[wmosner]

Originally Posted by JustPlaneNuttz

Do you really think so? I'm a big fan of sending a wicked person off to spend some quality time with 'Ol' Sparky' but frankly, having seen the heinous death sentences handed out over the centuries (just look at England from the time of Henry VIII and up) and (YIKES) we still have heinous, evil, cold crimes today! Regrettably, I don't think anyone has learned anything (yet) and the death penalty doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent (although it sure would make ME sit up and take notice, I'll say!!).

Just my 2¢ worth.

JPN

Certainly deters that person from doing it again and saves me (and other taxpayers) a lot of money.

[jim]

Its hard to think of a crime worse than treason, its not just a betrayal of country its a betrayal of of all those family ,friends and people that worked to give that person a safe place to live and the freedom to enjoy that life.

I have observed over my lifetime that people who commit treason are those that seem to have enjoyed the best that their country has to offer. Middle class upper class seems to be the breeding ground , this is certainly the case in Britain.

Treason is the ultimate betrayal therefore it should carry the ultimate penalty.

Desertion is a different matter. There are many reasons for desertion and each must be judged carefully.
We are all different, some people cannot handle the stress and crack up, some have other problems.
For those that desert for no good reason they must be made to suffer a penalty if only to keep some sort of order.
If you enjoy the benefits of your country then it is only right that you should contribute, opting out is not an option.

I am getting a bit old now but even so if the need arose I would feel it my duty to try to do my bit. Again I say that opting out and leaving it to some one else is not an option. Society would inevitably collapse if everyone took the view that its some one elses problem.

[jim]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

I think they should be made to slide (upright) down a giant (300 ft tall minimum) razor blade into a pool of alcohol while Hillary's cackle is being blasted at them thru giant loudspeakers....

(sorry to anyone whom I may have offended with my political reference)

Just a moment!!! I seem to remember a film with just such a device being used (minus Hilary and the alcohol of course).

What was that film?
A muslim leader says to one of his troops, do you believe , the guy says yes, so the leader tells him to slide down an enormous blade.
I erm hmmm could it have been an old Charlton Heston film about the Saracens?

Tisk ,if my brains were dynamite I couldn't blow my hat off, first goes the memory then the bladder quickly follows!!

[wmosner]

Originally Posted by jim

Just a moment!!! I seem to remember a film with just such a device being used (minus Hilary and the alcohol of course).

What was that film?
A muslim leader says to one of his troops, do you believe , the guy says yes, so the leader tells him to slide down an enormous blade.
I erm hmmm could it have been an old Charlton Heston film about the Saracens?

Tisk ,if my brains were dynamite I couldn't blow my hat off, first goes the memory then the bladder quickly follows!!

The Long Ships: 1964, Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier

[TopHat]

Originally Posted by skydriver

I would hope Berkut's statement "He is a Jew" should have been interperated as "he was born Jewish and it is amazing that a Jewish person would denounce his religion and country and join Al Qaeda" .....

That's how I took it.


I would say that prison time (at an absolute minimum) is a given for desertion. The question I guess I should have asked is this; how harsh should the punishment be? Death, hard time for life, or something less? Should a person's motivations be a factor in the punishment? I would tend to draw a hard line on this, and motivation should not be a factor.

But I was curious what you guys thought.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by wmosner

The Long Ships: 1964, Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier

That's the one!....it was called "riding the mare of steel" ----ouch!, needless to say it left a lasting impression upon me (I just added a few of my personal touches to jazz it up a bit) ...

[Shawn 507]

Originally Posted by JustPlaneNuttz

Do you really think so? I'm a big fan of sending a wicked person off to spend some quality time with 'Ol' Sparky' but frankly, having seen the heinous death sentences handed out over the centuries (just look at England from the time of Henry VIII and up) and (YIKES) we still have heinous, evil, cold crimes today! Regrettably, I don't think anyone has learned anything (yet) and the death penalty doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent (although it sure would make ME sit up and take notice, I'll say!!).

Just my 2¢ worth.

JPN

If you know what is coming, your less apt to be stupid. The thought of a firing squad bothers me, especially the last shot through the head. Or even be hung by the gallows. I'm not saying broadcast it on the Commie News Network. But let the method be known.

[JustPlaneNuttz]

Originally Posted by wmosner

Certainly deters that person from doing it again and saves me (and other taxpayers) a lot of money.

I will agree those are benefits -- and attractive ones at that. But it is no deterrent.

JPN

[JustPlaneNuttz]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

If you know what is coming, your less apt to be stupid. The thought of a firing squad bothers me, especially the last shot through the head. Or even be hung by the gallows. I'm not saying broadcast it on the Commie News Network. But let the method be known.

That would stop a 'rational' mind (like a you or me -- benefit of the doubt applied for), but not a nut-bar who is committed to a cause that includes some wicked act. Atrocities have been committed for centuries and yet -- the perps are gassed, electrocuted, hung, beheaded -- you name it and we still have this today, even though these jerks knew what lay ahead IF they got caught. I still can't come up with a decent deterrent, aside from perhaps a decent upbringing. Believe me, I've tried to think this out and I still come up empty. It seems like some people JUST DON'T CARE what waits for them. (I don't get it myself.)

JPN

[Shawn 507]

Originally Posted by JustPlaneNuttz

That would stop a 'rational' mind (like a you or me -- benefit of the doubt applied for), but not a nut-bar who is committed to a cause that includes some wicked act. Atrocities have been committed for centuries and yet -- the perps are gassed, electrocuted, hung, beheaded -- you name it and we still have this today, even though these jerks knew what lay ahead IF they got caught. I still can't come up with a decent deterrent, aside from perhaps a decent upbringing. Believe me, I've tried to think this out and I still come up empty. It seems like some people JUST DON'T CARE what waits for them. (I don't get it myself.)

JPN

I disagree. Most deserters of the current conflict aren't nutters. And most of the agents ( US traitors ) for the former Soviet Union weren't either. They do it because in the end the worse they will get is life or a real long sentence. What is to fear??
I don't think this discussion applies to the OKC bomber types. They are terrorists, not serving members of the armed forces or some intelligence agency. Or some civilian giving aid and comfort to the enemy like Hanoi Jane who dimed out POW Nick Rowe during Nam. We're crossing the intent that I believe Top Hat ( former Navy ) was raising here.
But yes, the true believer, radical nut job wont be swayed much. But I'll wager most of these cats who get caught before they blow themselves up, are scared of what will happen to them. Its one thing to go down in the name of "X". Its another to be taken out by those you aim to hurt.
Bottom line, I dont want them locked up so it eats taxpayer money. I don't want to hear about over crowding in the stockade, federal prison, etc... I don't want to hear about prisoners not getting cable TV.
Perhaps the endorsing of "relationships" that prison life brings on would be better. At least someone would love them.