All of those who called out Governor Tim Kaine on his death penalty moratorium two weeks ago owe him an apology.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has ended Virginia’s moratorium on the death penalty after U.S. Supreme Court today upheld Kentucky’s use of lethal injection.
I want to see as many positive posts in the blogosphere about this action as I saw negative ones about his earlier, and, in my opinion, prudent, action.
Get cranking!
So just because TJ got some things right means that you have to agree with everything the man said? Jefferson was also ok with owning slaves but not expanding the practice…do I hear your calls for amending the 13th?
He also didn’t believe in the government holding debt…unfortunately our national government hasn’t held to that maxim. How’s the current government doing there?
TJ didn’t believe in Marbury v. Madison and judicial review…I’m guessing in certain cases that would be ok with you such as this one but not in others?
He also was anti-corporation. Should we ban all corporate entities?
Posted by Kevin | Wednesday, April 16, 2008, 10:05 pmSurely you jest Vivian. Kaine made a mistake, one he owned up to, but he still made it and only went back on it when he saw that sticking with it would’ve been unwise politically.
If Kaine wanted praise, he should’ve avoided this mistake in the first place. He flipped, and then flipped back, but Kaine always was pretty flippant.
Posted by CR UVa | Wednesday, April 16, 2008, 10:30 pmThe amount of stupid in this thread could fill at least a GOP county convention. (And in fact, I think it probably has.)
I know it’s hard to think clearly with bloodlust in your hearts, but staying executions pending judicial review isn’t something that Tim Kaine thought up on his own. Killing someone is a rather permanent thing, and the somewhat civilized among us have generally agreed that if the state is going to kill someone, all cautions are due.
(Of course, we still haven’t really gotten it right. How many people on death row have been exonerated, again? But hey, kill ‘em quick before we find more!)
Posted by MB | Thursday, April 17, 2008, 10:29 amIncidentally, not like anyone cares, but I think that if we’re going to have the death penalty, we ought to voluntarily move away from the three drug cocktail as the appelants requested and either use the barbituate in quantities large enough to reduce blood pressure to lethal levels or use a diffent toxin that also affects pain receptors. It has been ruled that the potential for unintentional cruelty as a result of human error doesn’t make the process at large necessarily cruel, but that doesn’t prevent us from recognizing that we have the power to change the method of execution to reduce or eliminate that potential by removing the pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride from the process.
Unless you hope that they might suffer, in which case the punishment actually does qualify as cruel.
Posted by anonymous | Thursday, April 17, 2008, 10:49 amMuch agreed, anonymous. You do ID the stumbling block to that, though:
That’s what, at base, the death penalty (and the overwhelming majority) of its proponents are about. Painful retribution. And fewer people are embarrassed to admit that these days.
Posted by MB | Thursday, April 17, 2008, 10:56 amMB, I don’t speak for all proponents of capital punishment, but I’m absolutely positive you don’t either.
I don’t want to be cruel. This killer that Kaine gave extra time to shot a police officer in the face. Any method of lethal injection would be significantly less cruel that the fate he gave that officer.
I still hold to my initial thoughts. If the Court takes up an abortion case, does Kaine issue a moratorium on them?
Posted by Brian Kirwin | Thursday, April 17, 2008, 12:36 pmBrian, you may set your standards by those of a cop-killer, but thankfully the rest of us don’t.
Posted by MB | Thursday, April 17, 2008, 2:31 pmBrian, remind me again, does Kaine have to sign off on every abortion performed in the state? No? So your analogy doesn’t hold water? Sweet.
Posted by anonymous | Thursday, April 17, 2008, 3:42 pmSome killings are more important to prevent, I guess.
Posted by Brian Kirwin | Thursday, April 17, 2008, 5:35 pmYou know how you can tell when Brian Kirwin’s been beaten in a debate? He completely abandons one argument for the next one. Now it’s not about his concerns that we’re establishing the precedent of halting all business in the Commonwealth everytime the Supreme Court is deciding a case, but instead how Brian Kirwin doesn’t like abortion.
And that’s fine, I don’t like abortion, either. But I am grinning from ear to ear since I forced you off your position. Thanks for making my Thursday afternoon a little bit more entertaining.
Posted by anonymous | Thursday, April 17, 2008, 5:55 pmOnce again, the Constitution of the United States of America prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
Is any amount of pain constitutional in your view, Mark?
Posted by Brian | Thursday, April 17, 2008, 6:21 pmSo, Brian, are you advocating torture as a new arrow in punishment’s quiver?
Posted by MB | Thursday, April 17, 2008, 9:01 pmAnon, you are so easily pleased.
Posted by Brian Kirwin | Friday, April 18, 2008, 11:27 amSo Kaine breaks a campaign promise, lies about making the promise and now that he has had to look to others for leadership (And fear of a lawsuit) he changes it back?
Apologize? No. Feel sad for Virginia? Yes.
But I have my own fish to fry. I can only Hope Hillary wins so he can take Gov. Strikland out of Ohio as her Veep… And then watch them lose
Posted by The Squeaky Wheel | Saturday, April 19, 2008, 4:41 pm