The sniper's been caught. Now what?

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Hi all. Just wondering if you think this guy should be put down or if he should be given a chance at rehabilitation ( to kill or not to kill ). IIRC, both Maryland and Virginia have the death penalty. Same for Alabama. His chances don't look good, and that's fine by me. Not sure about the stepson though. What are your thoughts?

 

First find out whats wrong with him. Good reason (mentally unstable) = get put in a high security mental hospital for the rest of his life with no luxuries or anything. Not good reason = kill the ****hole. It'd be less than he deserves.

 

I vote for the medievel way, or the old roman way but hey that's just me

Death penalty: to cheap (it doesn't even hurt)

Prison: just make sure it'll be the biggest hell hole out there

Rehab: no way!

Maybe something like that guy in Reservoir dogs, that looked painful

 

Arent they suspects? What about innocent until proven guilty? It always bugs me when the media comes out with names and full background stories of a person that it is just a suspect. It really doesnt matter how strong an evidence there is against him isnt he innocent until he has been convicted of a crime? If this dude against all odds would prove to be innocent, new evidence whatever something to prove that he didnt do it then he will always be viewed as the sniper. He will have that label over the whole world and will never get rid of the suspicouns (on second thought he could probably make a ****load of money on being a freed suspect but thats not really my point).
I just think they should keep the identity secret until proven guilty but this is the police's work. If media are lucky and get to know it good for them.

 

They have confirmed that the rifle found in the suspects' car has just been used to kill 10 people and injure 3 others. Gonna take some believing that they're innocent?

Trial by media? Perhaps, but things like this is too high profile to keep a lid on suspects identities etc.

On topic - I think the whole thing is probably too calculated to go down as the work of a "mad man".

If he / they are fit to stand trial, I suppose it will depend where he stands trial. DC have no death penalty, Maryland and Virginia have, but one (I think it's Maryland) have currently a moratorium on the death penalty. Looks like a Virgina trial then.

In all honesty, I'm not generally in favour of the death penalty, but it would seem pretty fitting in this case. I also have no sympathy for the 17 year old, but perhaps life imprisonment would be more apt. Accessory (at least) to ten counts of murder. No-one can claim he didn't know or understand unless he has a mental age of 4!

 

I'm curious about the case. Probably the suspect/ suspects will be accused in the area where he committed his/ their crimes - and judged by a jury he/ they scared and intimidated (actually Washington was under siege) for about two or three weeks. Good chances for a fair trial

And I agree with joacqin - they are to be found guilty in the trial - not in the media and not here. They are accused by now, that's a major difference. Who knows? Maybe there were several snipers around, or maybe the cops just got something wrong, made a misinterpretation or a false analysis. **** happens. Wait and see.

 

I dont know or really care about what sentice he gets as long as he isnt released. But what ever happens, even if he is innocent, he's the person they are going to blame. My fear is that they have the wrong people and that the sniper is still out there. Frankly I dont trust what the media says execepte where, when. The media has a bad habit of miss reporting things and untill some one of athorthy says something it's all rumor. Or maybe this is just some rant from a half alseep guy who just wants to sleep. Just a thought.

 

As far as i'm concerned. Squeeze out those informative juices he may have which may connect to some terroist group etc. and after that, death. And that excludes the life sentence. Hopefully, the most painful one ... physically.

 

Well, with matching ballistics and fingerprinting.... "Dead man walking!"

Seriously, the talk that we shouldn't "prejudge" or that "they're innocent until proven guilty" is a bit over the top in my opinion because we're some dudes in an internet chat room. If we were a judge or jury I'd agree with you but we're not. "Innocent until proven guilty" was never something intended to be enforced upon the general public, it is a term of art in the legal profession. More often I see it used by people in an attempt to stifle opinion, no offense.

I imagine the case will be moved from the counties in which the murders took place. I imagine that there will be multiple trials. If they by some chance weren't sentenced to death in any of the states near D.C., well, I imagine Alabama would have a thing or two to say about that. As a matter of fact, Alabama is rather proud of their brand spanking new death chamber and is giving prisoners the option between it and the old "Yellow Mama."

This isn't to say I advocate the death penalty in any case or here, just what I think will happen.

 

The police are 99.9999999999999% sure it was them. The Sniper gun was confirmed to have fired the bullets that killed all those people. And how many people do you know who carry around a Sniper Rifle in their car?... The car was also modified so that he could fire the rifle while using the scope from the car boot. How could any of you possibly think that these are the wrong people. He was confiremd as an ex-Gulf war sniper and was also confirmed to have killed a shop assistant in a robbery a few months ago.

[ October 25, 2002, 18:22: Message edited by: Z-Layrex ]

 

Maryland suspended its death penalty when DNA evidence started to prove the people on death row were innocent (although I don't know that any incarcerated by Maryland were set free). The governor, a Democrat, is saying that he will reverse the suspension for these two, according to a co-worker.

Virginia and Alabama both have the death penalty and are seeking it against both Mohammed and Malvo.

Right now the suspects are in Baltimore. Jurisdiction is being negotiated since the first shooting (and the one with the best evidence against Malvo) was in Alabama, while Maryland has custody as well as the overwhelming number of victims.

 

I say leave them in a room with the friends and family of the dead and wounded

 

Assuming these two people are found guilty in a court of law, no amount of suffering they go through will make up for the 10 people who died, or the way they terrorized 2 or 3 states for weeks.

I do think, if guilty, they should be executed because: It was not a crime of passion, it was not a mental deficiency (their caution and success in eluding police indicates this). There is absolutely nothing you can say in your defense when you've cold-bloodedly and methodically killed 10 people and caused so much fear and chaos.
Therefore, there is no way these two people should ever be free again. But I don't see why the taxpayers should pay the cost of keeping them fed, clothed, and in medical services, etc, in prison. They should both be executed.

And I doubt if every state or community they killed people in will have a seperate trial. There is too much time and expense involved in this. I think what is more likely is either a federal trial (since the FBI was involved, and the case crossed state lines), or one big state trial with all of the states submitting evidence.

Hey Bel, how would you like to be the lawyer defending these two?

 

If I understand that rightly the governor of Maryland will make an exception for those two birds. Given it is the right of the governor to decide if death penalty is to be suspended or not, re-establishing death penalty for two *special guests* after suspending it because of general doubt is ... questionable from a constitutional point of view, to say the least. All criminals should be equal under the rule law - either you hang them all or none of them.

Depending on the Maryland regulation of the suspension this could also be a retrospective law ... which is not less questionable. You cannot change a law to punish someone the way you like *after* he committed that crime. Making an exception here, maybe because it is politically advantageous, is a crime of it's own kind.

[ October 25, 2002, 20:03: Message edited by: Ragusa ]

 

I just hope the lawyers don't twist things around and he ends up getting less that what he deserves.

 

I'm assuming that this topic is about what should be done with the two should they be found guilty, so I don't think we need to be talking about the fair trial necessity as we all know that the entitlement to one is a basic human right.

Personally, I'm strongly in favor of the death penalty for these two. I don't particularly want to be paying for their lifestyles in the imo over-luxurious prisons in this nation.

Whether rehabilitation is likely to work for the son, I don't know as I have not heard enough of the case to know exactly what role he did play. He should certainly be tried as an adult though, and be punished as one.

 

On the matter of the principle of all suspects of crime being "innocent until proven guilty", although, of course, in an ideal society, this concept would hold true, the plain fact of the matter is that, despite one's own personal feelings on the subject, this is simply not the case. Additionally, as to whether or not we can believe the media is in fact giving the truth on any topic, it takes only a few days (if not days) of the most basic political experience for one to wonder if the media are even reporting today's date with any accuracy

 

I agree with Ragusa. From a legal stand point it will be hard to have a fair trial anywhere in the U.S.A. The media always seemed to me to have too much " power " If we could limit their information in cases like these it would help the police and law enforcement communities a lot. But also I hope they fry the B****d!

 

What bothers me most is they actually put the picture up. He's under 18 - which means he's still a minor. No matter if he understands or not, the law still dictates that he is a minor. And even with crimes committed or assisted by minors, the media has never put the picture or the name of the criminal underage until now. That means even if he is brainwashed into thinking what's right and what's not and that he is released from jail (assuming he doesn't get the death penalty), he won't be able to get a job, apply to a university, because the media has sent out his picture and name to every possible corner in the US AND in Canada, and probably a lot of other countries too. I mean, they have no right to ruin his life even if he deserves it!!! That's like taking away a child's favorite toy because he stole the last piece of pie in the kitchen. Not to mention he isn't even a US citizen. He's from Jamaica, and if any reasonability is in here, they should banish him from USA and let Jamaica make up their decision to do what they want with him.

 

Actually, on the subject of the minor being, as far as I recall, an illegal immigrant, there may be a good point, as he has not, if I am correct, been through the rigmarole involved in trying to enter the country legally, is he bound by that country's laws?

[ October 26, 2002, 20:43: Message edited by: Sir Humphrey Appleby ]