And the world record for "most botched execution" goes to...

[Vincent Butler]

Incarcerated or not, existence should not be hopeless.

Right. I have preached in jails before, and my dad does it regularly. Although this is not the context of this post, may I point out that for a Christian, life has no reason to be hopeless. I saw nice libraries in the jails, inmates can get their GED, and overall can improve their lives. That is fine. The thing is, we also should not have jail be better than regular living, such as in some of the situations I have heard of, there was a book about the top jails to go to. Fairbanks, AK jail was rated the best to go to. Wayne Lapierre's book "Guns, Crime, and Freedom" has a list of some of the stuff they got, taken directly from that guide. Another thing about modern jails is workout facilities. Great idea, let's let these prisoners bulk up so they can overpower their guards. Some of these inmates have it better than I do, when you see what they get. Except for the fact that I am free, and can go where I want when I want. That to me is worth more than all the amenities some of them have.

[Montmorency]

The senseless myth of prisoners living it up in prisons has one kernel of truth to it: once out of jail, as opposed to in it, there is no hope and nothing to look forward to.

[rvg]

...Another thing about modern jails is workout facilities. Great idea, let's let these prisoners bulk up so they can overpower their guards. Some of these inmates have it better than I do, when you see what they get. Except for the fact that I am free, and can go where I want when I want. That to me is worth more than all the amenities some of them have.

That's the whole idea behind incarceration as a method of punishment: the loss of freedom. No workout facility or luxurious lunch menu compares to the loss of freedom.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Hunters discovered Terry Chasteen's body in White Lick Creek, near State Road 67 and Mooresville in Morgan County. A police search of the creek led to the discovery of the bodies of 3 small children, aged 2, 4 and 5. Terry Chasteen was found naked, with her hands and feet bound with strips of material torn from her clothing, and her head covered with her slacks. She had been gagged and strangled with other strips of cloth. The evidence established that Terry Chasteen had been raped and that she died of strangulation, while the children died of asphyxia due to drowning. At trial, Judy presented an insanity defense and testified at length concerning his commission of the rape and murders. Judy stated that he was driving on Interstate 465 in Marion County when he passed Terry Chasteen's car. He testified that he motioned for her to pull over to the shoulder of the road, indicating that something was wrong with the rear of her car. The two vehicles pulled to the shoulder and stopped, and Judy purported to assist the victims. In the process, he removed the coil wire, thereby rendering Terry Chasteen's car inoperable. When her car would not start, Judy offered her and the children a ride, and she accepted. Judy then drove the victims to the location of the killings and pulled his truck off the road. He testified that he directed them on foot toward the creek, and that he sent the children down the path ahead of Terry and him. Judy testified that he then raped Terry Chasteen and bound her hands and feet and gagged her. When Terry cried out, the children ran back up the path to them. Judy stated that the children stood around him and yelled. At that point, he strangled Terry Chasteen and threw her body into the creek. Judy testified that he then threw each of the children as far as he could into the water. He stated that he remembered seeing one of the children standing in the creek.
...
Judy had sought to terrorize his jurors into giving him the death sentence. But Judy took matters a step further: "You better vote for the death penalty," he said, "because if you don't, I'll get out and it may be 1 of you next, or your family."

"Henry Schwartzchild, who represented the American Civil Liberties Union in a fruitless attempt to foil Judy's wish to die, told about 200 protesters outside the prison gates before the execution, "The governor, the attorney general, the clemency commission, the judges and the prosecutors involved all have the invisible mark of Cain upon their foreheads. "Judy's consent to his own execution cannot wipe that stain away, for who would think that our political and legal leaders should follow the wishes of a sick and destructive killer? Like Adolf Eichmann, they say they merely did their duty and like Pilate they say, 'The law took its course and the blood is not on our hands.' It has been a contemptible spectacle." "The State of Indiana tonight is winning a very sorry victory over us," he said."


Only a few steps above the phelp's gang for sheer looniness.