"Executing An Innocent Man And Other Summertime Games!" - MOC #48 by comedian Lee Camp

[crowwn]

If you execute even one innocent person as a taxpayer you have just funded a government sanctioned murder.

[jemmytee55]

Texas executed an innocent man in 2004 then last year Governor Rick Perry shut down the commission that was investigating it because they were about to say so, causing him embarrassment during his campaign for a 3rd term. I called Governor Deal's office and left a message, but if the man is as stupid as Rick Perry is, he won't pay attention.

[GravediggersPlace]

Regarding your question at the end of the video...here in Canada we've done without the death penalty for a few years (I think the last execution was a woman in Manitoba in the 1970's). Now, we've reached a point where the victims are being pissed on after the crime against them. Killers are even confessing to murders because they know the can't be really punished anyway. I dislike the "eye for an eye" mentality myself. But things can go the reverse side. Would you count this as a reason?

[DocChoas]

Good going Lee. One thing for sure is all of the Justice System is political. The Gov can be induced through public opinion and will be if we can get this info out and about.

[Viddaric]

Sent him an e-mail. Here's how it goes

Just writing to remind you that in the United States, we have a legal policy known as "innocent until proven guilty". It's what prevents people from working together to get innocent people killed. People such as Troy Davis. You have already imprisoned this man for 20 years for a crime which he clearly did not commit. Maybe you won't be damned if you make up for that by not executing him.

[Viddaric]

@Viddaric

Oh, and by the way, I'm not against capital punishment, but only against people who are truly messed up. People who can take someone else's life and not even think twice about it. People who have no conscience, no remorse, and hope for redemption. And people who have been proven that all these things are true about them. If there is any doubt at all of someone's guilt, then the death penalty should never be warranted.

[judgemebymyshoes]

@Viddaric what's his emailadress?

[Viddaric]

@judgemebymyshoes

I contacted him via his personal site. Just search for Governor Deal, find his homepage, click "contact us", then click "contact Governor Deal". I'd give you a direct link, but Youtube doesn't like that.

[mynamehappy]

Lee whenever you list off useless things you shouldn't be doing something unlikely that I've been doing recently is always in there.

Fucking January Jones....

[fiendingspeedflorida]

@leecamp2

Hahahahaha I love you man. Beer before liquor, grandma.. hahahahahahahah smash the bottle on the table and lick the shards! I can't tell if its written or freestyled.. but I love this man.

[alliaskis]

It's after office hours and the guv's office doesn't take voice mail, so I tweeted and emailed Governor Deal. Now back to teaching my bunny rabbit to back flip.

[tarose71]

Hey Lee I think my wording was a bit strange... i guess my writing today is a bit off kilter... but i wrote a response to your question about whether the state should kill on my blog page (too big to write here & i have a good face for radio - not to mention hair style - so i thought it best to write not video my response ;-)

[tarose71]

@tarose71 hmmm how do i link to it... damn you YouTube, why not let me link you bastards... ok, its galacticpresident then dot then wordpress then dot then com... and you will see an article in the list on the right hand side about the death penalty (recent posts)

[LeeCamp2]

@tarose71 Just responded on your blog. Thanks for writing your response!

[tarose71]

@LeeCamp2 yeah cheers Lee, i dont know if you saw my reply to your reply, but basically i said you were dead right, and that the reason i put the disclaimer there at the very end was because i am aware that the reasons i gave for being ok with it were not the reasons that the government are actually motivated by (regardless of what they say)... and hence, what i can approve of in theory given the right justification, probably never actually happens

[FreedumbFighter28]

ugh....

[darlakoone]

First, let me say, I like you very much. I think the video and your non-apathetic approach is genius. However. It does me little good to research this man's innocence since nothing I know, do, or say, will change the verdict. Do I agree he shouldn't be executed... of course. The original evidence is in question. Do I believe in the death penalty? I don't know. Prison sure could be enticing for someone needing healthcare or drug rehab who doesn't have money. Reform is needed somewhere.

[LeeCamp2]

@darlakoone Thank you for the compliments and for checking out my videos. Kinda the point of this video was that you CAN in fact save this man's life. The governor could commute the sentence. And it's happened before. Thanks to thousands of phone calls and protests Kenneth Foster's life was saved in Texas two years ago. Look up his case if you have the time. I'm sure there are other examples. But I only need one to prove there's hope.

[DaboiaRusselli]

@LeeCamp2 Commute? What happened to pardons? Lame duck W pardoned sleazeball Scooter Libby. Surely this guy deserves at least a pardon, not to mention an apology and some serious sucking up.

[grandmachristine42]

@darlakoone Amnesty International has a petition. . .

[anamarie8]

a recommendation  OMG u r funny

[anamarie8]

@anamarie8 @ 1:55

[13flicto]

just to continue on, what about Jeffrey Dahmer? personally, I would've loved to pick his brain! but he commited horrendous acts. they essentially killed him by putting him in general population...that was wrong.

I think it's a very individual basis situation...I don't know. I would HATE to be on a jury deciding the fate of a stranger's life...

[LeeCamp2]

@13flicto Sure, there will always be case - like Dahmer - in which our gut tells us we want him killed. However, would you like to see the CEO's who caused the housing collapse tied to a tree and covered with fire ants. Probably. Why don't we do it? Because we view it as morally wrong. So why not a racist, faulty death penalty? You can't decide policy on a few horrible cases. Inevitably an innocent person will be killed (see: Todd Willingham). And vengeance is not worth killing innocent people.

[tcdowning666]

@LeeCamp2 I would perhaps consider supporting the death penalty if screwing millions of people out of their life savings was a capital offense. What those lying sacks of shit did is WORSE than just killing someone cuz they're victims actually have to live through the total destruction of their lives.

[13flicto]

what? hasn't anybody in GA seen 'Dead Hunter?' oops, I meant Dear...

well my 1st question 2 U, what about baby rapists who will NEVER be reformed? it costs a lot of money 2 keep someone in prison. not sure what they do with all that money, cuz anyone I've ever known that went 2 prison sure were not seeing any comforts of it. I just have 2 say, IF I ever could do something landing me on death row, I would rather die, then live out my days in prison. have U ever been in prison Lee? I know, no.

[LeeCamp2]

@13flicto I appreciate your thoughts. Here are the answers. 1) I'd be surprised if there even IS such a thing as a "baby rapist". I'm pretty sure it was dreamd up to scare us. But, even if there is, we don't have a death penalty for rape. So the scenario you've envisioned could never happen. 2) It costs MORE to execute someone than to keep them in prison. I repeat - MORE. How could that be? Well, court fees and attorney fees can go into the millions in ongoing death penalty appeals.

[13flicto]

@LeeCamp2 well I live in FL, so all the s**t rolls down here. there was a case that a man raped a 3mo. old. I just threw up a little in my mouth, fact. In a perfect world we wouldn't allow 4 most of our laws 2 benefit the criminals. however, of course,the flip side of being guilty until proven innocent is a horrible thing 4 all the innocent people who died. totally off topic a bit, Kurt Cobain, after reviewing the case,there's REAL & VALID reasons 2 reopen that & have it investigated properly.

[pMBloodNinja]

@LeeCamp2 Lee, I was around 12 when my priest tried to feel me up, I think 12 is close to being a baby, close enough for the death penalty anyways. I mean if a 60+ yr old man is going to rub a 12 yr olds thigh, and insinuate more, then I'm sure he'd rape a baby. So I'm not so sure baby rapists were made up. I also here a lot of stories about men raping their granddaughters and getting them pregnant on reserves around here.

[LeeCamp2]

@pMBloodNinja That's horrible to hear. And yes, I wasn't saying there aren't pedophiles. There are countless.

[pMBloodNinja]

@LeeCamp2 We're a fucked up species. I guess capital punishment isn't the solution, it's just hard not to think it might be ok to gas pedophiles, rapists and that (what is it 2%?) of the worlds population that has 90% of the wealth. But there is always the risk of false conviction and coercion from police. But when it is the extremely wealthy smirking pigs of capitalism that are in question, i bet it'd be a little easier to see the lines of innocence and guilt, what with their mansions and all.

[darlakoone]

I certainly don't like the idea of killing... however, I imagine there could be a circumstance where I'd want to do just that... and to do it myself. However. I don't see the point in killing someone 20 years after the fact. Who feels better from that? The victim's family? I think they're over it. Save the state some money... 20 years later? Criminy. He was 20 years old. He's lived half his life in prison. It's a past life now. Who learns from this lesson?

[LeeCamp2]

@darlakoone And you seem to assuming he did it. ...which he didn't.

[darlakoone]

@LeeCamp2 I'm not going to be bullied into committing to an opinion without all the facts. If everything you say is correct, then I agree. But why are we trying to keep him from being executed and not freed? I agree. If this is the guy I'm thinking of, he's been pigeon-holed into being a "psychopath" who can't be sent out into the masses. I find that as disturbing as execution. He's found coping skills in prison that psychologist have determined make him appear psychopathic.

[darlakoone]

@darlakoone Sorry. I was thinking of a different guy and circumstances. See NPR's article titled "Can A Test Really Tell Who's A Psychopath?" Dated 5.26.2011

[LeeCamp2]

@darlakoone 1) I'm not bullying. I'm relaying things with humor, which is what I do in all my videos. 2) Please feel free to go read up more on the case. 3) You're thinking of someone else. I've never heard Troy Davis called psychopathic. You're quite wrong.

[darlakoone]

@darlakoone Your video specifically asked whether or not state funded executions have their place. My short answer is ... maybe. But leaving someone on death row for 20 years is cruel and unusual punishment.

[LeeCamp2]

I've already received comments/emails that five people have called the governor and many more than that have tweeted @governorDeal - THANK YOU ALL!!!

[ConradPerle]

@LeeCamp2 My letter to Gov Deal: " Recently I have had dealings with lawyers and the legal system and I now know how corrupt it can be and how someone without a lot of money can be easily railroaded. From all I have read, Troy Davis can be one of these casualties. Most European countries have ended the death penalty. Why must the US constantly find itself on the low end of the morality scale? Don't throw in with this medieval practice. No execution for Troy Davis."

Carl S. Bosco D.C.

[LeeCamp2]

@ConradPerle Thank you. Brilliant. Love it.

[MrSchnuffs]

The capital punishment paradox. If the state kills an innocent man, then all who support capital punishment (because it's state sanctioned and your tax dollars are going towards it) then become murderers and must be put to death by the state. Seriously, why is America the only first world country who still kills it's criminals? It certainly hasn't cut down on crime.

[theunoriginalDJ]

The death penalty should be used on second time murder offenders. The reason we have the system is to correct inmates and once that individual kills again we can conclude that the system is not sufficient in correcting him. The residibus rate for murder is crazy low as well, so don't think it will happen very often.

[dryshitonastick]

They won't do it. They know that if they do Troy will attract much more attention to the fact that it is the state who are the real murderers.

[cenriq29]

There is never a reason for capital punishment.

[anamarie8]

@cenriq29 yea.

[DaboiaRusselli]

@cenriq29 Capital punishment doesn't save money (it's more costly than life imprisonment, thanks to the number of ), it doesn't serve as a deterrent...In short, it does no good. The only reason it exists is to satisfy the base desire for revenge on the part of too many people, and to make politicians claim that they're "tough on crime." We should call into question whether the DP constitutes "tough on crime" since it doesn't deter crime.

Those who oppose harm reduction are pro-harm.

[marniespeaks]

yes, exceptions in favor for the death penalty:

those who lie us into wars

those who enact acts of torture

those who execute extraordinary rendition those in charge who fraudulently throw people out of the hones making them destitute

IOW - serial killers