# So what should happen to these two defendants? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740 "2010-09-14T17:07:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/221 "2010-10-05T22:42:07Z")
I saw the doctor’s press conference. Poor man. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/222 "2010-10-05T22:50:47Z")
Firstly, to the OP - I was going to say that they should be _convicted_ first. We don’t execute the acquitted/still-on-trial. > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > > [@aruvqan](#): > > > > why should we spend the kind of money to keep then in jail for 10-20-30 more years? > > You do realize that it’s more expensive to execute someone than to keep them in prison for life, right? So you’re advocating the \*complete opposite \*of your stated rationale? But, now that the trial is over… Exterminate the brutes. But to keep it cheap they should just have the court officers give them a shot behind the ear as soon as they get back to the prison (or after a reasonable appelate process - like one shot at an appeal). Oh, they should also be first set ablaze. Eye for an eye feels appropriate on this one. No 20 year bullshit waiting around for an execution to go through, either way; they’ve cost this poor guy and the society too much already. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/223 "2010-10-06T14:19:09Z")
The whole conviction trial was a formality. These bozos were caught in the act of henious crimes. Thanks to everyone who voted for death. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/224 "2010-10-06T14:21:57Z")
> [@GiantRat](#): > > Oh, they should also be first set ablaze. Eye for an eye feels appropriate on this one. No 20 year bullshit waiting around for an execution to go through, either way; they’ve cost this poor guy and the society too much already. I know that, upthread, I suggested feeding them to sharks as a reasonable alternative, but I can’t get behind torture. It’s spiritually bad for the torturer and the society that sanctions it. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/225 "2010-10-06T14:22:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Thanks to everyone who voted for death. For what? Making you feel better about your primitive urges? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/226 "2010-10-06T14:23:01Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Thanks to everyone who voted for death. > > For what? Making you feel better about your primitive urge to kill murderers? Are you talking to me or **Annie**? Never mind, I see you have removed the ambiguity. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/227 "2010-10-06T14:27:33Z")
I’m not even going to touch _your_ primitive urges, **Rhymer**. Not enough disinfectant in the world. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/228 "2010-10-06T14:35:00Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Thanks to everyone who voted for death. Haha. No matter how many times I read this, I still can’t quite figure out what it _means_. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/229 "2010-10-06T14:38:45Z")
More tea and cake for the rest of us? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/230 "2010-10-06T14:40:24Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’m not even going to touch _your_ primitive urges, **Rhymer**. Not enough disinfectant in the world. 😉 I should think you would have removed to a flamingbee-proof enclosure before saying that. Ah well, your name explains it. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/231 "2010-10-06T15:26:14Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > From the local paper (the New Haven Register): “The sole not guilty verdict came on the charge of first-degree arson. Prosecutors were unable to prove that Hayes, who admitted pouring gasoline in the Petit home, lit the match that started the fire.” Huh. Wonder if a lesser degree of arson would have stuck. I can’t imagine that it’s legal to douse things you don’t own in flammable chemicals. > [@GiantRat](#): > > Eye for an eye feels appropriate on this one. Oh, you mean the instruction that is (a) irrelevant because our laws aren’t based on the fucking Bible and (b) intended to \*limit \*disgusting blood feuds? You know, the law that they decided needed to be put into place to \*rein in \*people like you? > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Thanks to everyone who voted for death. Yes, thanks to those of you who were vocal, so we can now pick you out in a crowd. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/232 "2010-10-07T00:36:37Z")
> [@GiantRat](#): > > But, now that the trial is over… Exterminate the brutes. Only one of the two criminal trials is over. The other defendant will be tried next year. And then there will be two penalty phase trials, assuming that the second defendant will also be found guilty. Which isn’t a stretch considering he was caught red-handed. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/233 "2010-10-07T15:13:25Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > > [@GiantRat](#): > > > > But, now that the trial is over… Exterminate the brutes. > > Only one of the two criminal trials is over. The other defendant will be tried next year. And then there will be two penalty phase trials, assuming that the second defendant will also be found guilty. Which isn’t a stretch considering he was caught red-handed. Meh - torture them to death anyway. It won’t bring anyone back, or prevent any future deaths, but it’ll satisfy my own blood lust. And we know this other dude is guilty anyway, the trial is just a waste of money. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/234 "2010-10-07T15:28:08Z")
> [@villa](#): > > > [@PunditLisa](#): > > > > Only one of the two criminal trials is over. The other defendant will be tried next year. And then there will be two penalty phase trials, assuming that the second defendant will also be found guilty. Which isn’t a stretch considering he was caught red-handed. > > Meh - torture them to death anyway. It won’t bring anyone back, or prevent any future deaths, but it’ll satisfy my own blood lust. And we know this other dude is guilty anyway, the trial is just a waste of money. Hardly. Supporting the rule of law is necessary in all cases; the state cannot be allowed to decide who is and is not entitled to due process. This is one of those times when the slippery slope argument is entirely true, because people, as you may have noticed, are assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/235 "2010-10-07T16:43:05Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Hardly. Supporting the rule of law is necessary in all cases; the state cannot be allowed to decide who is and is not entitled to due process. This is one of those times when the slippery slope argument is entirely true, because people, as you may have noticed, are assholes. The silence you’re hearing now is the pause before the boom of the supersonic whoosh going over **Skald** ’s head. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/236 "2010-10-07T16:57:56Z")
Killing them will prevent them from killing anyone else. If giving them life in prison would somehow bring their victims back to life, I’d support it. But, as Dr. Petit pointed out in his statement, his family is still dead. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/237 "2010-10-07T17:10:18Z")
Giving them life in prison will also prevent them from killing anyone else, and is at least as effective in terms of bringing the victims back to life as executing them would be. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/238 "2010-10-07T17:16:01Z")
Cause we all know that nobody sentenced to life in prison has ever killed again, either inside the prison or having escaped or been paroled from prison.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/239 "2010-10-07T17:16:36Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > > Hardly. Supporting the rule of law is necessary in all cases; the state cannot be allowed to decide who is and is not entitled to due process. This is one of those times when the slippery slope argument is entirely true, because people, as you may have noticed, are assholes. > > The silence you’re hearing now is the pause before the boom of the supersonic whoosh going over **Skald** ’s head. Maybe. I haven’t read the whole thread, but some persons have espoused such sentiments, it seemed to me. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740/240 "2010-10-07T17:17:40Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Cause we all know that nobody sentenced to life in prison has ever killed again, either inside the prison or having escaped or been paroled from prison.:rolleyes: Outside of fiction, how common would you say that is? ETA: So I’m clear, I mean escapes by lifers who go on to kill on the outside. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-happen-to-these-two-defendants/553740.md?page=13)