this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2024
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politics

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Summary

President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life without parole, sparing all but three convicted of high-profile mass killings.

Biden framed the decision as a moral stance against federal executions, citing his legal background and belief in the dignity of human life.

Donald Trump criticized the move as senseless, vowing to reinstate the death penalty.

Reactions were mixed: some victims’ families condemned Biden, while others supported his decision. Human rights groups praised it as a significant step against capital punishment.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

People forgetting Biden is Catholic, and Catholicism is pretty anti-death penalty.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

I kind of wonder if Biden is setting him up to execute Luigi and get on the wrong side of this current populist movement.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago

His incompetence killed hundreds of thousands his first term. This time he was hoping for a more direct approach. Biden spoiled his murderous fun.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

In theory, the death penalty makes some sense. It's a right the government reserves for itself (violence) and I think in some contexts it makes sense to be on the table. In practice, it's more expensive than a life sentence, and it's a blunt and racist tool to maintain unjust social and state power.

I wish every governor and president commuted 95% of death penalty situations. It's a major injustice that most executions were carried out, even for those who belief it's something the government should be doing.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I don’t get it. The death penalty doesn’t seem to deter people from committing heinous crimes. The practice seems more for the families who want closure, but morally we should be above killing unnecessarily. Whether someone is jailed for life in solitary or sentenced to death does not change the fact that they will never be able to harm another member of society.

And don’t get me wrong, if someone kills a loved one I will want them dead, but my emotions should not drive taxpayer funded punishment.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Also, you're very hardly ever 100% sure someone deserves to die. It's morally much better to not kill just in case - and there's been tons of cases where new evidence, like DNA, has exonerated convicted prisoners. You might be keeping someone fed and warm who didn't deserve it, but personally I'd rather err on the side of humanity.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I know of onlt one western country with death penalty: Belarus. And I'm pretty sure as soon as potato dictator dies, it will be abolished.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

Good. The more he cries the better

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Biden: Grants clemency indiscriminately for 1,500 people Public: Why did you let the Cash for Kids woman free Biden: Commutes death sentences selectively Public: Who made you judge, jury and executioner?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Biden: Grants clemency indiscriminately for 1,500 people indiscriminately Media: Why did you let the Cash for Kids woman free Biden: Commutes death sentences selectively Media: Who made you judge, jury and executioner?

FIFY... Real people honestly wouldn't care about any of this if the media wasn't trying to inspire outrage.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

I think it's the opposite. The public opinion has turned on him and so everything he does is critiqued. It's nudge on by the media but is also the cycle of celebrities du jour

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

I don't think the government should have the power to kill people as a punishment, with that said I'm also not upset that the sentences of these three weren't commuted.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, it seems weird that a government of a country that one is a citizen of can choose to have you killed. But assisted suicide is illegal.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

View these through the lens of each politician acting in their personal self-interest (which both of them have thoroughly demonstrated to be their only priority). What do they care one way or the other? This is political theater where they're playing with the lives of the people in question.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Yes, I also agree that the president that commuted many death sentences is exactly the same as the president wanting to execute all of the prisoners

[–] [email protected] -4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

No, you're right, fuck me for saying that thing that I didn't even say. Your made-the-fuck-up interpretation of my comment disproves anything I have to say. This is a really healthy discourse we're having and it's not a glaring red flag that you're so completely full of shit that you can't even have a conversation with the person in front of you, you have to invent a fictional version of them to argue with.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Can you reiterate what you were trying to say then? To me, these quotes sound reductive but perhaps there's nuance I'm overlooking:

each politician acting in their personal self-interest

both of them have thoroughly demonstrated to be their only priority

This is political theater where they're playing with the lives of the people in question.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago

How are they "reductive"? They're not purporting to be an exhaustive explanation. STOP TRYING TO INFER MEANING THAT ISN'T THERE.

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