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Community => Politics and Government => Topic started by: Askold on June 24, 2018, 01:51:38 am

Title: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: Askold on June 24, 2018, 01:51:38 am
This is not a joke.

Quote
During deliberations, the jury had often discussed the fact that Mr. Rhines was gay and there was “a lot of disgust” about it, one juror recalled in an interview, according to the court petition. Another said that jurors knew he was gay and “thought that he shouldn’t be able to spend his life with men in prison.” A third recounted hearing that if the jury did not sentence Mr. Rhines to death, “if he’s gay, we’d be sending him where he wants to go.”

The justices rejected Mr. Rhines’s plea to hear his bias claim, allowing his death sentence to stand despite disturbing evidence that it may have been the result of anti-L.G.B.T. animus. As usual, the court gave no explanation for its decision not to review the case. But its silence sent a deeply troubling message about the value placed on the lives of L.G.B.T. people.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/19/opinion/charles-rhines-gay-jury-death-row.html

a) The jury seems to believe that getting raped in prison is an intentional part of being punished for crime and not a cruel and/or unusual punishment.

b) The jury seems to believe that gay men will enjoy being raped.

c) The jury also seems to believe that having a gay man executed for the crime that would merely send a straight man to prison is fair.

d) It also seems that the supreme court agrees with all of this and the execution will happen.


USA? What is wrong with you?
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: niam2023 on June 24, 2018, 01:55:23 am
South Dakota - the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan of the United States.
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: Askold on June 24, 2018, 01:59:48 am
A bit more additional info:

a) He is a cold blooded killer and a sociopath. There's no question of that, he confessed the murder.

b) The murder happened in the nineties.

https://eu.argusleader.com/story/news/2014/02/02/charles-rhines-death-undeserved-murderer-contends/5147197/
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: Id82 on June 24, 2018, 02:15:29 am
I mean the bigotry from South Dakotans assuming he would enjoy getting raped in prison is disgusting and inexcusable. But the guy is also a sociopathic murderer so. So they're both disgusting in different ways?  *shrugs*
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: KingOfRhye on June 24, 2018, 08:53:03 am
If you follow this jury's apparent line of reasoning, how can we send any gay people to prison?  Just put them all in solitary confinement?  If you don't just give them the death penalty, that is.

I'm not even really against the death penalty, but that's messed up, anyway.
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: Askold on June 24, 2018, 09:46:55 am
There's this thing about treating people equally, which I consider important. Even moreso when it comes to justice. You shouldn't be given a more severe punishment just because of your sexual orientation.
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: Art Vandelay on June 24, 2018, 10:01:12 am
I suppose this is the downside of a jury trial. Occasionally, you get a jury of yokels who are completely out of touch with reality.
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: Askold on June 24, 2018, 10:06:29 am
The jury may have been yokels but the supreme court is not supposed to be made up of yokels as well.
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: KingOfRhye on June 24, 2018, 10:28:13 am
Couldn't this be thought of as a violation of the 14th Amendment?  If you're gonna give different sentences to people based on their sexual orientation ONLY, which is what it sure looks like here...
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: Lana Reverse on June 24, 2018, 11:02:04 am
Couldn't this be thought of as a violation of the 14th Amendment?  If you're gonna give different sentences to people based on their sexual orientation ONLY, which is what it sure looks like here...

INAL, but I think so.
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: dpareja on June 24, 2018, 01:42:48 pm
Couldn't this be thought of as a violation of the 14th Amendment?  If you're gonna give different sentences to people based on their sexual orientation ONLY, which is what it sure looks like here...

Yes, but the original plain meaning of the 14th Amendment would not include sexual orientation...

Anyway originalists can fuck right off.
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: Cloud3514 on June 25, 2018, 09:22:53 pm
Ah, a good one-two punch of homophobia and rape culture. Awesome.
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: KingOfRhye on June 26, 2018, 12:12:32 am
Couldn't this be thought of as a violation of the 14th Amendment?  If you're gonna give different sentences to people based on their sexual orientation ONLY, which is what it sure looks like here...

Yes, but the original plain meaning of the 14th Amendment would not include sexual orientation...

Anyway originalists can fuck right off.

My response to that always is (and I've heard a very similar line to that more than once)....it doesn't say anything about that, does it?
Title: Re: Gay man sentenced to death because "he would enjoy prison"
Post by: Kanzenkankaku on June 28, 2018, 11:46:46 pm
So they think that prison rape is all just gay consensual sex?