Archive for the ‘murder’ tag
One Reason I Oppose The Death Penalty
There are a few reasons why I think the death penalty (thankfully banned in the UK) is wrong and ridiculous. Other than the obvious ironic nature of “killing a killer”, the fact that it goes against all human rights, and it being the cheap way out for governments, there is the problem of miscarriages of justice.
Let me put you in the picture. You have recently turned 40, you have no qualifications, and an estimated IQ of 75, putting you in the bottom 5% of the country. Additionally, you are suffering from mental and personality problems. You have an interest in guns and because of previous charges of stalking, you are classed as an eccentric.
The police arrest you for the murder of a TV personality, who worked for the BBC, an organization you worked for in the past, but at a low level. You are tried and wrongly convicted of shooting her once in the head, even thought the only piece of physical evidence is a tiny portion of gun residue in your coat pocket. You are sentenced to life imprisonment.
An unlikely verdict, but one that happened 8 years ago to Barry George, now 48, who was accused of murdering popular TV presenter Jill Dando. Instead of looking at the evidence, the prosecutors simply pointed the finger at George and built the case up to suit his character. He never pled guilty, and has always protested his innocence from jail. Even his ex-wife vouched for him, saying she was “certain” he could never kill someone.
Circumstantial evidence and a lousy police investigation robbed this man of 8 years of his life. It could have been more. If the death penalty had still been in place, he might have been executed, and he would have lost everything. People like Barry George need care, not prison. Yes, he was a “messed up” individual, but not one that plans and commits murder. The £1,000,000 compensation he will get from the government won’t make him forget the last 8 years, and Jill Dandos murderer is still out there.
Now, in most cases it takes more than a simple murder to get you the death penalty, but this entire trial proves, if anything, that anyone can get it wrong. There is no need to kill people for their crimes. It doesn’t make things better, and it isn’t a deterrant.
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Death Toll: Theism Vs. Atheism
Many theists argue that atheism has caused only death and destruction, whilst their respective religions preach only peace and love. So what does the evidence look like? The Teapot Atheist did a load of research and counting and has reported his results.
His findings don’t bear well for theism, even with his extremely generous methodology in its favour:
Where deaths from theism are concerned, I have normally low-balled the estimates as a favor because the differential is so staggering and theism needs all the bones it can have tossed in its direction. For atheism, I go with the highest possible estimates.
To add insult to injury, The Teapot Atheist included in the atheism section, deaths caused by Pol Pots regime even though there is no evidence that he was an atheist (his regime was harshly anti-religious though), as well as Stalin, who has recently been considered a deist / closet-theist by historians.
Another Killed By Religion
Just less than 3 months ago I reported on the arrest and presecution of the parents of Ava Worthington, a 15 month old girl who died because instead of taking their daughter to a doctor, they left her healing up to faith. Quite unsurprisingly, she died from a combination of bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection, which were both perfectly treatable by modern medicine.
The family were members of a large fundamentalist church know as “Followers of Christ”, and they have a dark history of child abuse, neglect, and manslaughter. Now Ava Worthington’s own cousin, 16 year old Neil Beagley has died from a heart failure caused by urinary tract blockage. Members of the same church, Beagley’s parents believed that the power of prayer would heal their son, and called on fellow churchgoers to a prayer session last Sunday when Neil’s condition worsened. He died two days later.
A 1999 Oregon state law prevented parents from using a religious based defense in court, and this law was first used to prosecute the parents of Ava Worthington. However, since by Oregon law people over 14 years old are allowed to choose the method of medication they receive, it is doubtful anything will happen to the parents.
Blown Wide Open - Praying For The Sick Part 2
Well it was inevitable that the wide media coverage of this story would blow a hole wide open and reveal similar stories that have been covered up in the past. Debunking Christianity found just a few of these stories, the most recent reporting that the accused parental murderers will be facing prosecution for the manslaughter of their 15 month old daughter who died in March this year.
This report uncovered the fundamentalis church “Followers of Christ”, which has a long history of toturing and murdering children. The church practices faith healing, but goes further than most churches by shunning those who go against church doctrine, a crime which includes seeking medical help. It’s a simple but deadly scare tactic: Go to a doctor…go to hell.
What really sickens me about these people is this part of the article:
During the latter part of the twentieth century, the church began to attract attention from authorities in the state of Oregon due to an unusally-high mortality rate among its children. Larry Lewman, a former medical examiner in the state alleges that during a ten-year period, twenty-five children perished due to lack of medical intervention–a death rate 26 times higher than the general population; an investigation by The Oregonian claimed that 21 out of 78 minors found to be buried in the church cemetary died of preventable causes, including simple infections which would be easily treated with routine antibiotics.
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