# After Tsarnaev is in the ground, should America reconsider its capital punishment policy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 19, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052 "2014-03-19T01:52:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/41 "2014-03-19T11:39:23Z")
> [@Batistuta](#): > > What if the victims of the original crime want the culprit to be boiled alive? Or crucified? Would the state have to provide them with that satisfaction too? After all, the criminal has already forfeited his/her right to live (according to you), and his/her victims want to see him/her suffer, so why the hell not? Well, crucifixion might be going a bit far, but I’m completely OK with public hangings or beheadings. Maybe if the relatives of the victim are willing to pony up the cash to pay for the more extravagant execution of their choice. ---
**Author:** ![Batistuta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58956e/32.png) [@Batistuta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batistuta)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/42 "2014-03-19T11:41:26Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Well, crucifixion might be going a bit far, but I’m completely OK with public hangings or beheadings. Maybe if the relatives of the victim are willing to pony up the cash to pay for the more extravagant execution of their choice. So where do you place the limits? Is there a punishment just too cruel, too gruesome, that should not be allowed under any circumstances? Because I can see a slippery slope situation developing here… ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/43 "2014-03-19T11:58:15Z")
> [@Batistuta](#): > > So where do you place the limits? Is there a punishment just too cruel, too gruesome, that should not be allowed under any circumstances? Because I can see a slippery slope situation developing here… I can’t personally imagine one. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/44 "2014-03-19T13:04:33Z")
> [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](#): > > The State is fallible. Given a long enough timeline, the State will inevitably execute an innocent person. It’s not a “risk”, it’s a _mathematical certainty._. This is a very important point. It _will_ happen. It’s only a matter of time. And it is even more likely that a murderer will [kill someone in prison](http://www.abqjournal.com/111735/opinion/death-prevents-murderers-from-killing-again.html), escape and kill someone, or be paroled and kill someone. This is not merely a possibility - [it has happened already](http://www.wesleylowe.com/repoff.html), repeatedly. Something like [1.2% of those convicted of murder kill again](http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=17)within five years of their release. > [@](#): > > If you’re okay with the killing of innocents in pursuit of some utilitarian idea of a “greater good”, then there isn’t really all that much difference between you and the people you’re executing. Are you okay with the killing of innocents in pursuit of abolishing the death penalty? The number of innocents who die when we don’t impose the death penalty greatly exceeds even the theoretical number of wrongfully executed. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/45 "2014-03-19T13:17:40Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > When was the last time someone was executed in this country who was subsequently _proven_ to have been completely innocent? This is a joke, right? Nobody gets proven innocent (not that such a concept exists in the law) after death because dead people don’t get new trials. ---
**Author:** ![Batistuta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58956e/32.png) [@Batistuta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batistuta)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/46 "2014-03-19T13:21:45Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > And it is even more likely that a murderer will [kill someone in prison](http://www.abqjournal.com/111735/opinion/death-prevents-murderers-from-killing-again.html), escape and kill someone, or be paroled and kill someone. This is not merely a possibility - [it has happened already](http://www.wesleylowe.com/repoff.html), repeatedly. Something like [1.2% of those convicted of murder kill again](http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=17)within five years of their release. Good point, but doesn’t that imply that 98.8% of those convicted of murder **do not** kill again within five years of their release? Wouldn’t applying the death penalty to everyone who is convicted of murder cause the deaths of thousands of potentially _re-habilitable_ individuals? I guess you don’t support killing every person who is convicted of murder (?), but then where do you draw the line? Which murderers do you kill and which do you spare? Is there any way to tell how likely a murderer is to achieve re-habilitation in the long-term? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/47 "2014-03-19T13:25:20Z")
I am mystified why Tsarnaev comes into the discussion at all. Is the OP saying “OK, we’ll let you have this scumbag, but no more”? What happens the next time someone commits an equivalent or worse crime? ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/48 "2014-03-19T14:03:34Z")
> [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](#): > > The State is fallible. Given a long enough timeline, the State will inevitably execute an innocent person. It’s not a “risk”, it’s a _mathematical certainty._. This is a very important point. It _will_ happen. It’s only a matter of time. > > If you’re okay with the killing of innocents in pursuit of some utilitarian idea of a “greater good”, then there isn’t really all that much difference between you and the people you’re executing. You do get the distinction between _intentionally_ killing those you _know_ to be innocent, on the one hand, and accepting the risk that some innocent people will be killed, as an unintended side effect of executing the guilty, right? That makes all the difference in the world. If not, here’s a primer: [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/double-effect/](http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/double-effect/) ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/49 "2014-03-19T14:07:12Z")
For the OP: I don’t in principle have a _moral_ problem with the death penalty for very serious crimes, but I’m concerned by 1) the risk of killing innocent people, 2) the fact that the New Testament, while clearly sanctioning the death penalty in principle, also provides a strong witness against it (specifically, in John chapter 8). I can see arguments both ways, but right now I think the best compromise between the requirements of justice and mercy would be to stop using the death penalty for ‘common’ crimes like rape and murder, but keep it on the books for treason, terrorism, and other crimes against the public order. Which would of course cover folks like the terrorist, Tsarnaev. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/50 "2014-03-19T14:09:10Z")
A number of countries (particularly in Latin America) do, I believe, reserve the death penalty for ‘treason and similar crimes’. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/51 "2014-03-19T14:15:50Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I don’t get the point of leading off with _“After Tsarnaev is in the ground…”_\* In fact it’s the strangest, most self-contradictory possible way to begin the discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/52 "2014-03-19T14:19:58Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > This is a joke, right? Nobody gets proven innocent (not that such a concept exists in the law) after death because dead people don’t get new trials. Actually, trace DNA evidence has exculpated a number of dead people since it’s become a thing (or at the very least cast significant doubt on their culpability). [QUOTE=Monty] Oh, and I’m 100% against capital punishment in all cases, if anyone happened to be wondering. [/QUOTE] That’s a pleonasm. Were you not against capital punishment in all cases, you would in fact be for capital punishment. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/53 "2014-03-19T14:29:50Z")
> [@tigerwahoo](#): > > Cite about racist application of the death penalty? I’m not arguing that there aren’t some inherent biases in the judicial system as a whole, but what you’re asking me to believe here - that there is some active, malicious misuse of capitol punishment on the basis of the convicted’s race - requires a pretty substantial leap of faith with no evidence provided. I composed this off the top of my head- I will have to get back to you with evidence. My impression/recollection is that a black person is more likely to receive the death penalty than a white person, for the same crime. In the same way a white person is more likely to get away with ‘stand your ground’ killing, or black people are more likely to go to prison, be stopped and frisked or pulled over on the highway. All of which points to ‘the judicial system as a whole’, yes, but death seems like a special case where we really ought to not allow caprice and what is, really, American post-apartheid conditions to creep in. The country has a responsibility that it isn’t facing up to, and that’s why places like Detroit and Chicago generate so many black criminals: neglect. Until some real evidence comes along, we could suspend the racism point and replace it with ‘the death penalty is a huge financial burden on the public.’ > [@](#): > > I also fail to see why lack of uniformity among state’s use (or lack thereof) of the death penalty is a compelling argument against it. Thas is how our legal system works. It is one thing when we’re talking about something like the legalization of pot. But why should the death penalty be applied unevenly? Why do you die if you live in Texas but not New York? That doesn’t make any sense, so how is it justice? > [@](#): > > Idiosyncratic? I guess. I fail to see why it’s a problem, though. Texas being more likely to execute criminals in no way makes it more likely for crime to occur in OTHER states. The only conclusion I can gather is - don’t kill people in Texas unless you want to be executed. Or maybe you think that a life behind bars without parole is a fate worse than death, in which case you might want to move to Texas before your killing spree… The Constitution guarantees the right to life, so it seems the policy on this matter should not be idiosyncratic. This one ought to be a top-down decision… I guess. I’m not a lawyer, but specific Constitutional requirements as I understand it ought to be applied evenly. Past that, this point relies on the death penalty being a deterrent, and that isn’t the whole show. > [@](#): > > Punishment in general is \*never \*a completely effective deterrent. There’s certainly some evidence that it doesn’t deter the punished themselves from future crimes - look at rates of recidivism among violent felons, for example, but who commits a crime if they think they’re actually be caught? We have real-world examples of countries that remove thieves’ hands - people still steal. If you’re willing to steal at the risk of losing a hand, I think you’d be willing to steal at the risk of losing your life or spending the rest of it in jail, and that’s before we even consider what you’d risk to kill someone. Once dead, you’re deterred from everything. I bet losing a hand puts an end to most stealing from that individual as well. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > I am mystified why Tsarnaev comes into the discussion at all. Is the OP saying “OK, we’ll let you have this scumbag, but no more”? > > What happens the next time someone commits an equivalent or worse crime? Tsarnaev is kind of the piece of sand in the oyster here. We’re all invested in his fate, and his crime occurred under the current law. I’d like to see him fry. But generally, I am drawn to the notion of using the law to tie our hands against the death penalty. Cognitive dissonance ensues. My wish to see Tsarnaev dead feels like an unworthy impulse. It is the opposite of compassion, and ethical constraints are most important when you have the biggest excuses for being unethical. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/54 "2014-03-19T14:47:46Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > The Constitution guarantees the right to life, so it seems the policy on this matter should not be idiosyncratic. Oddly enough, the Constitution does not guarantee the right to life. It guarantees that it can only be taken away subject to due process of law. ---
**Author:** ![Batistuta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58956e/32.png) [@Batistuta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batistuta)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/55 "2014-03-19T14:58:27Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I composed this off the top of my head- I will have to get back to you with evidence. My impression/recollection is that a black person is more likely to receive the death penalty than a white person, for the same crime. Actually, I’m under the impression that the _race_ aspect comes in more on the side of the victim than on the side of the perpetrator. If you happen to kill a white person, you’re [much](http://www.ncadp.org/pages/race-of-the-victim) [more](http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/race-death-row-inmates-executed-1976#Vic) [likely](http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/03/racial-bias-us-death-penalty) to be sentenced to death than if your victim is black. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19adc/32.png) [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Why_Bother)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/56 "2014-03-19T15:21:36Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Which is why we have an appeals process in capital punishment cases that lasts upwards of 15-20 years - to eliminate almost any doubt whatsoever that the person being executed is guilty. When was the last time someone was executed in this country who was subsequently proven to have been completely innocent? “Almost any doubt” still leaves enough room for error that, over time, the execution of an innocent is statistically inevitable. Also, [The Innocence Project](http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/DNA_Exonerations_Nationwide.php) (TIP) has successfully overturned the convictions of 18 Death Row inmates in the last 20 years. Since it’s tremendously unlikely that TIP has successfully liberated all the innocent people on Death Row, it follows that less fortunate innocents have been executed in the past. > [@Smapti](#): > > Of course I’m OK with it. Any rational person would be. If the US hadn’t killed 50,000 civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it would have lead to the deaths of several million American servicemen and civilians in an invasion of the Japanese mainland. In other words, Truman was caught between a rock and a hard place. Kill X amount of innocents, or guarantee the deaths of a great many more. What calamity would befall America if you decided to abolish the DP? We already know that DP [doesn’t have an appreciable effect on crime rates.](http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/deterrence-states-without-death-penalty-have-had-consistently-lower-murder-rates) Apart from satisfying a thirst for revenge, what purpose does the DP serve that isn’t served by life without parole? I mean, Truman’s choice had a massive, clear benefit. What benefit does the DP serve which justifies the guaranteed execution of innocents? > [@Smapti](#): > > The difference between me and the people we’re executing is that we’re right and they’re wrong. Unless they’re innocent, which is my entire point. How many mistakes are okay? > [@Blake](#): > > By which argument we also shouldn’t jail people for life. If the state will certainly be wrong in capital cases, it will also certainly be wrong in non-capital cases. > > And we can no more give a 70 year old man who dies in prison his old life back than we can an 18 year old executed in prison. In both cases the worst result of the punishment is the same: irrevocably removing someone’s entire life. The only difference is that in one case we forcibly kidnapped them for 50 years first, which makes it worse, no better. Agreed, but we’ve got to have _some_ way of punishing criminals. At least in cases where someone is wrongly sentenced to life without parole, we have a greater chance to rectify our mistake. We may not always take advantage of that chance, and I’ve no doubt that there are people who have died in prison having spent their entire adult lives behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit. But we need to strike a balance between (a) providing justice to victims and their families, (b) protecting society from violent offenders, and (c) minimising mistakes as much as possible. The DP covers (a) and (b), but not (c), as The Innocence Project has shown. Life imprisonment covers (b), and it covers (c) better than the DP does if only because the wrongly convicted have more time to appeal, but it comes at the cost of (a) in the opinions of some people. We can rectify that to a large extent by simply ensuring that life sentences are enforced, that parole is not given, and that the time served is hard time. Wrongful convictions are regrettable but inevitable. Given that, it’s incumbent on us to ensure that we do everything in our power to ensure that people have every opportunity to overturn their convictions. Is it perfect? No. Will innocent people still die of old age in prison for crimes they didn’t commit? Of course. But given that we _need_ prison, life without parole gives us a better chance of fixing our mistakes than the DP. Also, of course, there is the point that if someone is wrongfully executed, the real murderer will have almost certainly escaped justice forever. If, on the other hand, that person was sentenced to life without parole but then released some ten or twenty years later, the case would be reopened. That’s got to be a bonus. > [@Shodan](#): > > And it is even more likely that a murderer will kill someone in prison, escape and kill someone, or be paroled and kill someone. This is not merely a possibility - it has happened already, repeatedly. Something like 1.2% of those convicted of murder kill again within five years of their release. Those are flaws in the system but you don’t need the DP to fix them. Simply sentence those offenders who would otherwise have gotten the DP to life without the possibility of parole. As for escapes? Just put them in maximum security. I think I’m right in saying that no-one has ever escaped from a Federal Supermax, so just stick them in there. > [@Hector St Clare](#): > > You do get the distinction between intentionally killing those you know to be innocent, on the one hand, and accepting the risk that some innocent people will be killed, as an unintended side effect of executing the guilty, right? That makes all the difference in the world. I absolutely do get the distinction _in principle_. In practise, it doesn’t apply to the death penalty. Ask yourself, why do we tolerate collateral damage in war? Well, it’s because we can’t achieve the greater good of victory any other way. What ‘greater good’ is achieved by application of the death penalty? It clearly isn’t a reduction in crime rates, as my cite above shows. So why do we do it? What good do we achieve that both outweighs the inevitable wrongful executions of innocents _and_ which can’t possibly be brought about any other way? Answer that question and I might well change my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/57 "2014-03-19T15:24:58Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Other Western democracies have abolished capital punishment. It is too barbaric on the face of it. The State dirties itself when it deals death, even to criminals, and besides, once in a blue moon the wrong person is executed. I am mildly anti-death penalty. I don’t think it’s wrong to execute some people but I’m most worried about errors that lead to innocent people being executed, the damage to the psyches of prison administrators who work on death row, and of course the monetary costs. > [@](#): > > Should The Law be subject to such variance and seeming subjection to personal passions when life and death itself is at stake? There is no “The Law” in the United States. We have a Federal form of government with some powers reserved to the states, others to the Feds, and still other powers that they share concurrently. So we have Federal laws and we have fifty different state laws. The majority of murders are violations of state law and are therefore tried in state courts. So Texas is free to apply the death penalty to certain crimes while other states are free to do the opposite. This is a feature of our Federal form of government rather than a bug. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/58 "2014-03-19T15:25:04Z")
> [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](#): > > I absolutely do get the distinction _in principle_. In practise, it doesn’t apply to the death penalty. Ask yourself, why do we tolerate collateral damage in war? Well, it’s because we can’t achieve the greater good of victory any other way. What ‘greater good’ is achieved by application of the death penalty? It clearly isn’t a reduction in crime rates, as my cite above shows. So why do we do it? What good do we achieve that both outweighs the inevitable wrongful executions of innocents _and_ which can’t possibly be brought about any other way? Answer that question and I might well change my mind. Retributive justice. Maybe you don’t think that’s a goal worth pursuing, and that’s fair, but then maybe I don’t think that ‘bringing capitalist democracy to the people of Vietnam’ was particularly a goal worth pursuing, which makes the several million dead Vietnamese a moral outrage as well. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/59 "2014-03-19T15:28:09Z")
I’m reminded of the words of Mr. Jeffrey Lebowski. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052/60 "2014-03-19T15:29:04Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Actually, trace DNA evidence has exculpated a number of dead people since it’s become a thing (or at the very least cast significant doubt on their culpability). Could you cite a few of the cases of people who were actually executed, who have since been cleared by DNA evidence? Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-tsarnaev-is-in-the-ground-should-america-reconsider-its-capital-punishment-policy/684052.md?page=4)