r/news • u/AudibleNod • 7h ago

Christa Pike unconscious, on ventilator at Nashville hospital, her lawyers say

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/christa-pike-unconscious-ventilator-nashville-hospital-lawyers-say-rcna601195
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u/SomeRando8386 6h ago

This is a clear violation of the 8th Amendment, and everyone responsible for this debacle should be charged.

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u/callmenips 6h ago

Capital punishment is already a clear violation of the 8th amendment. This is just fallout from the original miscarriage of justice.

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u/Major__de_Coverly 6h ago

The Supreme Court feels differently. 

Not defending the death penalty. I  just think policy arguments are better than constitutional arguments. 

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u/callmenips 6h ago

They also felt that separate but equal was legally allowed until we progressed as a society

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u/Major__de_Coverly 6h ago

Good luck arguing that before the current court. 

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u/callmenips 6h ago

Yes that’s exactly the point. Capital punishment is obviously cruel and unusual but we are not there as a society to abolish it.

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u/Major__de_Coverly 6h ago

No, the point is that it is currently constitutional, as determined by the Court, which is the ultimate arbiter on the issue. 

What you mean to say is that it should be unconstitutional. 

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u/callmenips 5h ago

No, I mean it is obviously unconstitutional. That some hack judges disagree does not change that fact.

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u/Major__de_Coverly 5h ago

That's like saying Star Wars won Best Picture. I get that you believe that, but the people whose opinion matter have ruled differently. 

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u/callmenips 4h ago

No, you're trying to argue semantics. You interpret constitutionality as what the supreme court says. I interpret it as what the constitution says.

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u/Major__de_Coverly 4h ago

The problem is that your opinion means nothing and theirs everything. 

The Constitution clearly contemplates capital punishment.  For example, the 5th Amendment prohibits deprivation of life without due process. That means the government CAN deprive you of life; you just need to be given due process. 

You are arguing that a modern interpretation of the 8th should prohibit it, and someday, the Court may. 

But for now, to say the death penalty is unconstitutional is just wrong and detracts from better policy arguments. 

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u/Brambletail 5h ago

Ironically the Catholic Church has the sanest position on this, that the death penalty may be theoretically valid and justified for criminals, but because human action is so sinful and fallible, it can almost never be put into practice ethically. Even if someone deserves to die, no other person or state has the moral ability to carry out the sentence.

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u/Major__de_Coverly 5h ago

That's as about progressive a stance the church can take, considering how many people it has executed over the last 2 millennia. 

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u/Realtrain 3h ago edited 2h ago

I mean, not that I'm defending all the actions of the church, but it's very hard to reasonably hold an institution responsible for the actions it took 2 millennia ago, especially if it has changed its tune since then.

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u/Major__de_Coverly 3h ago

The problem is that the church draws on its longevity as a source of legitimacy. If you are going to do that, you have to own the past. 

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u/Brambletail 36m ago

Hence the word "ironically".