[Wild Bill]

"Oh Canada..."

...probably, but i'm not sure that we humans, flawed as we are, get to decide who lives and who dies. but i want you to know this isn't about compassion. i want to see somone like paul bernardo live as long as possible and suffer as much as possible. you know, just in case there is no afterlife, and death, in effect, is therefore a (rather undeserved) reward.

-dh

Capital punishment or life in prison? The age-old question but here in Canada we give it a unique twist:

We do neither...

Murderers in Canada can and do get out in as little as 7 years, even less if we copped an insanity plea.

If the court declares you legally insane then you are put in the hands of the men in white coats. Note that it wasn't a doctor who decided you were too crazy to be criminally responsible. That was done by a judge and some are easier to fool than others.

So you're off to the bughouse and as soon as they decide you no longer have snakes living under your hat they can and do release you.

This happened with a man who contracted for my father-in-law. He chopped up his wife with an axe when she told him she was leaving him. He was home in less than 2 years.

Even "sane" murderers typically spend only about 15 years behind bars.

So during the trial we hear "Capital punishment is wrong! But to satisfy you "mean" folks how about we let him rot in jail for life!"

Then once we put him in jail we decide that it was "a crime of passion, a momentary aberation and 'he's shown that he's rehabilitated!'" Out the door he goes but as quietly as possible. After all, we don't want those "mean" types to catch on...

Gee, I'm so impressed by our justice system today! I feel so much safer for my children under the way things are done!

BTW, wonder how Carla is making out these days...

 

[Milkman]

Capital punishment or life in prison? The age-old question but here in Canada we give it a unique twist:

We do neither...

Murderers in Canada can and do get out in as little as 7 years, even less if we copped an insanity plea.

If the court declares you legally insane then you are put in the hands of the men in white coats. Note that it wasn't a doctor who decided you were too crazy to be criminally responsible. That was done by a judge and some are easier to fool than others.

So you're off to the bughouse and as soon as they decide you no longer have snakes living under your hat they can and do release you.

This happened with a man who contracted for my father-in-law. He chopped up his wife with an axe when she told him she was leaving him. He was home in less than 2 years.

Even "sane" murderers typically spend only about 15 years behind bars.

So during the trial we hear "Capital punishment is wrong! But to satisfy you "mean" folks how about we let him rot in jail for life!"

Then once we put him in jail we decide that it was "a crime of passion, a momentary aberation and 'he's shown that he's rehabilitated!'" Out the door he goes but as quietly as possible. After all, we don't want those "mean" types to catch on...

Gee, I'm so impressed by our justice system today! I feel so much safer for my children under the way things are done!

BTW, wonder how Carla is making out these days...

Sadly, what you say is true. We're WAY too lenient on violent criminals. He11 these guys can often come out opf prison with a college education. I'm not saying the pen is a holiday resort, but I do think we're too gentle with these folks.


Still, executing them is not something our legal system is capable or qualified to do with any assurance of getting the right guy everytime.

 

[Accept2]

If that's the case, with all due respect, you may have a memory problem.


My complaint is that we collectively seem to treat real tragedies as entertainment, the ultimate reality television.

My memory is fine. I just never read up on the shooting. When I surfed the Ottawa Sun, they had a big story and stuff, but I skipped it and went to the Money section. These shootings just dont interest me enough to want to read about them. If you dont like it in the media, change the channel, or go to another story, no one is forcing you to read it or watch. We arent powerless robots that have to watch or read what they show us. Besides, there was a much better story that day about someone running for cancer in memory of Terry Fox. I remember his name, but then I spent more time reading about him than any donkey who went out and shot up a bunch of people.................

 

[Guest]

If we, as a species, never made killers famous, then we never would have invented religion

Oh, what a wonderful world that wuold be...

Besides... this guy isn't famous.... he's a flash in the media... in 5 years (Or even less) nobody who wasn't directly connected to the event will even be able to remember his name....

 

[Milkman]

My memory is fine. I just never read up on the shooting. When I surfed the Ottawa Sun, they had a big story and stuff, but I skipped it and went to the Money section. These shootings just dont interest me enough to want to read about them. If you dont like it in the media, change the channel, or go to another story, no one is forcing you to read it or watch. We arent powerless robots that have to watch or read what they show us. Besides, there was a much better story that day about someone running for cancer in memory of Terry Fox. I remember his name, but then I spent more time reading about him than any donkey who went out and shot up a bunch of people.................

Really? You can selectively stop reading mid sentence and not see the name, or mute the audio on the TV in a similar fashion? What if the story is important? What if you know people who live in the area of the crime or even attend the school in question?


I'm sorry, but that doesn't really work for me and almost certainly not for the vast majority of people.

I watch the news. I read the news on the internet and in the paper. It's simply not realistic to surgically edit by ignoring a few words here and there.

The reason this stuff is printed and repeated is a simple matter of supply and demand. IT SELLS!!


My problem is that it sells. Why?

 

[Milkman]

If we, as a species, never made killers famous, then we never would have invented religion

Oh, what a wonderful world that wuold be...

Besides... this guy isn't famous.... he's a flash in the media... in 5 years (Or even less) nobody who wasn't directly connected to the event will even be able to remember his name....

I wish that were true, but the fact that the two individuals who committed the Columbine massacre are still regularly featured on A & E and other shows is evidence that that is not the case.

We still talk about Ch$%es Ma#$on. There are freaking T-SHIRTS with his likeness on them.


Maybe this guy will have less longevity in the limelight than others, but he's had more than his fifteen minutes already has he not?

 

[Accept2]

Milkman you watch way too much tv. Its very easy to avoid all this stuff. If it aint Star Trek, Lost, or a great cartoon, than I dont pay any attention to it. If it happens to someone I know, I am sure I would find out, and it wouldnt be from someone who is paid to run around saying the sky is falling.............

 

[GuitarsCanada]

Don't forget "House".. it is tough to avoid a lot of this stuff completley though. Just about every media outlet loves to jump on this stuff and milk it to death. I like to listen to the radio news and they will just keep going over it again and again. The more dead, the more they run it.

Even on Howard Stern yesterday they were talking about this on in Montreal. It appears that fat Artie Lange was on Conan the night before and this freak that did the shooting posted a blog 12 hours before he flipped his lid. Said something about Lange's appearance on the show.

These people always have a "I want to be important" complex it appears. Now he is just dead.

 

[Milkman]

Milkman you watch way too much tv. Its very easy to avoid all this stuff. If it aint Star Trek, Lost, or a great cartoon, than I dont pay any attention to it. If it happens to someone I know, I am sure I would find out, and it wouldnt be from someone who is paid to run around saying the sky is falling.............

No, I don't think so. I watch news for less than an hour a day (the major stories are featured in the first five minutes) and one or two days a week I'll watch something on Discovery or similar. That's it.


I haven't watched a sit com since Seinfeld ended and avoid reality TV like the plague.

Nevertheless, unless you live in the woods.....

 

[Guest]

" I watch news for less than an hour a day"

So, you're the one creating the exact problem that you're complaining about.......

 

[Milkman]

" I watch news for less than an hour a day"

So, you're the one creating the exact problem that you're complaining about.......

That's a bit extreme wouldn't you say?


I want to know what's happening in the world around me. That doesn't mean I want to see murderers treated like rock stars.

 

[Guest]

Hey... you started this thread didn't you?

So, who is it, treating whom like a "rock star"?

While we're at it, have you ever called a complaints hotline to complain about how many people complain?

 

[Milkman]

Hey... you started this thread didn't you?

So, who is it, treating whom like a "rock star"?

While we're at it, have you ever called a complaints hotline to complain about how many people complain?

Whatever man. I practice what I preach. Find a post I've made where I quote the name of such a criminal.

Your second question is beyond my understanding. I presume it's a joke, in which case, I'll commence holding my sides now. Please confirm so I don't laugh inappropriately.:confused-smiley-010

 

[david henman]

Gee, I'm so impressed by our justice system today!

...you won't get much of an argument here. we tend to punish the victim and reward the criminal. makes no sense. its not even a political thing, as nothing changes when there is a conservative government in power.

-dh

 

[keefsdad]

...while i doubt that the police had much choice but to shoot the guy, i don't see the point in celebrating his death. one of the reasons we don't have capitol punishment in canada is that we believe that killing murderers makes us no better than the murderers.

-dh

I don't believe in capital punishment either, but in this case it seems like he saved us a lot of time and money.

 

[Guest]

"Find a post I've made where I quote the name of such a criminal."

Now you're just splitting hairs.... You're the one who wants to talk about criminals.... you started this thread.... You're the one creating (Or exacerbating at least) the problem.....

And no... it wasn't a joke... it was sarcasm... used to ridicule you

 

[synop7]

We should name names

Take it from an insider. I've been in tv news for over 20 years

People do wanna know names, details and the whole story

And as long as f***** morons will write s*** like ms Wong of the Globe (that the Dawson killer shot students because he could'nt speak french):rockon2: , the media has the right and the obligation to tell the story and the whole story.

And please guys, don't tell me you don't wanna know. You'll be the first to look ont the web for details, or slow down to take a good look at the car crash.

Don't worry, you're not sick, you're humans.

 

[Accept2]

The Leafs lost last night. Gerber was sharper than Raycroft..............

 

[Milkman]

Take it from an insider. I've been in tv news for over 20 years

People do wanna know names, details and the whole story

And as long as f***** morons will write s*** like ms Wong of the Globe (that the Dawson killer shot students because he could'nt speak french):rockon2: , the media has the right and the obligation to tell the story and the whole story.

And please guys, don't tell me you don't wanna know. You'll be the first to look ont the web for details, or slow down to take a good look at the cas crash.

Don't worry, you're not sick, you're humans.

"People do wanna know names, details and the whole story"


Perhaps people do, but I don't. Rationalizing the practice based on supply and demand doesn't change the reality that whackos are inspired by the notoriety of like minded individuals to commit their own moments of glory.


I don't think we should make these nuts famous.

That's a simple statement and I stick by it.

 

[Milkman]

"Find a post I've made where I quote the name of such a criminal."

Now you're just splitting hairs.... You're the one who wants to talk about criminals.... you started this thread.... You're the one creating (Or exacerbating at least) the problem.....

And no... it wasn't a joke... it was sarcasm... used to ridicule you

Talking about criminals in general terms and publishing their names and faces are somewhat different in my opinion.

If I'm splitting hairs, you're generalizing.

As for your "joke", yeah I'm still sore from laughing. Keep working on that.