Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof has pleaded guilty to all state charges clearing the way for his execution.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Dylann Roof, who shot to death nine people in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, pleaded guilty Monday afternoon to all state charges in the killings. 

Roof was sentenced to death by a federal jury back in January for the June 2015 massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The deal reached in the Charleston County Courthouse clears the way for his federal imprisonment, on death row, to begin. 

"This is the surest way to see that Dylann Roof is executed," said Scarlett A. Wilson, solicitor for the state's Ninth Judicial Circuit. "We hope that today truly will close a chapter for these victims." 

The deal means no state trial or sentencing phase will be necessary. 

Roof pleaded guilty to nine murder charges, three attempted murder charges, and one weapons charge. He was sentenced to nine consecutive life sentences and three consecutive 30-year sentences.

For me it is impossible to think about this case without feeling a real sense of loss. 

Not just over the lives that were lost in the shooting, though of course that's a large part of it, but also over the loss of this young man's life.

I work with troubled kids all of the time, and in all of them there is something worthy that you just have to identify and nurture in order to help them feel connected.

No person is simply evil, there is always something worth saving if only somebody recognizes that and makes the effort.

I have seen the worst kids become the best adults. It can happen.

For some reason Dylann Roof never had anybody to provide that guidance for him and because of that nine innocent people lost their lives. And one guilty one did as well.

In other news Dylann Roof, the Charleston church shooter, receives death penalty.

Courtesy of NBC News: 

An admitted white supremacist was condemned to death Tuesday for massacring nine black worshipers who'd invited him to study the Bible with them at a Charleston, S.C., church, ending a two-phase federal trial that exposed the killer's hate-fueled motives and plumbed the chasms of grief left by the victims' deaths. 

The jury, the same that convicted Dylann Roof in the murders last month, announced its verdict after deliberating less than three hours. 

Roof, 22, who represented himself in the penalty phase, did very little to persuade the panel to spare his life. He declined to present any witnesses or evidence, blocked standby defense lawyers' attempts to raise questions about his mental health, and suggested in his closing statement that arguing for life in prison wasn't worth the effort.

I am not typically a supporter of the death penalty but I have no problem with this outcome.

If anybody ever needs to be convinced that racism is alive and well, and that it is way too easy to get guns in this country, they need look no further than this case right here.

Florida Christians launch ballot initiative that would classify abortion as first degree murder.

Courtesy of Christian News Wire:

The political committee Abolish Abortion Florida (AAFL) has launched a ballot initiative to amend the state's constitution to punish abortion as capital murder. Under the proposed amendment, anyone who performs or procures an abortion would be charged with first degree, pre-meditated murder. "Abortion" would include any abortifacient drug or device that can kill an embryo by preventing implantation, as well as the intentional destruction of unwanted IVF embryos. The amendment would define life as beginning at fertilization rather than "conception," and declares that "abortion deprives an innocent human being of the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." 

According to AAFL, the idea is not only to collect enough signatures to get the measure onto the 2018 ballot, but also to encourage legislators to begin putting forward legislation to abolish abortion instead of merely regulating it. Per AAFL: "The Supreme Court cannot make murder legal. Pro-life politicians have passed incremental regulations for decades, but it's time to abolish abortion by recognizing it for what it is – cold-blooded murder – and prosecuting it accordingly."

This law could literally see a woman who took a morning after pill arrested and charged with murder. And then if convicted she could face the death penalty.

So much for being pro-life.

This is what happens when religion decides morality and puts laws on the books. 

(H/T to The Friendly Atheist.)

Pope calls for worldwide ban on the death penalty.

"This is going to work better if you DON'T read the book."

Courtesy of Reuters:  

Pope Francis on Sunday called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, saying the commandment "You shall not kill" was absolute and equally valid for the guilty as for the innocent. 

Using some of his strongest words ever against capital punishment, he also called on Catholic politicians worldwide to make "a courageous and exemplary gesture" by seeking a moratorium on executions during the Church's current Holy Year, which ends in November. 

"I appeal to the consciences of those who govern to reach an international consensus to abolish the death penalty," he told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square. 

"The commandment "You shall not kill," has absolute value and applies to both the innocent and the guilty," he told the crowd.

Uh, hey I don't want to be "that guy," and  I totally support this idea, but has the Pope read the book that is supposed to provide his moral compass?

For instance there is this passage from Deuteronomy 17:

2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 
 4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 
5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. 

Yeah I know, that's the Old Testament and a lot of Christians like to pretend that they get all of their moral guidance from the New Testament.

Well if true then this is what you are instructed to do in Luke 19:27:

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Like I said, the Bible does not exactly give clear instructions on not murdering.

And if you want to choose God as your moral barometer.....well you don't want to choose God as your moral barometer.

By some estimates, just in the Bible alone, God has murdered somewhere between just below 3 million to 25 million people.

And if you take Creationists at their word, that death did not exist until after Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge, that means every single creature that walks, swims, or flies on this planet has been murdered by God since that time just to punish mankind for the actions of two ignorant people.

So like I said, good on the Pope for calling for an end to the death penalty, but maybe he wants to base his reasoning on something less hypocritical like, I don't know, the Game of Thrones books for instance?

Nebraska becomes the 19th state to do away with the death penalty. And it is all due to an Atheist.

Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers.

Courtesy of Omaha.com: 

Cheers erupted and tears fell Wednesday as the Nebraska Legislature took the historic step of repealing the death penalty with a politically high-stakes override of the governor’s veto. 

Even as repeal supporters exchanged handshakes and hugs in the legislative chamber, a key defender of capital punishment vowed to keep the broader debate alive. Sen. Beau McCoy of Omaha announced plans to pursue a petition drive to put reinstatement of the death penalty on the ballot. 

In the most suspenseful decision to play out in Nebraska’s one-house Legislature in years, lawmakers voted 30-19 to override Gov. Pete Ricketts’ veto of Legislative Bill 268. Without a vote to spare, the override replaced lethal injection with life in prison.

This is an especially impressive achievement since Nebraska is a red state.  And it is all thanks to one man. 

The outcome elicited a nod and a grin from the typically stoic Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, who has tried for four decades to repeal the death penalty. As the controversial senator walked through the glass doors leading into the Capitol Rotunda, he was feted with chants of “Ernie! Ernie! Ernie!”

Ernie Chambers has tried and failed to repeal the death penalty 37 times before. This time he was successful.

Also worth noting is that Ernie Chambers is the highest ranking, openly atheist elected official in the country.

Chambers has also introduced a bill to get churches to pay taxes, defended the rights of the LGBT community, and once claimed that the Mafia had higher standards than the Catholic church because if their members were raping children they would "off them."

So to be clear, an Atheist, who doesn't believe in a higher authority, worked diligently for years on a pro-life bill that was finally passed just this year.

And they say that non-believers lack a sense of morality.

(H/T to The Friendly Atheist.)

Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sentenced to death.

Courtesy of Yahoo News:

 A U.S. jury on Friday sentenced Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death for helping carry out the 2013 attack that killed three people and wounded 264 others at the world-renowned race, taking 15 hours to reach a decision. 

The federal jury chose death by lethal injection for Tsarnaev, 21, over its only other option: life in prison without possibility of release. 

The same panel last month found the ethnic Chechen guilty of placing a pair of homemade pressure-cooker bombs at the race's crowded finish line on April 15, 2013, as well as fatally shooting a policeman. The bombing was one of the highest-profile attacks on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001. 

Tsarnaev, dressed in a dark sport coat and light-colored shirt stood quietly in court as the sentence was read, maintaining the stoic demeanor he had throughout most of the trial.

As a rule I am against the death penalty, and think in this case it might have been a better punishment for Tsarnaev to have spent the rest of his life behind bars forever regretting the choices he made that night on April 15, 2013. 

However I also understand the desire to see this man share the same fate that he inflicted on those three innocent victims. Not to mention paying for the mutilations of so many others.

 So I guess if I were a member of that jury, and the majority were calling for the death penalty, that I certainly would not have been the one to stand in the way.

Of course Tsarnaev will die relatively peacefully from a lethal injection, the death of his victims, and the suffering of those who survived, was anything but peaceful.

Thoughts?

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the only Boston bombing suspect left alive, has been found guilty on all 30 counts.

Tsarnaev during his arrest.

Courtesy of the Boston Herald:  

Confessed murderer Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will now be the one pleading for his life after a federal jury took just 11 hours to find him guilty of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and aftermath that left four dead and 260 maimed and injured. 

In a silent courtroom, a clerk read aloud the verdict finding Tsarnaev, 21, guilty of all 30 counts including conspiracy, use of a weapon of mass destruction and the murders of restaurant manager Krystle Marie Campbell, 29, Boston University graduate student Lingzi Lu, 23, and Martin Richard, 8 at the marathon finish line, as well as MIT Police Officer Sean Collier three days later. 

Tsarnaev swayed slightly on his feet, his head down, as the verdict was read and as the forewoman of the jury stared directly at him. He showed no reaction. 

The jury’s work is far from done. As early as next week, the same 12 deliberating jurors will reconvene for the start of Tsarnaev’s sentencing trial, where they will decide if he is to serve out his days behind bars or be ordered put to death.

This is the biggest story of the day, so it seems appropriate that we discuss it here.

I don't think there was ever any doubt that Tsarnaev would be convicted, the defense case that he was under the spell of his older brother simply never seemed viable to me. 

The next question of course is what is the proper punishment for his crimes?

Life in prison?

Or death?

Your thoughts?

Candidate for Arkansas House of Representatives endorses death penalty for disrespectful children. WTF?

Courtesy of the Huffington Post:

Charlie Fuqua, the Republican candidate for the Arkansas House of Representatives who called for expelling Muslims from the United States in his book, also wrote in support for instituting the death penalty for "rebellious children." 

In "God's Law," Fuqua's 2012 book, the candidate wrote that while parents love their children, a process could be set up to allow for the institution of the death penalty for "rebellious children," according to the Arkansas Times. Fuqua, who is anti-abortion, points out that the course of action involved in sentencing a child to death is described in the Bible and would involve judicial approval. While it is unlikely that many parents would seek to have their children killed by the government, Fuqua wrote, such power would serve as a way to stop rebellious children.

According to the Arkansas Times, Fuqua wrote: 

The maintenance of civil order in society rests on the foundation of family discipline. Therefore, a child who disrespects his parents must be permanently removed from society in a way that gives an example to all other children of the importance of respect for parents. The death penalty for rebellious children is not something to be taken lightly. The guidelines for administering the death penalty to rebellious children are given in Deut 21:18-21: 

This passage does not give parents blanket authority to kill their children. They must follow the proper procedure in order to have the death penalty executed against their children. I cannot think of one instance in the Scripture where parents had their child put to death. Why is this so? Other than the love Christ has for us, there is no greater love then [sic] that of a parent for their child. The last people who would want to see a child put to death would be the parents of the child. Even so, the Scrpture [sic] provides a safe guard to protect children from parents who would wrongly exercise the death penalty against them. Parents are required to bring their children to the gate of the city. The gate of the city was the place where the elders of the city met and made judicial pronouncements. In other words, the parents were required to take their children to a court of law and lay out their case before the proper judicial authority, and let the judicial authority determine if the child should be put to death. I know of many cases of rebellious children, however, I cannot think of one case where I believe that a parent had given up on their child to the point that they would have taken their child to a court of law and asked the court to rule that the child be put to death. Even though this procedure would rarely be used, if it were the law of land, it would give parents authority. Children would know that their parents had authority and it would be a tremendous incentive for children to give proper respect to their parents.

I am almost at a loss for words here. The idea that the way to deal with disrespectful children is to threaten them with death is so primitive and fundamentally flawed that only the MOST unfit parents would ever resort to it as a method of behavior modification.

Can you imagine what kind of adult would emerge from that kind of parenting?

I have to hold out hope that even in a place like Arkansas, THESE ideas are way too crazy to ever allow this man to actually win a legislative seat.

And please tell me this guy is not some poor child's parent!

Seems fair.

Moore Up North from February 13, 2010

In the first segment Vic Fischer, one of a Alaska's founding fathers, discusses the death penalty and why Alaska abolished it.



Part Two

In this portion we are introduced to the panel which consists of Riki Ott, Author & Activist, Elstun Lauesen, Rural Development Specialist / Author, and Dick LaFever, Professor Alaska Pacific University.




Part Three



Part Four



Part Five

Uganda preparing to pass bill requiring the execution of convicted homosexuals.

Life imprisonment is the minimum punishment for anyone convicted of having gay sex, under an anti-homosexuality bill currently before Uganda's parliament. If the accused person is HIV positive or a serial offender, or a "person of authority" over the other partner, or if the "victim" is under 18, a conviction will result in the death penalty.

The MINIMUM punishment for daring to love somebody who shares your gender is life imprisonment? Where would these people get the idea to treat each other like this?

I think Rachel Maddow has 411 on that.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So the newest American product being delivered to the Uganda people is homophobia? And of course it is neatly wrapped up in Christianity so that it is more palatable.

And that colorful Christian wrapping is the subject of Frank Shaeffer's post on BradBlog about this same incredibly sad development. Here is just a sample:

More "respectable" leaders like Warren, Huckabee and Palin won’t admit it but they would like to do here what the Ugandans are doing there, and not just to gays, to all the "other" who are in the way of their taking America into the darkness of theocracy.

Christianity can bring many good things to the people of the world, but in the hands of SOME people it can be as destructive as terrorism. In fact the difference between THIS kind of Christianity and the kind of Islamic teachings that encourage terrorism is almost impossible to differentiate.