I have absolutely NO problem with the death penalty except for the fact that we did away with old sparky. Lethal injection is stupid in my opinion because it is too easy on the POS that is on his way out. Call me cruel, inhumane, or just plain old mean…I say hang em or fry em. Either way the rest of them get the message. Laying down and going to sleep is far to easy on someone who may have been pure evil in their method of killing their victim.

I usually was that second shift pack-up officer.. Somedays running the gauntlet in that place just got down right brutal. Usually on those 90 degree summer days.

We (probably everyone in corrections) called that the B**** coming out. They would always say, White Shirt you knew I was playing right?? I would laugh and then ?????????

I always remember the bravado that inmates have when the are on the tier behind with their brothers. Once you remove the inmate from block or tier away from their cellmates they are usually not as noisy and demanding.

I always like when an Officer would call me down to the block. An Inmate would refuse his cell shakedown until the White Shirt got there. When I got there I immediately placed them in hand cuffs and escorted them to the hole. I would tell the Officer before we left in a loud voice, make sure you write him up for refusing a direct order. Word got around quickly and they wouldn’t refuse a shakedown. First one I had refuse to show his ID, took him to the hole and talked to him like a B***** in front of his dudes. Didn’t have that happen again. Good thing about working at LUC, my boss the shift captain didn’t care who we locked up, just tell him on the radio so he could get the pack up officer on his job and have the inmate checked by medical.

It was a lot better world back them Commander.Inmates knew there be hell to pay if they mess with us.
Now the inmates don’t want to give up their ID’s unless they see the Sgt,procedure we have when they violate a rule,or worse they can sue the state for any dumb reason…… They got rights,liberal crap….What about their victims…..

The only thing cruel and unusual about punishment, is that we can’t kill them the way they killed their victims. Imagine what a deterrant that would be. But, the libtards would never go for that. I say and eye for an eye. Go back to the way it was when I started in corrections. If you put your hands on a staff member, the other Inmates would fold up into a ball and say, “Damn I already feel the whuppin’ comin’ on. What was that fool thinking.” It was called respect. They knew not to touch us and we didn’t touch them unless we had to. Lot better world back then.

Lethal injection cruel and unusual punishment.Nope,I dealt with inmates that in my opinion should be put to death,from child killer,to those that prey on the weak,and gang initiation,killing to join a gang.Maybe 5% percent that I dealt with,usually lock up in adseg to keep them away from the rest of the population.
Maybe cause I believe is my job to protect the population from these scumbags.But why not,they kill for sport so am eye for am eye,or let them rut till they die in a cell without possibility of parole..
Screw the liberal crap.

There is no question that the capital punishment system is broken… especially here in California. I’ll let others argue about the pros and cons of the death penalty itself; for now it is the law of the land and the will of the people. The question, therefore, is what it will take to fix it.
I think the first thing is to reexamine our Constitution and to start questioning the morphed definitions used by both the opponents to the death penalty and by many of the members of our judicial system. Our founding fathers used the term “cruel and unusual”. They did not say “pain free” or intend that punishment should always be painless. Very few individuals would condone excessive amounts of inflicted pain or torture as being an acceptable part of the exercise of capital punishment; and that, I believe, is what the drafters of the Constitution wanted to guard against. However, to say that any imposition of capital punishment, or any other kind of punishment, for that matter, must be 100% pain free is to use convoluted semantics to defeat both the intent and the letter of the law.
The courts have made a similar mistake in failing to understand the distinction between “religion” and “God”. Our Constitution demands that organized religion cannot be comingled with the state; and except for those who believes in a theocracy, the benefits of keeping state and religion separate are obvious. But neither the founding fathers nor the Constitution ever intended to banish God from our private or public lives.
The second thing necessary to fix, not only our broken capital punishment system, but the entire judicial system, is for the courts to realize that there is no such thing as a “right” unless there is an equal and corresponding “responsibility”. If that was a predominant consideration by the courts during deliberation of these never ending appeals, many of the technicalities and loopholes would cease to exist, and the exercise of justice, rather than mere legalities, would be reinstated into our courtrooms.
But that’s just my opinion, and what would I know… I’m just a dumb cop.

What purpose is served by keeping a convicted murderer on death row for 20 years fighting the inevitable? If the US Supreme Court allows the death penalty (especially for killing police and correction officers) then let’s do it. As they say in Texas, “if you kill us, we kill you.”

I agree with irish. Some of these Inmates on Deathrow in Ohio, have been there for 18 or 20 years. Many of the victims family members especially parents. are either dead or moved out of state. I say exhaust all the appeals in the 1st 3 years. If by then, they have not cast a shadow of a doubt on their guilt, flip the switch. I would love to see America go back to public hangings. That would certainly give a person thought as to whether or not the wanted to commit a crime that heinous.

Whatever happened to an eye for an eye and all those other good ideas? Oh yeh, hippies took over. Whats cruel and unusual is denying justice and closure to the victim and families. All these twisted up DA’s and what not should be held just as responsible for their mistakes, Once someone is proven guilty beyond ALL shadow of doubt then fire up old sparky boys,it’s time to cook up some hot dogs! Oh, and all the bleeding heart hug a thugs would probably change their minds once they seen a “we flushed another turd stimulus check” in the mailbox.

Lethal injection …cruel and unusual? I say NO! it is not ,,, Hell I even said that i would be willing to save the state millions , by paying out of my paycheck the $87. and some change for the needle for all the inmates on death row, that way I could free up the 2.4 million ( that’s for one inmate ) that it takes for all the I didn’t do it’s court room appointments for just one inmate. ( 20yrs )… just think if i did that for all 299 inmates on death row that would be more for the Officers , and their Family’s . Oh crap , forgot about those bleeding die hards…lol
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Your right Shakey..I do believe mistakes are made and thier are innocent people in prison..however, if your 100% guilty you got coming what you got coming..and mick is right, rope is eco-friendly and safe

I have to agree with the two guys. And a Rope is re-usable, Non polluting and Eco-friendly. As for the appeals. I agree that mistakes are made but dragging the appeal process out over decades is crazy and only benefits the lawyers.

I’m with ya Striker, as long as we are 100% sure that the inmate is guilty then put me on the supply donation list also.

Because our justice system has idiots that just want a conviction no matter if the person is guilty or not, we do need those appeals. I for one could not look myself in the eye if I had a role in killing a innocent man.

I personally think that the criminal should get two choices on how he is to be executed..bullet or a rope..and if push comes to shove I can buy the rope or donate the bullet if they let me deliver it…I don’t mean to sound so callus but after seeing all the B.S. appeals these guys get and they complain about there rights being violated it sickens me to think the victim suffers and is no longer with this world..a mother or son or daughter or father lost to stupidity. Most of them didn’t do one damn good thing in there life and took from life more than what they gave. There all big and bad when grouped together, but when alone they cower as soon as their the victim. Now most of you probably think I don’t have any feelings or don’t care. I do care for the families, the vitims, and the hard working people that are just trying to meek out an existance and mind there own business. I care for the little kids who will never see a parent again and keep asking why it happened. You see, it is up to God to forgive them for what they did, however it’s up to people like me to arrainge the meeting. Take care and be safe guys

Dead penalty by lethal injection is not a questionable decision, when victims of abuse, murder, rape, child negligence still over the table, I think (and it’s my personal opinion) that we have to be more sensitive to the way on which government use this type of punishment over a innocents persons without find enough evidence which prove the validation of use the lethal injection.

I agree with your assesment that we need to vent sometimes. The article I mentioned will help many understand why we feel and believe the way we do. It was an eye opener for me.I simply opined that I don’t spend much time on the frustration. I feel as all here have felt and feel. I revisit the article each time I feel this way and am challenged on my beliefs. I belief we are rightous and honorable in this proffession. I know the public in general won;‘t, doesn’t and can’t understand. But we are still there evryday looking for the rightous fight. (figurative). Combing the perimeter for the wolf, knowing the sheep doesn’t particularly care for us because we look so much like the wolf.(reference the article). I always will listen to one of us vent then offer consolation and encouragement. Then offer a prayer of grace and encouragement to be better each day. Our system is slow for a reason. We want to get things right not necisarily expedient. A case in point. # people recently released from the Nebraska penal system because the DNA cleared them of resposabilityfor a murder 26 years ago. The DNA was that of another person who was already in prison foer subsequent offenses. Had they been executed where would we stand today. I am all for execution of the guilty(libertarian) John Joubert was the one executed for the torture, rape and muder of two boys from 1984-85 in Nebraska. He recieved his due many years later. Work for the future, efefect change within the system and you can write to vent anytime. thanks for letting me be a part of you. R.P.Sharman II Classification Specialist, Omaha Nebraska

squeeze, thank you for the excellent response. And your advise is well heeded. I would however add that one of the hardest parts of this job is the lack of understanding from the outside world, including family, as well as with some fellow staff. The inability to “vent” your frustrations, is part of the problem many officers and staff suffer from… That is where many times a forum setting, allowing for modicum of anonymity, will let someone release some of that pent up anger, which in turn allows them to do the job, shall we say, with more profesionalism. Sometimes we just need an ear, someone to listen, who understands… Personally, when one of my peers chooses to complain about the system, I afford them the privelidge, as I know that if they don’t let this out it will affect their job, and ultimately mine. Although, as you pointed out, this can sometimes be a fine line, between releasing stress or creating more.

My reference is to the tone of the conversation. As insiders write these the tone is one of retribution and vengence that inundates our daily lives, affects our work and some take that home with them. We cannot in this forum affect the process to execute the guilty. As I read these I HEAR the frustration, anger, hatred vengence for taking innocent lives and destroying families. But to spend so much emotional energy to vent to each other only serves to denigrate us. Instead use that energy collectively to petition our representatives for changes. We change what we can and accept what we cannot. I as a former officer and currently classification specialist have seen to many staff members agonize over these issues to the point of adversly affecting how they interact with these people. I have personally been close to a family who lost a young boy to a child molester, torturer and murderer. We in this business are all warriors and we have a code that we have to be diligent to conduct ourselves by. Society (government) is the executioner. We nust keep ouselves separate from that. If we as human beings are upset with how the goverment carries out the execution then we petition the representatives to change. If the representatives don’t listen to us(courts) then we have to accept whart we can’t change. To xconstantly agonize serves no purpose.
Is it unfair? Yes!! Does the current conditions stink because they perps are treated so well. YES! Does it make us feel somehow powerless that the perps don’t “get theirs” . YES! Do I spend any more time agonizing over this ? NO!
If we really want to understand ourselves better read a piece by Lt. Col. David Grossman on “Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs”. We are in this together and we know we will not see a change anytime soon no matter who is running the government. The courts will not change anytime soon so lets get back to work, change what we can, release this anger and frustration by being the very best officers/staff we can be every day. We strive to be exceptional all the time and the rest will take care of itself. If what we think should happen occur, great.If not, we go on trying. Read that excerpt. We will understand us much better and be able to move on and past the frustration. I’m a sheepdog, a warrior and proud to be a part of such a unique and exclusive club of proffessionals as the people on this forum if you will keep me.

WHS…..you have hit the nail on the head and I think you should send this to every editorial department of every major newspaper b/c the general public has no idea what it is like behind the fences. I, too, have worked “inside” and it doesn’t take long to realize how decent inmates’ lives can be. I worked in GP and an admissions unit. Admissions status inmates can be some of the most difficult due to still withdrawing from drugs, hearing how they speak to their family via the telephones. Some inmates return when the weather gets cold, do six months, the hit the streets in the spring. Sad but true.
I believe the death penalty needs to be swift esp if DNA has proven guilt. I recently spoke w/someone who was of the mindset that those on DP need to sit there for life and think about what they did. She was dumbfounded when I said that they do not sit & think about what they did; that they are not civilized as we are therefore do not think like we do. As I spoke more of my experiences, how inmates are highly manipulative, entitlists who believe it’s their right to have tvs, a store, (which of course they have) etc., she became much more interested. She had no idea. Also explained that they’ve had 20+ yrs to read and learn and if smart would have learned that to help dehydrate the veins, just stop drinking. This in addition to genetically poor veins (I have family members w/this), & prior drug abuse could make injection nearly, if not, impossible.

I’m with you WHS. Help send them swiftly to the pearly gates for their judgment.

squeeze, No I don’t think this is what we have become… I think this is what we are. It’s not about vengance per se, but about retribution. When a person maliciously attacks and takes the life of an innocent person, the punishment should fit the crime, as society dicatates. In our society, we have the death penalty. The problem is not whether we have or don’t have, but in the implementation of. Society has dictated that certain crimes should carry the ultimate penalty – death. However, the lawyers and the judges have been able to misconstrue the meaning and hence, we have convicted felons, sentenced to the death penalty, that sit for upwards of 20 years… This is where the anger comes from, and is especially apparent from those of us who work within the walls of maximum security prison. We see daily the life of some of the convicts, see them laughing and realize that the punishment, whether it’s a year and a day or death, are not a deterent any more. It can be very frustrating, when our jobs are to uphold the laws, yet we see them being manipulated and abused on a daily basis. We get to listen to convicts laughing and getting fat, while the victims are the ones truly suffering… To know that this inmate raped and robbed or took a life, and now they get 3-hots, a warm bed, air conditioning, store, cable tv, and of course “their rights”. Yet the victims get what? They get to suffer, because society has allowed the laws to become mired in confusion and debate. So, if you want to leave it up to God… Then let’s do that… Let’s go ahead and send them on up to see Saint Peter at the pearly gates and be judged.

Is this what we have become. Looking for vengance at every opportunity. Does the method really matter or simply the fact that the person has lost everything they ever will be or have. Do we go to work each day thnking this person needs to be injected, shot or fried. Yes I sometimes momentarily have the thought, but I am able to overcome these horrid thoughts and do my job for which I have such a passion. Society and God will deal with them. By the way, been to an execution, my thioughts were for the families of the victims and the victim.28 years corrections, 3 prisons, 2 jails experience.

Is this what we have become. Looking for vengance at every opportunity. Does the method really matter or simply the fact that the person has lost everything they ever will be or have. Do we go to work each day thnking this person needs to be injected, shot or fried. Yes I sometimes momentarily have the thought, but I am able to overcome these horrid thoughts and do my job for which I have such a passion. Society and God will deal with them. By the way, been to an execution, my thioughts were for the families of the victims and the victim.28 years corrections, 3 prisons, 2 jails experience.