Jury Recommends Death For Brucia Killer

[praying]

A Florida jury decided on the death penalty for a man accused of raping and murdering 11-year-old Carlie Brucia, according to the Bradenton Herald.

Auto mechanic Joseph Smith, 39, was videotaped abducting Brucia by a car wash security camera in February, 2004.

The defense could not stop the tape from being used as evidence. Smith did not testify.

Over 60 people told authorities they recognized Smith on the tape, which was aired on television.

The jury took five hours to return the decision of death by lethal injection.
http://kprcradio.com/script/headline_newsmanager.php?id=449951&pagecontent=nationalnews&feed_id=59

As much as I want to say kill him, that is purely an emotional response, a desire for vengenance, though if ever there was a case of unquestionable guilt, this is it.

 

[BarbB]

You got it, mhatten. Thanks for the update. I saw that the jury was out at 6 p.m. and wondered how long it was going to take.

 

[Victory of the Cross]

Death may be desired for him, but is it right? questions for people more wise than myself to answer

 

[butterfoot]

While this guy did a terrible thing he should sit in solitary confinement not sentenced to death.

 

[EarthWindFire]

It's an easy out for him. Life without parole with limited contact seems like a fitting punishment for him. Those that want death in this case, it really is about vengeance and nothing more. I know I'd probably want to kill someone immediately for killing my family member, but that's just the emotional side talking. After the shock of the crime wears off, I feel much better having a person in prison for the rest of their life with little prison interaction. No toys for you in prison, I'll even send you the books to read.

 

[Billnew]

His sentence won't be carried out soon enough, and won't be
painful enough.

Until we stop caudeling prisoners,we will have an abundence of criminals.

IMO if we make prisons tougher, truth in sentencing and more barbaric death sentence.

Air conditioned, resort style weight room, cable t.v., 3 full meals a day free
to all in mates..

Compare real life: having to scrape enough money together to get food,
living in home with a fan or little heat. no cable, no weight room.

And for the capital punishment? Lethal injection:A shot of morphine, and a bolus of potassium.
quick and painless. Even starting an IV, they numb the skin.

What fear is there? Just like turning off a switch. Would you fear an injection or the firing squad? The chair or the gilluotine? Hanging?

 

[butterfoot]

Until we stop caudeling prisoners,we will have an abundence of criminals.

You are right here. We do need to make prison life harder. It isn't supposed to be easy or fun but right now thats what it is.

-cw

 

[EarthWindFire]

If you're suggesting we move in the direction of countries that abuse their prisoners, you are alone on that one. Would I rather live in Iraq in a Saddam Hussein prison or in a prison where they aren't trying to kill and hurt people? It's odd reading some of the comments here because it seems many of you forget the whole call for human rights. Human rights are for everyone, not for those you think are deserving of it.

 

[loriersea]

The United States put more people to death each year than any other western nation, and we have a far higher crime rate. Our prison sentences are longer, our prison conditions are harsher, and we still have a far higher crime rate.

You do not reduce crime by putting more people to death, by making prisons more awful, or by giving longer sentences. You reduce the crime rate by making structural changes that actually prevent people from committing crimes in the first place.

Anyone who believes that prisons are country clubs needs to turn off the TV for a little while and visit an actual prison.

 

[Jipsah]

As much as I want to say kill him, that is purely an emotional response, a desire for vengenance, though if ever there was a case of unquestionable guilt, this is it.

I think that's perfectly understandable.

What we have to ask ourselves is whether or not their are crimes that are so apalling and so abhorrent to us that the life of a person who commits those crimes must be forfeit. I'd say yes, and that this old boy has commited one of them. The old question is "would you pull the switch?" and in this case I can honestly say I would, and with a good conscience.

 

[Jipsah]

Those that want death in this case, it really is about vengeance and nothing more.

Vengeance is part of it, and I think that given the monstrous nature of the crime that's only natural. But part of it is simply justice. I believe that death is a just punishment for a crime of this enormity.

Capital crimes go beyond the mere reckoning of jail terms as though they were on a par with shoplifting or embezzlement.

I know I'd probably want to kill someone immediately for killing my family member

Being the old orangeneck (that's half yellow, half redneck) that I am, I probably would kill someone for murdering one of my family members.

 

[EarthWindFire]

I think that's perfectly understandable.

What we have to ask ourselves is whether or not their are crimes that are so apalling and so abhorrent to us that the life of a person who commits those crimes must be forfeit. I'd say yes, and that this old boy has commited one of them. The old question is "would you pull the switch?" and in this case I can honestly say I would, and with a good conscience.

Well a lot of people could pull the switch. A lot of people could even pull the switch on people that really didn't do anything. Humans are quite capable of doing horrible things to each other. There are some killers out there that felt when they murdered, the person was deserving of it because whatever they did, they were deserving of such punishment. Why do you think prostitutes are a target of some serial killers besides easy access? You can rationalize death for many things, it just comes down to, do you think that killing people is really constructive? I think one just has to compare this nation to other Western nations. They don't execute people, are their societies being ravaged by crime?

 

[EarthWindFire]

Being the old orangeneck (that's half yellow, half redneck) that I am, I probably would kill someone for murdering one of my family members.

It's not redneck, yellowneck, blackneck, whiteneck, purpleneck, brownneck, or greenneck, it's just plain old human neck. Vengeance is something that is just plain part of being human and it can very easily consume you if you just allow emotion to drive you. That's why it's understandable why people would support a death penalty.

On the other hand, questions of what justice really is arise especially with the death penalty as it is carried out in this country. Is it fairly given out. Looking at the statistics based on race and class alone, I would say no.

 

[Jipsah]

The United States put more people to death each year than any other western nation, and we have a far higher crime rate.

There are a variety of sociological reasons for that higher crime rate, but that's grist for a different mill. But the primary reason for having a death penalty is not to reduce crime. If deterrence was the purpose, you'd probably be better served to execute the perpetrator's family, or execute the perp in the most grisly public spectacle possible. The point is that we, as a people, believe that some crimes are so bad that death is the only just punishment for having committed them.

You reduce the crime rate by making structural changes that actually prevent people from committing crimes in the first place.

Sounds good. The first step in this country, I think, is to make sure that some of the things we put people in prison for ought to be considered crimes at all.

For example, I went on a mission trip to Washington DC this past summer. The mission house was on a nondescript street corner in a fairly down at the heels part of town. Across the street from the mission house, drug dealers would set up shop every evening and ply their wares. Now I'm sure that by the nature of the business these were dangerous guys and not to be trifled with. But as far as we were concerned they were courteous and inoffensive. They didn't wander abroad to ply their trade, their customers came to them, and as far as I know they (the customers) weren't coerced into trading with the drug vendors.

On evening the DC cops came and toted 'em all off to jail, and it's a good possibility that some of 'em ended up in prison. Was that a good thing? I don't happen to think so. These guys didn't set out to harm anyone, they were just supplying a commodity that part of the publc appears to want.

If some people want to buy drugs, and other people want to sell to those people, then I say let 'em. Why throw people into prison and destroy their lives when they haven't done violence to anyone else or coerced them into doing anything they didn't want to do? Most of the people in our prisons are there on some kind of drug related charges, and most of the violent crimes committed in the US are, in one way or another, drug related. It appears to me that the drug laws do a lot more harm than they do good, so why not drop 'em?

 

[Jipsah]

do you think that killing people is really constructive?

Ultimately, yeah, I think so. If your society doesn't feel like the protection of innocent life is important enough to require the death of a person that takes such a life "with malice aforethought", then I 'spect it's pretty much washed up.

I think one just has to compare this nation to other Western nations. They don't execute people, are their societies being ravaged by crime?

Some are. Ask a Frenchman.

 

[EarthWindFire]

Ultimately, yeah, I think so. If your society doesn't feel like the protection of innocent life is important enough to require the death of a person that takes such a life "with malice aforethought", then I 'spect it's pretty much washed up.

Yeah, but one has to only look at the reality. There are many societies, safer than here, with no death penalty and the often hysterics that people rave about the lack of the death penalty bringing does not exist. Now countries with the death penalty, the ravages that people rave about seem to exist there for some reason. I'm not going to theorize on the reason why, I'm sure there are many reasons, but the claims of the horrible things incurred by not having a death penalty are just not true.

Some are. Ask a Frenchman.

If you're referring to the recent riots, that is a poor example because that was an episode in a place of relative calm. In addition, under our justice system, the people arrested wouldn't be executed so it's yet again a poor example.

 

[InnerPhyre]

You are right here. We do need to make prison life harder. It isn't supposed to be easy or fun but right now thats what it is.

-cw

Are you insane? Prison is easy and fun?! Have you ever visited one? I was a criminology major and my class took trips to visit prisons and speak to the inmates. It is most definitely not easy nor is it fun. Unless by fun, you mean struggling to avoid being anally raped, beaten, shanked, or otherwise abused on a daily basis...but hey...maybe you're into that sort of thing.