Mir Aimal Kasi, the man who killed two CIA employees back in 1993, is due to be executed tonight by lethal injection. From what I’ve seen on CNN, various Pakistani officials are begging U.S. officials to commute Kasi’s sentence due to threats of retaliation from terrorist factions in Pakistan. In addition, hospitals in the U.S. are developing plans to protect against terrorist actions because of reports of actions against hospitals. In your opinion, should Kasi be executed? The reasons for this action include: He’s been found guilty in a court of law with his rights protected, we can’t allow outside influences to interfere with our justice system or else everyone will just threaten us to get what they want.
On the other hand if his sentence is commuted, this will show that the U.S. is capable of showing mercy, is not out to persecute Muslims, and doesn’t want to make a martyr out of Kasi. I’m in favor of the death penalty in cases of heinous crimes, and this certainly qualifies. But I’d be satisfied with life with no possibility of parole. What do you all think?
FYI - Kasi has already been executed as I type this.
<<He’s been found guilty in a court of law with his rights protected, we can’t allow outside influences to interfere with our justice system or else everyone will just threaten us to get what they want. >>
You answered your own post.
<<On the other hand if his sentence is commuted, this will show that the U.S. is capable of showing mercy, is not out to persecute Muslims, …>>
So we now take religion into account? As a matter of course, or just because selected individuals have made the entire Islamic faith non-flavor of the month?
I don’t think Kasi should have been executed. Claiming the moral high ground is hard thing for Americans (which I am) to do when we still practice capital punishment. He should have been given life without parole at his sentencing. That said, once he was sentenced to death it should not have been commuted to send any message. To do so for political reasons would be an injustice to everyone else on death row, who wouldn’t be granted clemency because their crimes are not terrorist in nature.
Pakistani officials are begging U.S. officials to commute Kasi’s sentence due to threats of retaliation from terrorist factions in Pakistan
Threats of retaliation, huh? Well how about this item. I understand that the terrorists who held the movie theater patrons hostage recently in Russia are to be buried wrapped in* pork skins*! Make that a regular practice and see how quick they are to retaliate. (they can’t become martyrs or go to their heaven if buried with unclean garments.
Peanuthead At the beginning of this century a lot of Irish Catholics believed they were damning their immortal soul by fighting and killing the British. Did it stop them?
I read an interview on MSNBC.com with him and he had no remorse for his actions. He said he did it because he thought the CIA had abused Islamic people in the Middle East {#1}. When asked if he felt bad for shooting phone company employees who were going into the CIA building to fix the phones he responded that it didn’t bother him because they were helping the CIA. {#2}
I also think stopping the execution for political reasons would just be inviting more terrorists to try blackmailing the US.
#1. He couldn’t offer any proof or point to any incident involving the CIA. #2. Like the phone company employees were thinking “Hey, once we fix these phones the CIA will be able to persecute them Islamic people some more!”.
Speaking as a Northern Virginian who wasn’t 5 miles away when Kasi had his fun I say kill him. Many US States play for keeps (and Virginia in particular) when multiple murders are involved.
The law shouldn’t take the wishes of Pakistan into account nor should his religion factor into it. Should we commute the sentence for ALL killers? That’s what it would take to make the treatment consistent.
In the end, terrorists are criminals. No more nor less. Treat them as such and deny them the ‘dignity’ of being considered anything more.
Peanuthead, carnivorousplant et al: There have been a couple of threads on this topic in both the Pit and GD. The upshot is that from my POV it is very unlikely to have any impact on modern jihadists ( representatives of Hamas poo-pooed the idea when Israeli settlers threatened it ) and the lone news service to report it in Russia is a bit of a tabloid, which makes me suspicious that this is anything more than apocryphal. I consider it pretty much an unsubstantiated rumor, at this point.
While Islam has prescribed burial rites, I haven’t seen any references to the idea that this has anything to do with the deceased’s progression to heaven. That is based on the person’s behavior in life. Rather these rites seem to revolve around treating the dead body with respect by the living.
