the_Dead_Men
Nope the greatest injustice is to deny God. Executing a criminal for his or her actions is showing what happens to those who harm others with no care in the world.
@@historian252 Why give mercy to murderers?
a while ago, California had a failed proposition to repeal the death penalty the same year when we legalized weed (coincidently, the first election I ever voted in!). it felt so weird watching weed be legalized while the death penalty stayed...
Hi Mr. Beet, I've been enjoying your videos! I'm 64 years old and mostly, not always, vote on the conservatives side. I have also, with out much thought, been on the pro-death penalty side. This video as well as the comments after the video have gotten me to think more deeply on this subject, I have more thinking to do on this but have become somewhat agnostic at this time. Thanks again for making me think!
My views are constantly changing on the issue as well. I appreciate your willingness to learn and keep an open mind. I truly appreciate you supporting my videos!
When are we going to have a Supreme Court case that finally decides if flip flops are shoes?
They are shoes.
Debate over.
It's up to you Charles. Who you gonna sue to get this thing started?
@@deteon1418 I agree, but only because I tend to use the term "shoes" to refer to all footwear. Personally, I know that a lot of older people get confused when I say "shoes" and I'm referring to anything beyond dress shoes.
I oppose the death penalty for several reasons. 1 its unappealable/unrevokeable, which can create many miscarriages of justice. 2 giving the state the power to kill it's citizens is, I believe a bad precedent that can give way to tyranny. 3 evidence has shown that it is not actually a deterrent to criminals.
Those are three good reasons to oppose it.
You’re first point is a very important one that people sadly overlook. As bad as locking up an innocent person for decades is, at least it can be overturned when the truth is discovered, but all that is lost if the innocent person is already dead.
@@joem4939 how do you overturned all the psychological torture they went though in solitary confinements. getting raped in prison. the treatment they went through. how do you overturn that?
@@jcgw2 Perhaps you are starting to see why imprisonment is inherently unjust, hence the rise of abolitionist movements
@@jcgw2 The conviction can be overturned. I never said any of that other stuff can.
It says a lot about regional differences in the United States that all of these cases, and most executions, are centered around the South (Especially Texas).
Oh definitely. Also, I think I'd rather be at a biker bar in Minnesota versus Texas. :)
Great video Mr. Beat! I always learn a lot from these Supreme Court Brief videos! I was just discussing the Miranda v Arizona one you did a while back. I hope you keep making them!
Think you could do United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.? In this current age of streaming services ,I feel it’s worth discussing agin
Great suggestion. That has been on my list for sooooo long.
For anyone who is curious, Gregg's accomplices were captured and returned a few days after their escape
Thank you I wondered
There is a case here in Missouri, for a cattle farmer that is accused of murdering two brothers from Wisconsin. I have followed the news closely and substantial evidence is present that the man charged has a history of criminal intent. He has served time in federal prison for cattle fraud and has been charged with a restraining order, bad checks, mail fraud and endangering the food supply. The state is seeking the death penalty, I’m glad that Missouri has the death penalty. If he is found guilty of double murder, he deserves the outcome.
Fun fact: Though Blackmun at the time of these cases wasn't a fan of the death penalty, he still thought it was constitutional, but later on in his tenure he changed his mind regarding this and disavowed these decisions.
I think a video on Castle Rock vs Gonzalez would be an interesting video Mr. Beat
Yeah, I am seriously considering that one being my next one.
@@iammrbeat
Do it!
Talked about this and wrote notes on in my American government class last year.
Give the notes
@@JoseRodriguez-pn8yj Yes, give him the notes. Or just watch this video over and over Jose. :)
@@iammrbeat I’ll do both 😏 Although I much rather watch the video, I was always a “watch and take notes” type of guy when I was in school
most the things in this video shocked me a lot. Great job
Thank you buddy. Yeah shocking stuff indeed.
A Supreme Court Briefs episode with two cases is a luxury I never knew I needed.
In all honesty, you can argue the death penalty is "cruel", but given the number of times prisoners have been executed, it's difficult to argue it's "unusual".
Also, I have to wonder how the Court would have ruled these cases if Earl Warren had still been Chief Justice.
Very good point, Darrel. If Warren was still Chief Justice, it's still hard to say. I couldn't find much about they would have voted, honestly.
"cruel" in 18th century probably meant... idk, setting f*re to pe*ple?
My opinion is that if you sentence me to life in prison or death, it's the same to me. You are ending my life either way.
As for the point that you can't take back an execution, if you aren't sure the person is guilty to begin with you shouldn't be sentencing them to life in prison either. You can't operate under the assumption that you may be wrong, if you have any doubt then you shouldn't be sending them to life in prison either.
Idk though. Whole thing is ******.
I love the Supreme Court briefs series, my favorite by far!
Well that's so lovely to hear. :)
Ehhhh, for me PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN AMERICAN HISTORRRRRYYY edged it out. When I first discovered it I pretty much binge watched the entire series, watching every video about twice in a week or so.
@@ugoewulonu4936 That series is my second favorite, though unfortunately it’ll be 4 years before a new one
@@advayjanardhan7200 True but there’s a ton of good stuff there to keep you coming back for days!
@@ugoewulonu4936 Of course! I find myself rewatching that series so much, he makes these very well
Mr beat back again at it with another amazing vid!
Aw thank you!
I liked the Innocence Project, which uses modern technology to more conclusively analyze closed cases.
I think that Doukakis answered very calmly and, to my opinion, correctly to the question regarding the death penalty but in a country where the death penalty exists since it's creation it's difficult to end it.
If we want to make people suffer, then trust those who have experienced it, solidarity confinement is a fate worse than death.
One bullet is a lot cheaper
I wouldn’t go that far with solitary confinement because that’s mentally torturous. Just life in prison without any chance of being released if you mass murdered or raped.
@@Cristalack It's not tho. It takes years of legal processes actually result in the average taxpayer paying way more for death penalty verdicts than we would for life imprisonment. Read up on it.
@@Cristalack So if we’re looking for cheapness to kill people, why not take direct inspiration from people who have experience in that department? We’ll just replicate Nazi extermination centers.
@@koukkoufos2000 So suffering, but not too much? Interesting. I have a question, if you’re are 100% going to never see society again and rehabilitation is pointless, wouldn’t it be better to just give the convicted the option to take their own life? To be fair, then spending all that time there isn’t cheap, and it surely isn’t going to be a pleasant experience for them either.
“Homicide is illegal and death is the penalty.” -Masta Killah.
Nice little quote pointing out the irony of the death penalty.
Great video Mr. Beat. Nothing beats a Friday with another episode of SUPREME-COURT-BRIEFS! Looking forward to your next video, and I might just leave your channel running until then like you suggested!
I can’t believe that people actually have to argue if death is “cruel and unusual”
Might be cruel but it's not unusual. Also. Rape is more cruel than death and rapists should be put to death
So you shouldn’t be able to execute someone like Ted Bundy?
@@thebigbean8783 Nothing is worse than killing someone else.
(In my opinion)
@@the4tierbridge yes
@@the4tierbridge Would you still be saying that after being mutilated, tortured and raped for years on end?
Life in prison for young person means 30-50 years living in a cell, seems to be more cruel than just a quick death
Indeed
apparently a life sentence is just 15 years I might be wrong though..
@@zerotwoisreal you definitely are
What if the person on death row didn't do it?
Replace the cell with a cubicle for the reality bad ones :)
seeing how the first line of the 5th amendment clearly and specifically provides for the death penalty it seems ludicrous that the other citations could be construed to indicate otherwise. it is terrifying how judges can twist normal everyday words into such an incomprehensible jumble of unrelated personal thoughts and agendas
Isn't it possible that parts of the Constitution contradict other parts of the Constitution? or that parts of the Constitution aren't written in clear language? It's not a perfect document. That's why the Constitution calls for the courts to apply their personal thoughts and agendas to the issue. Otherwise we're stuck with the personal thoughts and agendas of people from 250 years ago.
@@jupiterkansas
can you find another part of the constitution that clearly states that it is not constitutional? as far as cruel and unusual i think it preposterous to say that lethal injection is cruel, or even a bullet to the head or the guillotine is cruel as the convict feels very little. as for unusual it has been one of the most common forms of punishment for the most serious crimes for thousands of years. it was practiced in the years before and after the founding of our nation. don't you think that if the authors of the constitution thought it wrong they would have put a stop to it?
no it is not unconstitutional. disagreed with by many but that changes nothing. a state can choose to use it or lose it, but only based on its own constitution and laws
Agreed. I'm not sure what those two justices were thinking. Wannabe activists on the bench.
Edit: Let Congress do or not do their job.
“ don't you think that if the authors of the constitution thought it wrong they would have put a stop to it?”. No because we don’t live in their world any they don’t live in ours
@@biteme9486
constitutionally speaking we live in the exact same world. it is pretentious to think otherwise. if people by a wide enough margin decide they want to change the constitution then they have the power to do so. obviously they haven't. not sure if yours is a position of anti-religion or soft on crime or that there is no evil in the world only different views and experiences so execution would go against nature but we the people still say it is a valid and valuable sentence
I believe the best way to go about the death penalty is if the evidence is concrete such as with the case with Joseph Duncan III in Idaho and the sentence should be carried out much faster.
I agree with Thurgood, Marshall the state apparatus and justice system is too inefficient and prone to error to carry out the death penalty effectively in any manner, both in cost and accuracy, giving criminals like this life in prison provides adequate punishment while allowing mistakes to be fixed. Not to mention our justice system is often racially biased so the manner in which it carries out the death penalty will also be racially biased
I often agree with Thurgood as well. And you're right about the bias. Not just racial, lately I've been noticing more religious, gender, and age bias in the justice system.
Another fire video mr beat thank you 🙏
🙌
Imo, the death penalty only works with people who do not want to die.
If someone wants to die, would they really be punished by killing them? If someone doesn’t want to die, killing them will be a punishment
Fair enough
Joe Mama, u stoll my profile pic
We can torture them.
We've also got to consider the families of the victim and condemned
why would anyone want to die
You should do a video similar to your “How I would vote in every American election” video with Supreme Court cases
Its a hard topic. Id consider myself a moderate in politics so my instinct would be against the death penalty. However as someone who likes true crime stories. Some people sre beyond evil. Its a difficult subject and I dont think either side has the monopoly of morality on it. So spoken like a true centrist. Im gunna fence sit.
I completely agree. I love your wording with "I dont think either side has the monopoly of morality on it" Also my problem with this issue is that we aren't ever talking about small crimes. The people put up for death row have generally committed a multitude crimes such as murdering multiple people or a combination of say murder and rape. These are some of the worst people we have and i find it hard to blindly defend their right to live after taking another.
@@chemicalfrankie1030 Ive never watched JCS as I didnt know what it was until now. Ill give it a watch. And I completely agree with that. If you convict someone whoes innocent and they go jail you can bring them and compensate them, although it massovely sucks they got convicted and got jailed. However if your dead, its kinda too late for that
There are much more extreme types of punishment than death for "evil."
@@iammrbeat you’re right but I don’t think it’s society’s place to enact punishments worse than death. Death is the most effective way to create the most good for society when it comes to the worst of criminals.
@@billytompkins6694 Im curious as to why you view being against the death penalty as the "moderate" position. The Death penalty has been the status quo for the majority of this country's history, and it's still on the books of most states, even though it's handed down less frequently than it used to. So how exactly is support for the death penalty an extreme or non mainstream position? I myself have nuanced views on the subject (the death penalty in theory is a different matter altogether from the death penalty in practice), but I wouldn't regard death penalty proponents as inherently non-moderate. If anything those passionately against it seem to be the ideologically driven ones.
Great job!
Thanks Noah!
Life in prison is a far greater punishment than death. It’s also cheaper.
But how is it cheaper?
@@saagisharon8595 as far as I'm aware, death row inmates appeal their cases for about 8 years before being executed. With lawyers and such this costs a lot. Keeping someone in prison with no parol costs about 30,000 per year I believe so ends up being cheaper
saagi sharon executing someone is a lengthy process that involves appeals. Remember that the legal system is not cheap.
Especially with ammo prices these days.. Sheeeish..
@@argothianswine5125 lol
Do you recommend any books for this type of context?! I love your videos.
lol damn, that's a crazy ending. Such a great supreme court brief.
I recommend you to do a video about Brown v EMA. It's a relatively recent case that split the country and had an iteresting result. Plus, I think it needs to get more attention.
Great suggestion! I keep forgetting about that one.
I don’t get how people say killers like Ted Bundy and the Night Stalker didn’t deserve the death penalty
I mostly align with Thurgood Marshall on this. While in theory I’d have no issue with the death penalty if we could guarantee we weee never wrong in convictions, the possibility of sentencing an innocent person to death means that the death penalty allows for state sanctioned murder in cases of wrongful convictions.
What? Death is an easy penalty, especially when said horrible criminal has lived their life to the full. Ending it wouldn't be justice.
That doesn’t make sense. Every prisoner has the right to commit suicide, if the death penalty was their preferred punishment they could do it on their own. Justice must be rehabilitative and punishment must come from society.
@@the8thgemmer467 Soooo, are you agreeing with my original comment?
@@oslonorway547 You seem to argue that prison should be a punishment worse than death, which I disagree with.
Heh heh, well put
@@the8thgemmer467 I didn't mention anything about prison in my comment, and don't know where you read that.
There are worse punishments than death, and some people deserve such for their crimes.
Hey Mr.Beat you should do a Supreme Court brief on bostock v clayton county it’s a very important case and I would love to see you do it!
That's a great suggestion that has been on my list since it was decided. Thanks for bringing it up. :)
Can’t wait to see thank you so much!
Funny, death row, he was fine.
Biker bar, he had no chance.
After all, death row is probably statistically a safer place to be than your average biker bar.
The Constitution In several places implicitly or explicitly approves the death penalty as such therefore the death penalty per se cannot be regarded as cruel and unusual punishment.. For example that the federal government and the states are prohibited denying anyone life ,liberty or property without due process of law.. Therefore a government may deprive a person of life if due process of law is followed.
I have never encountered an argument for the death penalty that is not an appeal to emotion. if the whole point of the criminal justice system is to punish the guilty, how allowing the guilty to escape punishment by removing them from the world is beyond me. "they deserve it" or "make them suffer" just seems like crass emotional reaction.
If a dog bites a kid, you have to put the dog down. If a man kidnaps, rapes and murders a child, we don't put him down? Some people don't deserve to share our resources. Its simple
@@wyattc3283 still talking about "deserves"
Way to bring up a logical fallacy. Extra credit for you.
I 100% oppose the death penalty. HOWEVER, arguments against the death penalty are also kinda based in emotional reasoning as well. I think this is just because all moral arguments boil down to emotional reasoning, unless one believes that some higher power bestowed upon us some fundamental moral truths. l
Think of it this way, if the death penalty doesn't deter crime, and we implement it, we have executed a bunch of rapists and murderers. Not a great loss to society. But if it does deter crime and we do not implement it, we have allowed more rapes and murders to occur. The second one is much more unacceptable.
I’m glad you’re doing this series, but I would prefer a more serious tone.
Interesting video. I never liked the death penalty. I also think we need to replace punishment with rehabilitation. But accomplishing that? Difficult...
Got me thinking about the execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma. It's a complicated issue. On one hand, Lockett was a dangerous person who probably needed to be removed from society all together; on the under even he didn't deserve to go out in agony.
He did deserve to go out in agony
I feel like if the person did something HORRENDOUS, they deserve the death penalty. But I’m not too sure…
yeah crimes involving intentional murder should get it
I feel like it should replace life in prison. nobody deserves to be tortured and raped for the rest of their lives
@@jcgw2 don't commit the crime if you can't do the time
@@simoncohen9323 or just the death penalty is a more humane punishment
@@jcgw2 no it isn't killing someone isn't humane it cost to much and is the easy way out no reason for death penalty
Thanks for another great video, would love if you were able to make a Top 10 worst supreme court judges video.
Thank you game master. I shall make that video eventually, yes!
I’m against the death penalty, but I believe anything but lethal injection is unconstitutional. As far as the death penalty as a whole, I’m against it but if we have to keep it, if the crime is like really bad than lethal injection, but I think rehabilitation is better way to go. And I’m only saying lethal injection as it doesn’t seem as cruel and unusual as other methods but I maybe wrong.
A gunshot to the head or heart is the least cruel method
@@watching7721 yes it is
How are you going to rehabilitate someone that r*** a 65 year old woman? Put that mf under the jail.
if theres anything supreme court briefs have taught me, is that justice Thurgood Marshall is quite the cool guy
I don’t purely because A: I believe prison should be rehabilitation not just punishment. B: their have many who have been killed who are innocent(just watch The Thin Blu Line) C: on some level I believe even the most despicable people in the world should treated with some human decency.I mean Charles Manson was just in prisoned for life with out parole, and never herd from him until his death in 2017, why isn’t that enough.
Good points!
Punishment can sometimes take precedence over rehabilitation.
Mr. Beat, can you do Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad vs. Chicago? That’s a really important one!
Woah, hadn't heard of that one, James. I shall add it to my list!
I don't believe in the death penalty, however u should be able to use it in the worst of crimes
I agree
Still, I worry about the slippery slope nature of this due to the infallibility of judges, justices, juries, and the mob
@@iammrbeat I agree mr beat!
I enjoy your videos as they are quite informative. Could you please do a Supreme Court Briefs on In Re: Gault? Thanks!
Good luck in the comment section.
I like grilling
So far the comments have been amazingly impressive. :)
I would love to see a video on the Dr. Kevorkian Supreme Court case.
Wasn't that a state case? Regardless, I just need to make a video about Dr. Kevorkian period.
oops, your right. Michigan state case People v Kevorkian. I meant Vacco V quill
If you knowingly take one’s life, your life should be taken. simple.
You need to add detail to that statement, otherwise you’re no better than the murderer. For example, our armed forces knowingly take life away on a daily basis, should we have the same casualties we inflict?
But what if it is difficult to prove?
@@iammrbeat if it's guilty beyond a doubt, then we should hang them.
@@JoseRodriguez-pn8yj and that's why I oppose war
@@Nimish204 “War is a racket” by Smedley Butler
another banger Mr. Beat, thanks for the knowledge. Also no support for death penalty here, hate the idea we kill people.
Thanks Nicholas!
[Enter comment that was so close to getting pinned but wasn’t pin worthy enough here]
LOL
Love Supreme Court Briefs!!!
Torture is worse than losing of freedom or even death, especially if the torture is for a long time.
If there is clearly evidence of murder and they show no remorse or hint to any inclination to as much as assault someone in the future they should be eligible for being executed. If a wild animal kills a human then that animal is typically killed, and we have literally no way of identifying their motive.
Petition for an updated presidents tier lists
President During this time: Gerald Ford
Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger
Argued March 30-31, 1976
Decided July 2, 1976
Cases Durations: 94 Days
Decision 5-4 in favor of Furman
Decision 2: 7-2 in favor of Georgia
I support the death penalty with appropriate sentencing guidelines and judicial review. Considering most death-row inmates have 10 years or more before their sentence is carried out, there is plenty of time to review the cases, have appeals made and, in some cases, be retried. Can mistakes be made? Yes. Maybe an innocent man dies? Yes. And yes it is horribly tragic. Just like the mistake of arresting a murderer, releasing him because no bail is required so he can go out and kill someone else. Or maybe the case of a felon released early so he can go out and crush a 17 year old girl to death. Which is more tragic? Please. Someone tell me? Which is the bigger mistake?
That's somewhat of a false equivalence, the fact that people reoffend, especially when mistakes happen in their favor, is one thing. The fact that some innocents get sentenced to death, is another.
Or to put it another way: You CAN send reoffenders back to prisons as punishment. You simply can't have an innocently executed person give back what he or her was taken, namely their life. Murderers can be and are send to prisons, but judicial errors resulting in effectively a "judicial murder" remain unpunished, and again, can't be reversed once carried out. You can always revoke a life sentence, for example, though.
Both are mistakes, but one should NOT be weighed against the other. We should strive to have both injustices be dealt with, not accept them in some sort of "two wrongs make a right"-kind-of-thinking.
5:59- don’t hold a pistol like this.
Hey, Mr. Beat. Can you please do a Supreme Court Briefs video on FCC v. Fox Television Stations?
7:49 So, Gregg escaped the death penalty only to…die anyway. That’s just pure irony
The irony of escaping death row just to get killed on the same night you escaped.
If i remember correctly, Scalia was talking about death penaltyin some interview and said that it is constitutional because at the time of passage of 8th ammandment it was the only penalty for a felony. That of course doesn't mean it still has to be but that's up to Congress and state legislatures.
He's an originalist.
Exactly and, as a Catholic, probably opposed death penalty, but it was useful to me because I always thought that it iscruel punishment.
Indeed he did!
O-ho, Mr. Beat replied to my comment! Not an American but follow US politics (and other related stuff) very closely and love your videos. Keep up good work!
Personally I can only support death penalty under three conditions, all of which must be deemed unanimous by both the judge and jury.
1.) The defendant cannot be deemed insane. They had to have been in full control of their own actions and aware of their consequences.
2.) Premeditation has to be confirmed. Self-defense arguments have to be absolutely quashed.
3.) It had to have been their own decision, due to how malleable the human psyche is. If someone else manipulated them into their criminal act, the manipulator should be put on trial under a "by proxy" charge.
If any of these three cannot be upheld with 100% certainty, life in prison is more justifiable than execution.
5:00
Of course he thinks he didn’t deserve the death penalty 😂but the two guys who gave him a ride did deserve death?! 😮😂😂😂
Texas and Georgia have the highest execution rates but also the strictest abortion laws and have outlawed assisted suicide. I have a huge issue with the state being given the right to kill somebody while the other two are considered "inhumane" and "murder".
The argument that's unconstitutional is ridiculous. The death penalty was very common when the constitution was written, including public hangings. The 8th amendment is clearly written to stop judges from quartering a man over a parking ticket. These cases were clear examples of legislating from the bench and should be revisited.
I have a question for you what happens if you survive the death penalty
I was thinking about making a video about that! www.mentalfloss.com/article/19346/what-happens-if-criminal-survives-execution
If the dissenting Justices thought it would be “too complicated,” the logical position should have been to NOT allow the death penalty.
can congress over turn supreme court decisions or do they have to ammen d the consitution to do that? im very fuzzy on how the supreme court rules are.
Mr Beat can you cover the Supreme Court's ruling in Whole Women's Health v. Jackson
I think the death penalty should only be on the table for do or die times the government may face, Cicero and the Catalina conspiracy come to mind.
Yeah, but even that can turn into a slippery slope
There were two murder trials about three years ago. In one case the accused had a serious grudge against the victims and studied how to avoid leaving forensic evidence but some was found anyway.
The second case involved a man with a meth addiction. He did not know the victims, no bodies were found nor any forensic evidence from the vehicle they had been in. The only evidence was the accused using a credit card of one of the victims. While out on bail the accused was arrested for breaking into a car within two days of being released.
Both were convicted. Now I am pretty sure the first was guilty and even more sure the second wasn't. I have no doubt in my mind if Canada still had the death penalty they both would be worm food.
The first accused for the actual crime and the second because the victims were a little boy and his grandparents going on vacation.