John Grisham on death row prisoner: ‘Texas is about to execute innocent man’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/17/robert-roberson-texas-death-penalty-john-grisham-innocent

81 points · 17 comments · view on lemmy.world

17 Comments

NarrativeBear@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 1y (12 replies)

When there is even a inkling of doubt a person should not be executed.

breetai@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 1y (10 replies)

Or how about we just don’t execute people? I find the practice a little pointless and barbaric.

VelvetStorm@lemmy.world · -10 pts · 1y (9 replies)

Some people don't deserve to live.

C126@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 1y (4 replies)

And some don't deserve to die. Can you give it to them? Then don't be so quick to deal out death and judgement.

VelvetStorm@lemmy.world · -3 pts · 1y (3 replies)

Can I give what to who? I'm not 100% following here.

Yucky_Dimension@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 1y (2 replies)

Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.

-Gandalf the Grey

That's what the post is referring to.

VelvetStorm@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y (1 reply)

Oh, I've tried to read the books several times but just can't seem to get into them.

Yucky_Dimension@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1y

https://youtu.be/b07MuI_pw28?feature=shared

You wouldn't have to read the books. There are three amazing movies out there.

Ibaudia@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y

Humans shouldn't be the ones to decide that.

Ookami38@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 1y (2 replies)

Yeah, no. That's not how morality works. People have an inherent right to life regardless of how you feel. Ending that life is a violation of that right, as long as that life is of a human. So the options are either don't kill people, or dehumanize people, and neither of those a good society makes.

VelvetStorm@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1y (1 reply)

No, I disagree. People like Hitler, which is who I was thinking about when I made my original comment, don't deserve to live and you won't change my mind on that.

Ookami38@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1y

As long as he was in power and able to cause havoc, then he's that's self defense. As soon as (if history had taken a different turn) he was imprisoned and no longer a threat to anyone, his life is as valued as anyone else's. That doesn't mean he doesn't have to face consequences, just ones that aren't murder.

Honytawk@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 1y

You can never in a million years be 100% certain.

Not even if you see it with your own eyes.

It is the argument why civilized countries removed the death penalty entirely.

Mango@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 1y

Innocence never mattered to them. It matters to the government and ruling class as much as fake reviews on Amazon matters to Amazon. Control is perception.

Ibaudia@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 1y

Grisham said he was keen to get involved in the campaign to save Roberson’s life because “I just have a real anger at these cases. . .

Cases, plural. This guy has seen this stuff before. Why does the death penalty still get so much public support when the courts are so corrupt and dysfunctional?

ZhaoYadang@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 1y

“…again.”

buddascrayon@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y

I've just spent the last half hour hour and a half reading this linked article about Todd Willingham that was referenced at the end of the posted article.

I cannot fucking believe how horrid the justice system in Texas is. You couldn't pay me to live there. And quite frankly at this point I don't think I feel safe visiting such a place.

Edit: I had not realized how exactly long it had taken to read that article. It's not a short read.