Attorney General Pam Bondi is directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione if he is convicted of the murder of CEO Brian Thompson.
And how long is the memory of the average american voter?
You and me will have moved on to the next battle and ten other battles by the time they shoot him. Collective memory will have other priorities and we will forget.
Thats the trick.
The appeals process alone takes so long that you will either be completely lost by that point, or your disinterest shouting support for fifteen other vigilantes, that it wont matter.
If they convict, hes fucked. Hes not a martyr. Hes a statistic.
And thats how they convince the next one not to do it.
You are not joan of ark. History will treat you not as a savior, but as a wildcard random… So why bother? A healthcare ceo is not franz ferdinand.
Okay, but they could accomplish that by not attempting to seek the death penalty. If they simply tried to imprison him for 40 years the exact same effect would be achieved, but without grabbing headlines.
“Life without parole” vs “the death penalty” hold a different connotation for the average person.
Its about perception. Not logic.
The death penalty had never really made sense for 80 years. Basically ever since we eliminated firing squads or the guillotine. Ever since we said, “guilty, kill em now, move on”
But we hold execution in a much higher regard. The death penalty is certain. Life in prison… well thats ambiguous.
We are still fighting a culture war on the death penalty for literal decades now, despite the fact that it makes absolutely zero difference to anyone not directly involved in the crime.
The actual, logical, real world difference is minimal. But if you want to send a message. Well then, the perception is magnificent.
Sentenced to death has meaning. Until you drag it out so long everyone forgets.
I think you’ve argued against yourself. If the point is that perception matters, then death penalty makes him a martyr if convicted. The point is that the actual punishment matters, then either one has a chilling effect on going around and doing that kind of thing.
What’s certainly true is that calling for his death now only highlights the horror of our country’s inability or unwillingness to lock up corporate executives who kill countless Americans every day. It doesn’t take a genius to see the blatant inconsistency there, to see that rich and powerful killers are protecting their own.
Is it about perception or making people forget? I don’t think it makes sense to have it both ways, the perception created by a death trial keeps this in people’s minds and runs contrary to making people forget.
If they wanted to memory-hole him they should have just shot for a long sentence, like 40 years or something. Life ruining but ultimately uninteresting for the average voter. By sending a message they force people to remember; “Oh yeah, a CEO got murdered on the street. Wasn’t that cool?”
So they want to make a martyr of him.
No. They want to take away a martyr.
How long is the average stay on death row?
And how long is the memory of the average american voter?
You and me will have moved on to the next battle and ten other battles by the time they shoot him. Collective memory will have other priorities and we will forget.
Thats the trick. The appeals process alone takes so long that you will either be completely lost by that point, or your disinterest shouting support for fifteen other vigilantes, that it wont matter.
If they convict, hes fucked. Hes not a martyr. Hes a statistic. And thats how they convince the next one not to do it. You are not joan of ark. History will treat you not as a savior, but as a wildcard random… So why bother? A healthcare ceo is not franz ferdinand.
We arent there yet…
Okay, but they could accomplish that by not attempting to seek the death penalty. If they simply tried to imprison him for 40 years the exact same effect would be achieved, but without grabbing headlines.
“Life without parole” vs “the death penalty” hold a different connotation for the average person.
Its about perception. Not logic.
The death penalty had never really made sense for 80 years. Basically ever since we eliminated firing squads or the guillotine. Ever since we said, “guilty, kill em now, move on”
But we hold execution in a much higher regard. The death penalty is certain. Life in prison… well thats ambiguous. We are still fighting a culture war on the death penalty for literal decades now, despite the fact that it makes absolutely zero difference to anyone not directly involved in the crime.
The actual, logical, real world difference is minimal. But if you want to send a message. Well then, the perception is magnificent.
Sentenced to death has meaning. Until you drag it out so long everyone forgets.
I think you’ve argued against yourself. If the point is that perception matters, then death penalty makes him a martyr if convicted. The point is that the actual punishment matters, then either one has a chilling effect on going around and doing that kind of thing.
What’s certainly true is that calling for his death now only highlights the horror of our country’s inability or unwillingness to lock up corporate executives who kill countless Americans every day. It doesn’t take a genius to see the blatant inconsistency there, to see that rich and powerful killers are protecting their own.
Is it about perception or making people forget? I don’t think it makes sense to have it both ways, the perception created by a death trial keeps this in people’s minds and runs contrary to making people forget.
If they wanted to memory-hole him they should have just shot for a long sentence, like 40 years or something. Life ruining but ultimately uninteresting for the average voter. By sending a message they force people to remember; “Oh yeah, a CEO got murdered on the street. Wasn’t that cool?”
Wasn’t Timothy McVeigh executed relatively quickly?
The modern but lone version of Saccho and Vancetti.
History something something repeats…