Brandon Bernard.

Author: Wagyu

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"End the death penalty" 
"All life is precious"
"Stop state killing"
"Black lives matter"
"Justice for Brandon"

I have to say, hard core lefties get more and more confusing by the passing days. I was honestly appalled when I realised people actually wanted this murderer freed. According to BBC

He was given the death penalty for his involvement in the murder of Todd and Stacie Bagley in June 1999.
He was one of five teenagers accused of robbing the pair and forcing them into the boot of their car in Texas.
They were shot as they lay in the boot by 19-year-old accomplice Christopher Vialva before Bernard set the car alight.
According to Kim Kardashian (yes, not very reliable, but the first list I could find of why Brandon shouldn't be executed). 

1. He was 18 at the time.
An adult who can legally buy a shotgun, drive a car, drink alcohol and pay taxes. 

2. He was not the shooter.
He's the guy who helped force a couple into the boot of a car and then turn them into pork crisp. 

3. The prosecutor and of the jurors now support clemency.
I'm pretty sure I would change my mind pretty quick if I had an army of lefties stomping around making a racket of whom would definitely not be pleaded justice was served. 

4. He’s spent decades in prison w/out a write up, helping at risk youth.
There's a difference between rehabilitation and criminal justice. Criminal justice is about punishing. 

5. There’s bipartisan support for his commutation. 
Doesn't matter. A court ruling is a court ruling. 

*final notes 

I'm worried that this whole matter is a race related situation. I'm quite certain that if the races were switched (Brandon was white and the victims were black), there would be outrage from the opposite direction. Lefites would almost certainly say "Look at this murderer, he burned a black couple for God sake".

How do I know this? Look at the reaction when Kyle Rittenhouse acted in self defence. 
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@Wagyu
Criminal justice is about punishing. 
this seems to be the central part of your confusion. You think the point of the justice system is just to hurt someone who has done something wrong. That is a fundamental misunderstanding. So you can't understand why showing mercy or clemency could possibly be justified because, to you, hurting them is the point. So to stop hurting someone is antithetical to what you are looking to achieve. 

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@Wagyu
i never denied punishment is part of it's purpose. But your comments seem to imply that you think it is the primary purpose of the justice system. In order to reform someone and to prevent them or others from committing crimes, punishment is necessary. But the primary goal isn't the punishment itself. It is to prevent the criminal activity and to protect the innocent. So if you are focusing on hurting people as the goal of the justice system, you have missed the point. 

punishment is not the goal. 
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The point of criminal justice is that it serves justice through punishment. It is nothing to do with the offender being rehabilitated, it is about them being punished. Rehabilitation comes afterwards, when you are sent to a rehab centre. 

Nevertheless, this isn't the point of this forum. What do you think about the case of Brandon. 
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@Wagyu
The point of criminal justice is that it serves justice through punishment. It is nothing to do with the offender being rehabilitated, it is about them being punished. Rehabilitation comes afterwards, when you are sent to a rehab centre. 
what? prison is the rehab center. You don't get released from prison and sent somewhere else. 

Nevertheless, this isn't the point of this forum. What do you think about the case of Brandon. 
I think the death penalty is pointless. I don't think it should even exist. so obviously I don't think Brandon should have been executed. 

But assuming I did think execution had a purpose, I still don't think it makes sense in this case. Executions are meant to be used on people whose crimes are so heinous and they so unredeemable that society has no choice but to execute them. Brandon didn't kill anyone. He committed a serious crime to be sure. He needed to go to prison quite obviously. But he never killed anyone. And by all accounts did reform in prison. So why what purpose did executing him serve?
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@HistoryBuff
what? prison is the rehab center. You don't get released from prison and sent somewhere else. 
Are you not aware of what a rehab centre is? 

Nevertheless, this isn't the point of this forum. What do you think about the case of Brandon. 
I think the death penalty is pointless. I don't think it should even exist. so obviously I don't think Brandon should have been executed. 
So if it was your parent's corpse of which were burnt to crisps by Brandon, what reaction would you have? Do you think Brandon "waking up" to his crime is enough? What if he instantly does regret what he did (like many killer). Does it take away the implications of what he has done? If a killer instantly and genuinely regrets burning two people, do you think it is reasonable that they don't go to prison at all as their mind is already cleansed? 
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what? prison is the rehab center. You don't get released from prison and sent somewhere else. 
Are you not aware of what a rehab centre is? 
yes, are you? Do you think prisoners are sent there once their prison sentence is served?

So if it was your parent's corpse of which were burnt to crisps by Brandon, what reaction would you have? Do you think Brandon "waking up" to his crime is enough?
I'm sure that in that scenario I would be very emotionally involved in the outcome. Which is exactly why family members of victims do not get a say in the punishment of criminals. That is how you get systems based on revenge, not justice. 

Do you think Brandon "waking up" to his crime is enough?
no, that is what a prison sentence is for. 

 If a killer instantly and genuinely regrets burning two people, do you think it is reasonable that they don't go to prison at all as their mind is already cleansed? 
I never said they shouldn't go to prison. They obviously need to be punished for their crime. Both to ensure they have learned their lesson and to ensure others don't believe they can get away with committing a similar offense. However executions do not help with that.