• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Come on, man.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

A consequence of cucumbers

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

Republicans don’t trust women.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

No Justins, No Peace

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Republicans in disarray!

Mobile Menu

  • Four Directions Montana
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2024 Elections
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Biblical Justice

Biblical Justice

by John Cole|  September 11, 20079:41 am| 11 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Open Threads

FacebookTweetEmail

I don’t like this:

The federal appeals court in San Francisco yesterday upheld a death sentence from a jury that had consulted the Bible’s teachings on capital punishment.

In a second decision on the role of religion in the criminal justice system, the same court ruled Friday that requiring a former prisoner on parole to attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous violated the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion.

In the capital case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit split 9 to 6 on the question of whether notes including Bible verses prepared by the jury’s foreman and used during sentencing deliberations required reversal of the death sentence imposed on Stevie L. Fields in 1979.

Mr. Fields, on parole after serving time for manslaughter, committed a series of rapes, kidnappings and robberies, and murdered Rosemary Cobbs, a student librarian at the University of Southern California.

After the jury convicted Mr. Fields and while it was deliberating his sentence, the foreman, Rodney White, conducted outside research, consulting several reference works and preparing a list of pros and cons on the death penalty that he shared with fellow jurors. On the pro side, he quoted passages from the Bible, including this one from Exodus: “He that smiteth a man, so that he dies, shall surely be put to death.”

They then sentenced him to having his eye gouged out a tooth pulled. Just kidding.

In all seriousness, I don’t think I need to go into detail as to why this is a bad thing.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Why Does George Will Hate America?
Next Post: They Got Nothing »

Reader Interactions

11Comments

  1. 1.

    Teak111

    September 11, 2007 at 10:14 am

    I don’t get it, John. Upheld, despite the biblical reference in deliberations. Every jurist has a set of beliefs and its not wrong to use those beliefs to pursuad other jurors. BTW, Jaun Cole is depressing today. Basically, the next president is screwed because they will have to deal with Iraq. Nice work bush, political to the end.

    http://www.juancole.com/

  2. 2.

    Zifnab

    September 11, 2007 at 10:30 am

    In all seriousness, I don’t think I need to go into detail as to why this is a bad thing.

    This guy should have been screened off the jury panel to begin with. That said, once he’s on there, I don’t see how “My bible says eye-for-an-eye” is any different than “My personal belief is you gotta kill a guy for killing a guy”. It looks like this juror was at least attempting to attack the problem rationally and reasonably. If he’d walked into the deliberation room, quoted the Bible, and proclaimed, “Hang’m High” we might have a problem. But many people consider state executions a moral crisis, and many people turn to the Bible in times of moral crisis. Some people in our country lean heavily on religion when making life choices. Welcome to America.

  3. 3.

    The Other Steve

    September 11, 2007 at 11:02 am

    In a second decision on the role of religion in the criminal justice system, the same court ruled Friday that requiring a former prisoner on parole to attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous violated the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion.

    It rather depends on who is leading the group. AA has been abused by some religious fools.

  4. 4.

    Bubblegum Tate

    September 11, 2007 at 1:01 pm

    Don’t you get it, John? The Bible is the basis of mankind in general and the US in particular. This country is the one Jebus actually pays attention to, and it was founded by the Bible (the founding fathers? Just sentient Bibles) for the Bible. If we stray from the Bible, then we get Islamocommienazis, hurricanes, gay sex, recreational abortions, the resurrection of Stalin, and science. Is that what you want, John? Huh? Is it?

  5. 5.

    Praedor Atrebates

    September 11, 2007 at 1:31 pm

    I am opposed to the death penalty anyway (but would lie about this so as NOT be excluded from jury duty on a capital crime…sorry, but that’s the way it is) but a sure-fire way for me to rule on an issue is to bring the Bible or the Koran or the Talmud, etc, into it. Whatever those books/quotes/stanzas supposedly call for, I will vote for the direct opposite.

    There’s a problem, of course, if the idiot slimebag biblethumper comes in with citations from his/her bible both for and against a certain type of punishment…in that case I guess I go with my own proclivity (against the death penalty).

    Seriously, someone bring the bible into it and that, to me, is simply itching for a fight. I immediately become inclined to go the opposite direction of them bible spewage. It’s a reflex, like a hammer tap on the knee.

  6. 6.

    BIRDZILLA

    September 11, 2007 at 1:56 pm

    And whenever his exicution dose take place and abunch of liberal bleedinghearts show up to light their candles and protest against the exiction calling it legalized murder ask them if they support abortion and urge them to set their candles on the ground and squat down over them

  7. 7.

    Zifnab

    September 11, 2007 at 4:08 pm

    Seriously, someone bring the bible into it and that, to me, is simply itching for a fight. I immediately become inclined to go the opposite direction of them bible spewage. It’s a reflex, like a hammer tap on the knee.

    Well, right. Except there are large swaths of the Bible I’m perfectly happy with – mercy, charity, law and order, forgiveness, peace, love, cannibalism. I’m for all those things. If a guy needs a holy book to make him feel better about feeding the starving, healing the sick, and clothing the naked, I say that’s fine. If he needs a holy book to justify punishing the wicked, whatever.

    It is worth noting that the foreman “conducted outside research, consulting several reference works”. He didn’t just crack open the Bible and say, “Jesus done says he gotta fry”.

    The man approached capital punishment from a more philosophical bent than I’d prefer, but I fail to see how it would be unConstitutional, or even bad, if more jurors didn’t give the death penalty this much thought. Even if they do come to the wrong conclusions.

  8. 8.

    Glen

    September 11, 2007 at 6:56 pm

    John,

    I don’t like this anymore than you. Less, probably. Hey, let’s go all the way to literal stonings, videos on Fox Noise and webcast 24/7?

    As the cliche goes, “Beam me up, Scotty…”

  9. 9.

    JWW

    September 11, 2007 at 9:25 pm

    John,

    By law any juror can discuss any thought process, written or mental that leads them”as a person” to make their own decision. If you can cite different, let me know.

    And well I’ll be. What is it that I “swear on”, it’s not the trillions of documents written since. Maybe, you would like it so”but only for certain cases”

  10. 10.

    canuckistani

    September 12, 2007 at 9:39 am

    It should be a felony to eat lobster too.

  11. 11.

    Nancy Irving

    September 13, 2007 at 12:08 am

    I have been reading the Bible for the first time recently.

    One passage I read (Leviticus or Numbers, I think) has the Israelites stoning to death a man who is discovered gathering sticks on the Sabbath. Jehovah is consulted, and He signs off on it.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Mike in NC on I Am All For This! (Apr 17, 2024 @ 5:22pm)
  • Steeplejack on I Am All For This! (Apr 17, 2024 @ 5:21pm)
  • Jackie on I Am All For This! (Apr 17, 2024 @ 5:20pm)
  • Ohio Mom on I Am All For This! (Apr 17, 2024 @ 5:20pm)
  • schrodingers_cat on I Am All For This! (Apr 17, 2024 @ 5:17pm)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning
Proposed BJ meetups list from frosty

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8
Virginia House Races
Four Directions – Montana
Worker Power AZ
Four Directions – Arizona
Four Directions – Nevada

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
Positive Climate News
War in Ukraine
Cole’s “Stories from the Road”
Classified Documents Primer

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Political Action 2024

Postcard Writing Information

Balloon Juice for Four Directions AZ

Donate

Balloon Juice for Four Directions NV

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!