Twitter Used to Announce Criminal Execution

[Xocrates]

Now that we do use DNA, the mistakes of current trials will drop dramatically, as if they weren't low enough to begin with. Basically, those who are put on death row DESERVE to be on death row.

DNA evidence is not some sort of magic crime solving proof.

Crime scenes which contain usable DNA samples are a small minority, and even then the results may not always be reliable AND you may have no way of tracking who it actually belongs to, or for that matter if it evens belongs to the criminal.

DNA evidence can be useful, but it will in no way cause trial mistakes to "drop dramatically"

 

[ENKC]

There is a perception held by some here in Australia that the US justice system (especially with regard to capital punishment) is severely flawed at best and a grotesque mockery of human rights at worst. Something like this does not contribute to altering that impression. It seems far too informal a treatment of such a formal matter.

 

[Blimey]

Who cares. So a scumbag dies for the crimes he committed, and a guy tweets about it.

Why should we care?

 

[JaredXE]

DNA evidence is not some sort of magic crime solving proof.

Crime scenes which contain usable DNA samples are a small minority, and even then the results may not always be reliable AND you may have no way of tracking who it actually belongs to, or for that matter if it evens belongs to the criminal.

DNA evidence can be useful, but it will in no way cause trial mistakes to "drop dramatically"

True, it's not magic, but it is primarily the evidence used to exonerate those few people on death row and prove their innocence.

Fortunately, now we can just read brains to find out if someone committed the crime in question http://bataoel.blogspot.com/

 

[Akalistos]

Twitter Used to Announce Criminal Execution

Is it moral to be on Twitter when you're about to send a man to his death?

Many people use Twitter to tell their friends that they just ate a sandwich. Others use it for humorous discourse that usually ends up with at least one "LOL!" Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff uses Twitter to announce that a criminal is about to be executed by firing squad. LOL...?

Here's the scene, if I'm understanding things correctly. On the day of convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner's execution, Shurtleff first tweeted: "A solemn day. Barring a stay by Sup Ct, & with my final nod, Utah will use most extreme power & execute a killer. Mourn his victims. Justice."

Shortly after, he tweets: "I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner's execution. May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims."

I don't want to get into the morality of execution and whatnot, but I have no problem with someone that feels like he's brought justice to the world. However, it does seem a little strange to be hanging out at an execution and tweeting its progress through your Blackberry just like you would at a Kanye West concert. Gardner was sentenced for shooting and killing an attorney during an attempted courthouse escape, and also seriously wounding a bailiff. He was the first man to be executed by firing squad in Utah in the past 14 years.

After an apparent controversy over Shurtleff's use of Twitter in this manner, he tweeted: "I believe in an informed public. As elected official I use social media to communicate directly with people," and "WARNING! This page informs on real world of crime and punishment. 'If u can't stand the TWEET, get out of the TWITCHEN.'" If that second line didn't sadly make me giggle a little bit, I'm sure I'd be groaning.

While you might be proud enough to tweet that you just sent the final boss of Uncharted to his doom, Shurtleff is apparently just as happy about sending a real-life criminal to his. His actions could be somewhat morally ambiguous, but he was tweeting about his life like anyone else. He just might have seemed just a little too excited about it to be honest.

Source: CNET [http://twitter.com/MarkShurtleff]

Permalink

On the other hand, the family of the victims (which wouldn't go there to face the family of the criminal) can now know that the criminal is no more and may give them either satisfaction or the first good night rest they had for a long time.

 

[The Great JT]

Okay, this is my official statement to the internet:

If you laughed when you saw this tweet, YOU ARE OFFICIALLY GOING TO HELL.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

A murderer deserves no mercy or respect. Its good that his execution was carried out, and broadcast about. There were probably many people happy when they read that tweet and knew that he was finally about to be killed.

 

[swolf]

To be honest I find such a thing highly unprofessional and slightly ludicrous; he's almost treating this highly serious, and, as stated, morally grey area like a game. The fact he'd go out of his way to post on Twitter, of all things, that he'd ordered another person to death makes you question his character - his tweet seems almost of a bragging nature.

I dunno, maybe he had a different intention like this guy says:

Err... WHEN THE HELL was twitter defined as being it is ONLY FOR FLIPPANT STUFF!!!

Really, it's a 140 character limit to be read by followers, that's it.

I'm quite sure every new technology was at one point seen as flippant and non-serious until it is used for something serious. Just let it grow.

I mean I send stupid emails, does that mean emails are stupid and shouldn't be used for serious things?

Also, here's my opinion on the matter:

A murderer deserves no mercy or respect. Its good that his execution was carried out, and broadcast about. There were probably many people happy when they read that tweet and knew that he was finally about to be killed.

 

[dalek sec]

To be honest I find such a thing highly unprofessional and slightly ludicrous; he's almost treating this highly serious, and, as stated, morally grey area like a game. The fact he'd go out of his way to post on Twitter, of all things, that he'd ordered another person to death makes you question his character - his tweet seems almost of a bragging nature.

Yeah, this isn't you pranking a co-worker or getting a good lunch or something. I know the person they put to death was a total monster but this just smacks of unprofessional behavior for someone of his statue.

 

[Akalistos]

How is this any different than if the news covered it? I don't really see what's wrong with this at all...

There is no difference at all really. Except the news is a Multi-Million entertainment machine with no morals. and he is a man who can have respect and dignity for someone about to pay the price for their crime and act not like a reserved professional. To me it's like a doctor tweeting.

Tweeting news stations could be acceptable if you were neutral about it. But I would ask why he needs to tell them.

I'll say, his post wasn't insulting to anyone. He did say what's going to happen, and that he'll have to give the signal in the first and that he gave them the said signal on the second twitt. Said like that, that's what i call neutral. He could have written.

"Gonna shoot that sonofa in a minute. Gonna take picks."

"There waiting for my signal and I feel like a girl asked to her prom."

"Dave has use the corpse as a puppet. "Wasn't me i swear!" lol"

"He look like swiss cheese. Shouldn't have given them M16A1s. Oups!"

 

[Lono Shrugged]

{SNIP}FUNNY STUFF

Maybe I'm just being over-sensitive but in my mind "Utah will use most extreme power & execute a killer. Mourn his victims. Justice." -is the kind of thing Judge Dredd would say before he shoots someone. I'm not American so maybe I don't understand the perception behind the death penalty. To me that's just bullshit cliches and macho talk. Not something I'd expect from a professional. I'm not judging AMERICA, just shocked at how someone can tweet something so serious. If I have something important or meaningful to say I call someone and say it. I find it a bit tacky to tap it into your i-phone or whatever.

 

[Boba Frag]

Well, to be fair. The common perception of the rest of the civilised world is that Australias laws are even more fucked up that the US's and what with the recent banning of small breasts in porn lest it entice paedophiles and the new fines for swearing in public I hardly think Australians are in any position to judge.
They need to get their own house in order before they can comment on other countries issues.

They banned WHAT?

Fucking hell. Remind me to avoid Australian produced Jazz mags then, lest I be overcome with an unnatural urge!

That is the weirdest use of legislative power I've heard today anyway...

Sorry, off topic...

I killed my twitter account as I found it was crammed full of inane horshit at best.
Plus I got sick of seeing non sequiters...
And, like one person I know actually uses it regularly.

 

[Low Key]

That's Utah for ya. The closer you get to the Pacific Ocean in America, the crazier things are.

I honestly don't care that the guy announced that someone was going to die. It doesn't affect me at all. And the criminal would probably enjoy it if he knew about it. Now he's famous.

 

[Boba Frag]

A murderer deserves no mercy or respect. Its good that his execution was carried out, and broadcast about. There were probably many people happy when they read that tweet and knew that he was finally about to be killed.

And yet it still doesn't bring back the person or persons they killed.

I respect your feelings on the matter, though.

 

[Akalistos]

{SNIP}FUNNY STUFF

Maybe I'm just being over-sensitive but in my mind "Utah will use most extreme power & execute a killer. Mourn his victims. Justice." -is the kind of thing Judge Dredd would say before he shoots someone. I'm not American so maybe I don't understand the perception behind the death penalty. To me that's just bullshit cliches and macho talk. Not something I'd expect from a professional. I'm not judging AMERICA, just shocked at how someone can tweet something so serious. If I have something important or meaningful to say I call someone and say it. I find it a bit tacky to tap it into your i-phone or whatever.

I'm not American either. But I understand why the dead penalty to a certain degree. That's said when he said: "Utah will use most extreme power & execute a killer. Mourn his victims. Justice." i read:

"Utah will use the most extreme of power and will execute a killer. We will all mourn his victims, knowing that we rendered justice."

By the way, justice doesn't necessarily mean retribution but just another term for the verdict. Like if someone gone to jail or sentence into the community, that we rendered justice. Tho, I did read that news, but he only kill two person and the second one was during his trial, while he was trying to run aways. I don't thing the mean justify the "end" in that case.

Also, I think this is a great idea. I known people victims of crimes and some became insomniac because the criminal wasn't arrested. If they can give peace to only one victim, wouldn't you say that's worth it?

 

[Lono Shrugged]

If they can give peace to only one victim, wouldn't you say that's worth it?

I don't want to get into a discussion on the death penalty myself. I can just note how ironic it was when Julius Caeser (I believe) introduced the idea of life in prison in Rome, people thought it a horribly cruel fate.

I understand the wording and the intentions/ motivations are totally different things also. I just think it's setting a bad precedent having officials posting statements like this. Twitter is a great tool, don't get me wrong but I just can't understand what motivation he had to do it. I work in media and I recently had an opportunity to catch a paticular celebrity in an emotionally compromising position after having their dirty laundry aired. I could have made a fortune with that photo and quite a name for mayself maybe land a job, but I chose not to take it because I felt it was tacky and unprofessional. I know it's not really the same situation but I think that it's just bad taste to give live updates on a man's life when they are about to pay their debt to society.

 

[Akalistos]

If they can give peace to only one victim, wouldn't you say that's worth it?

I don't want to get into a discussion on the death penalty myself. I can just note how ironic it was when Julius Caeser (I believe) introduced the idea of life in prison in Rome, people thought it a horribly cruel fate.

I understand the wording and the intentions/ motivations are totally different things also. I just think it's setting a bad precedent having officials posting statements like this. Twitter is a great tool, don't get me wrong but I just can't understand what motivation he had to do it. I work in media and I recently had an opportunity to catch a paticular celebrity in an emotionally compromising position after having their dirty laundry aired. I could have made a fortune with that photo and quite a name for mayself maybe land a job, but I chose not to take it because I felt it was tacky and unprofessional. I know it's not really the same situation but I think that it's just bad taste to give live updates on a man's life when they are about to pay their debt to society.

You didn't answer me... Yes or No, Would giving peace to a or many victim being worth it?

 

[Lono Shrugged]

You didn't answer me... Yes or No, Would giving peace to a or many victim being worth it?

What in the hell does this have to do with bad taste by an official? I can speak only from knowing that a victim is never at peace from a crime committed to them, because they taste the fact they are totally helpless and no amount of locking someone up or executing them will detract from the fact they will lay awake at night and wonder will it happen again.
Life is not as simple as an episode of Colombo. Fear, guilt and self-loathing affect many victims and locking the person away matters fuck-all to some people who just want their lives back.

I don't know if I have answered your question and as I said I am not going to air my views on the death penalty.