“A solemn day. Barring a stay by Sup Ct, & with my final nod, Utah will use most extreme power & execute a killer. Mourn his victims. Justice. [...] I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner's execution. May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims. [...] We will be streaming live my press conference as soon as I'm told Gardner is dead. Watch it at www.attorneygeneral.Utah.gov/live.html.” GodDeathReligionMercyMurderDeath PenaltyVictimsIdiocyUtahPress ConferencesPsychopathyExecutionsFiring SquadsAttorney GeneralsRonnie Lee GardnerUtah Department Of Corrections Author:Mark L. Shurtleff
“The racial terrorism of lynchings in many ways created the modern death penalty. America's embrace of speedy executions was, in part, an attempt to redirect the violent energies of lynching while ensuring white southerners that black men would still pay the ultimate price.” DeathRacismTerrorismAfrican AmericansBlacksDeath PenaltyLynchingsExecutions Book:Just Mercy Source: Just Mercy
“[T]here are some human rights that are so deep that we can't negotiate them away. I mean people do heinous, terrible things. But there are basic human rights I believe that every human being has. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the United Nations says it for me. And it says there are two basic rights that can't be negotiated that government doesn't give for good behavior and doesn't take away for bad behavior. And it's the right not to be tortured and not to be killed. Because the flip side of this is that then when you say OK we're gonna turn over -- they truly have done heinous things, so now we will turn over to the government now the right to take their life. It involves other people in doing essentially the same kind of act." (PBS Frontline: Angel on Death Row)” GovernmentLawHuman RightsTortureDeath PenaltyCriminal JusticeCapital PunishmentRight To LifeCriminal Justice SystemInalienable RightsDeath RowAn Eye For An EyeExecutionsRight To Live Author:Sister Helen Prejean
“What entertainment value is there in executions if not for the occasional surprise? Why does the public attend? For the unexpected! A condemned man who flails about, or launches into a final fiery tirade. But times are changing, indeed they are...” EntertainmentUnexpectedExecutionJasonSurprisesChanging TimesExecutionsPublic ExecutionsEntertainment ValuePublic Entertainment Book:Isle of 100,000 Graves Source: Isle of 100,000 Graves