Manson Family Values

[Sampiro]

I apologize if this is an ongoing debate; I couldn't get a straight answer from the Search feature and I'm newish here.

Recently, Leslie Van Houten, who participated in the Manson family's murders of the LaBiancas, came up for parole and though it was denied she came a tad closer than any other member of that "family" ever has. Numerous character witnesses claimed she's reformed and no longer the same person she was at the time of the killings and that she is truly remorseful, blah blah blah.
Question: suppose that somehow you're given perfect insight or a truth machine, etc., and you know beyond a shadow of doubt that Van Houten really is reformed, remorseful, no danger to anybody, and not the same person she was when as a drugged up teenager she brutally hacked an innocent unarmed middle aged couple to death. Do you feel she should be eligible for parole?
A lesser question: like some of her "sisters", Van Houten has earned a master's degree while incarcerated. Do you believe that those serving life sentences should have access to higher education?

[Eve]

There were two threads—one, I think, in GD and one in the Pit. I seem to remember them being called "Charlie's Angel" and "Let Leslie Go," and they both got pretty heated.

I'm in the "it's a shame thjey didn't execute them all back in 1970" camp, myself.

[Uncle Toby]

Well my attitude is that the law should be about justice, meaning the state serving only as an impartial arbitrator between individuals.

The state must act as one of the litigants when the public interest is concerned or if one of the litigants is incapable for some reason (such as being dead).

Since you cannot compensate a dead person with money or services it is, reasonable unless the deceased made plain his objection to capital punishment to assume that the dead person would want an eye for an eye and that justice demands they be given it.

In short it’s not the business of the state to reform or judge if you are reformed, only to settle disputes. It’s not the state’s business to deliberately set out to engineer social good. That road leads to the anthill.

They should execute her even if she’s turned into Mother Teresa.

But hey, that’s just my opinion.

[Eve]

"Even" if? Especially if. Don't get me started on Mother Teresa . . .

[W. Panic Snopes]

Originally posted by Eve
"Even" if? Especially if. Don't get me started on Mother Teresa . . .

Mama Tessie certainly had her faults, but I don't think she was in the same league as the Manson chicks.
Although- that would probably be a better debate.