Comments on: Sicko Susan Atkins & The Quality of Mercy

By: bmwells526

bmwells526 — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:40:27 +0000

let her rot in jail. show no mercy! the same way she showed no mercy to sharon tate and her unborn child!

By: Jim_Satterfield

Jim_Satterfield — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:24:16 +0000

A normal “life sentence” is not the same thing as a mandated life sentence without possibility of parole. I support putting the latter in place of the death penalty for the most heinous crimes with a supermax prison as the next step if they can't behave in prison. Of course I also believe we should have separate prison facilities for violent and non-violent offenders.

By: runasim

runasim — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:46:50 +0000

Yes, life imprsonment should be life imprisonment, in the best of all possible worlds.
Our judicial system is not he best of all possible worlds, however.
Unlike Atkins, it could be a case of someone originally convicted as a teenager of having sex with another teenager.

After decades of harsh "'lock 'em up and throw away the keys" conservative policies, it's hard to find where to go after harsh-more harsh-and harsher-still sentencing.
I remember reading some studies years ago, showing that the best deterrence isn't a harch sentence. It's the swift and certain delivering of a just sentence. .

We have a lot of work to do on sentences being just, not dependent on how much money the accused can spend for good defense lawyers.
Then the sentences could be swift, certain, and meaningful.
Life sentences, if just, could once again be the toughest possible punishment, and irrevocable.

As it is, who knows about Atkins? She deerves to sit out her sentence, but will it mean naything where she dies?

By: pacatrue

pacatrue — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:36:40 +0000

I'm oblivious to the real details, but my thought is that I'm glad she's found some sort of peace and she can remain in that peace behind bars.

By: lurxst

lurxst — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:55:17 +0000

I've often wondered how the wife of my neighbor that I lived next to 5 years ago felt about the girlfriend of a psychotic spurned musician from the 60s.
/snark

Because we have such harsh penalties for all ranges of lawbreaking in this country, the value of “life imprisonment” for the truly heinous crimes has gotten diluted. You can get life for having 10 pictures of child pornography, is that on a par with mass premeditated murder?

By: Hot Air » Blog Archive » Should Susan Atkins die at home or in prison?

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Should Susan Atkins die at home or in prison? — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:50:56 +0000

[...] Now one of them faces death, although much different in nature than the deaths she herself inflicted on her victims. Susan Atkins, probably the most committed of all the Tate/LaBianca murderers to Manson himself, has terminal brain cancer and is not expected to live out the year. She wants to be released so that she can die at home, presumably with family and friends. Matthew Schmalz asks in Newsweek whether mercy or retribution should take precedence (via Shaun Mullen): [...]

By: jwest

jwest — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:49:32 +0000

To tie this article in with current events, see how Bernadine Dohrn, wife of Bill Ayers and friends/neighbors of Barack Obama, feels about Susan Atkins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZqcMNA1DGI&eurl...

By: RememberNovember

RememberNovember — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:40:38 +0000

If she switches places with Dick Cheney, then yes. Cheney has the blood of thousands on his oil-coated hands-she has one. Otherwise, make peace with your God.

By: Marlowecan

Marlowecan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:27:35 +0000

Holy crap! What a picture Shaun has found to illustrate this post!!!
Talk about a Face of Evil.

Shaun presents an interesting question here...that goes to the point of T-Steel's posting last week about the death penalty for child rape.

Many posters then advocated (real) Life Imprisonment as a just alternative.

The Atkins case illustrates a central problem with this alternative. Years pass...memories fade...and inevitably there will come the pleas for mercy in even the most appalling cases.

I was struck by this sentence in the article Shaun links: "Since then, Susan Atkins has led an exemplary life in prison."

How hard is it to lead an "exemplary life in prison"? One's freedom of action is very limited, after all. It is easy to say that one has found God...and lots of time to write to bleeding hearts on the outside about it.

So to all those who are opposed to the Death Penalty (of which I am one, I think)...Should "Life Imprisonment" really be LIFE imprisonment?