#death penality

[sebfreak]

The Evil Design of Japan's Death Penalty

[werewolfetone]

Illustrations from a 1940 English language edition of Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire by Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill, trans. Frank O'Connor and illustrated by Jack B. Yeats

[trafficlightchild]

Batgirl (2000) the woman that you are

[metronn]

obviously vulcan philosophy / spirituality / religion / culture is very cool and awesome (hell yeah jewish vegetarians), but gang we are sleeping on bajoran spirituality. the fact that faith held their planet together under a brutal occupation is really... :'|

[godmodebeginswithlesbians]

anyways, while we're all on the topic of gretzky, can we shift just a little to the left and talk about how predatory the whole "next great one" culture is or do i have to frame it as some punchy not-so-funny joke like "gee, sure glad mcdavid was allowed to keep his personality and general decency, unlike all the other next great ones"

[apilgrimpassingby]

(If you're not familiar with any of them, read this post).

Put your reasoning in the tags!

[burnttoastlife]

Call me Ema Skye the way I want that twink (Klavier) obliterated.

[j-august]

While many employers bow to the inevitable and close down for the whole of the holiday period, Mid-Yorkshire Library Service was of sterner mettle, recognizing that after the penal sociability of Christmas, many people would be keen to get back to the solitary confinement of books.

Reginald Hill, Death's Jest-Book

[thetalee]

>"Odysseus blinded Polyphemus and pissed off Poseidon. And he always avoided accountability."

>"Uh, Polyphemus broke sacred hospitality and was eating Odysseus' people."

>"There's always an excuse for Odysseus."

My sibling in Zeus...

[juergenklopp]

do you think the eagles or chiefs are winning on monday?

The Curse of the Wheel™️ has landed on the Chiefs... I believe in our lord and savior Brandon Perna EAGLES BY A GAZILLION BIRDS COUNTRY LET'S RIDE

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Like other Khoisan ex-convicts in Van Diemen’s Land, Witnalder had no means by which he could return home. He was destitute after being discharged from the convict system and became an object of ridicule to certain elements within the local populace. On 10 September 1862, he was before the bench on yet another charge of disturbing the peace. The Police Superintendent told the bench that Witnalder was ‘constantly insulted by idle boys’. Another witness, Mr Jones, said that he had seen Witnalder ‘insulted by mischievous boys’. Despite such evidence of bullying, the Stipendary Magistrate found the prisoner guilty and fined him 1 shilling. Superintendent Propsting took pity on the man and immediately paid the fine, kindly preventing Witnalder being returned to prison (from which he had only recently been released) for defaulting. Following a similar incident in early December 1862, Witnalder appeared before the bench to answer another charge of disturbing the peace. The ‘eccentric little Kaffir, well-known for his military peculiarities’ told the court that some boys had annoyed him thus causing the fracas. Provocation was not considered sufficient mitigation of his alleged crime. Witnalder was fined 10 shillings and costs, and was required to serve fourteen days in prison if he failed to come up with the money. Several weeks later, on 23 December 1862, Witnalder appeared before the Stipendary Magistrate AB Jones Esq, and Captain Bateman at the Police Court along with a 14-year-old boy, William (or Henry as his name was also reported) Collard. Both were charged with committing an ‘unnatural offence’ and were committed to face trial. The prisoners spent Christmas 1862 in gaol waiting to learn their respective fates. Witnalder and Collard (now referred to as Cornwall Collins) stood trial on Wednesday 28 January in the Supreme Court before the Chief Justice, Sir Valentine Fleming. In keeping with the sensibilities of the time, the newspapers reporting the case found the details to be ‘quite unfit for publication’. Nevertheless, the boy had legal representation and much was made in evidence over whether the boy’s mouth had been covered by Witnalder as the ‘unnatural offence’ (sodomy) was being committed. It was found that the boy had allegedly been silenced by the other prisoner, Witnalder, and was therefore a victim rather than a co-conspirator. The police constable was reprimanded for withholding this crucial evidence from the court. Collard was found not guilty, but retained in custody to bear witness against the older man. He was then sworn in, and tearfully gave evidence that he had been assaulted by Witnalder and had not consented to the man’s attentions. The boy’s ordeal in the stand lasted an hour, following which other witnesses were called. The jury retired for only ten minutes before returning a ‘guilty’ verdict. Witnalder once again faced the extreme penalty of the law.

On Thursday 5 February 1863, the Executive Council met and considered Witnalder’s case. It resolved that the death penalty would be carried into effect. Some members of the public expressed outrage (albeit muted because of the nature of the prisoner’s alleged offence). The local Hobart newspaper implored ‘the Councillors of the Governor with whom rests the prerogative of mercy, to weigh well all the circumstances’. A submission from an unnamed advocate was reprinted in the Mercury’s columns, comparing Witnalder’s predicament with Summers who after being convicted of sodomy in July 1862 had his death sentence commuted to transportation for life. Summers, the writer contended, had been in ‘full possession of his senses’. The injustice in upholding the death sentence upon Witnalder, a man ‘little better than a savage’ was made apparent: ‘Summers is surely more responsible than this half tamed brute. And as Summers was not hung, will not the sacrifice of Whitnalder’s [sic] life be a Judicial or rather an Executive Murder?’ The appeal failed, and several days later the Mercury reported that Summer’s case had ‘special circumstances’ which did not apply to Witnalder’s. The reading public was assured that despite the public deploring the application of the death penalty, the Executive had considered all facets of Witnalder’s case in minute detail before deciding to uphold his sentence. The under-sheriff visited Witnalder at the Hobart Town Gaol to read the warrant for his execution. While there, he found the Protestant prisoner mistakenly had been attended by the Roman Catholic clergy since being condemned. On Friday 20 February 1863, Witnalder was roused from his cell at three thirty to prepare for death. He was joined by the Reverend Mr Hunter, who guided him in prayer. By eight that morning, a small crowd comprising the under-sheriff, keeper and under-keeper of the gaol, eight police constables and their sub-inspector, and reporters from the daily newspapers had assembled at the gaol. The only other witness was a Mr Lowe from Victoria. Witnalder emerged from his cell in Hunter’s company, the prisoner’s arms pinioned at his sides. The prayerful men were followed by the executioner. Because of Witnalder’s diminutive size, heavy weights were attached to his feet so he would not suffer more than was necessary. Witnalder ‘saluted’ the onlookers with ‘an abrupt bow’, before the cap was drawn over his head, the noose adjusted, and the flooring removed from under his feet. He was said to have died easily, and had asked Hunter to tell those gathered that he was innocent of the crime for which he had suffered." - Kristyn Harman, Aboriginal Convicts: Australian, Khoisan and Māori Exiles. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2012. p. 188-192.

[mycological-mariner]

hey it's a weird children club in here because when I was a small child I was obsessed with capital punishment and like, different penal codes across history. my favourite was genghis khan's (every offence punishable by death)

Aw dang. Guess it’s a good thing jaywalking wasn’t a thing yet. I just recently was reminded of when I was Tiny and reading about the Toraja’a mummies and when it got really quiet in class while the teacher took a kid outside and I loudly asked if anyone knew about the folks who cleaned their mummies and nobody spoke to me for the rest of the day

[pietroleopoldo]

I still can’t get over the fact that after italian unification the piedmontese penal code was imposed to the whole kingdom except for Tuscany. Literally Italy’s most special snowflakes

[visionleonllc]

Beyond the Firing Squad: Rethinking Justice in America

On March 7, 2025, South Carolina executed Brad Keith Sigmon by firing squad, marking the first use of this method in over a decade. Convicted of the 2001 murders of David and Gladys Larke, Sigmon’s execution reignited a national conversation about capital punishment, justice, and the moral implications of state-sanctioned death. But was justice truly served? Did this act restore balance, or was…

[capricornsister]

If you eat fruits and vegetables that are out of season you're like a terrorist to me idc

[mental-mona]

Even if you believe in the death penalty, this is just plain awful. Sign this petition to stop this horrible idea from coming to fruition:

and this one against this specific execution: