Just heard on Foxnews Susan Atkins, one of the convicted Manson murderers (though she didn’t actually off anyone) is up for a bid of release as she apparently has 6 months to live.
They asked people to give their opinios. I am asking here.
i say absolutely no.
Just because a prisoner is sick does not mean we should just say, Hey, you’re free now.
Well, compassion isn’t a terrible idea. Nor is the proposition that Ms. Atkins’ end-of-life care is likely to be expensive, and it doesn’t make sense for a prison to soak up that expense if she’s no threat to the public.
You have a point. Bugliosi apparently says its okay with him.
Greta,
You might be interested in a thread in Great Debates on this issue, which includes some comments on cost of medical care in and out of prison from an expert.
As long as inmates know that they are in prison, keep them there. As long as they are aware, they deserve to be locked up. When they become totally unaware of their surroundings, release them to hospice care.
I could see letting a non-violent offender out on a compassionate basis, but definitely not someone who had been involved in violent offense like murder or rape.
If you have no “compassion” for your victims, I certainly don’t have any compassion for you.
Making noises about being a model prisoner and good Christian since then rings hollow when there is nothing you can do to bring back the people you killed or make up for the lives you ruined.
Besides, being terminally ill doesn’t necessarily mean you’re incapacitated. When you’re talking about someone who is disturbed enough to commit a murder in the first place, you can’t be sure they truly don’t pose a threat to society until they’re comatose or dead.
The reason I say no is because someone out there will hear that the state didn’t let him loose, and realize that the state is interested in you serving your sentence- being terminally ill doesn’t matter.
Or, that same person will hear that the prisoner got let out because they were terminally ill, and the concept of a very long/lifetime sentence will be weakened that much more.
I’m not too concerned about the actual prisoner- they paid their money, and took their chances. I’m more concerned about the people on the outside and what message they may take away from it.
Atkins testified that she stabbed Sharon Tate but later claimed in prison that she didn’t. I assume that she did actually kill Sharon Tate.
If Hollywood has taught me anything, it’s that the prisoner who seems sick is probably staging an ambush on the prison guard who comes to investigate.
Later, that prisoner will either a) escape from prison and lead the federal authorities on a wild cross-country journey to catch the one-armed man who killed his wife; or b) dress up in the guard’s uniform, which happens to fit, and stroll casually out of the prison, leaving the guard gagged in the cell wearing only his shoes, socks with suspenders, and boxer shorts.
Actually, she bragged about it in jail, but later said Charles Watson was the one who did it. One might not believe that. except Watson, in his book, later admitted he was the one who finished her off.