Drug War Stupidity Special Edition: The U.S. to Start Executing Drug Dealers?
This series of Drug War Stupidity posts was never supposed to be about current events but there is some real drug war stupidity happening in current events and here I am writing about it instead of watching terrible horror movies or cartoons like I had planned. I'll admit it, I was a bit behind in reading the news for the last few days. This was, partly, because I have a tendency for procrastination (with some things, anyway), and, partly, because I have become incredibly fatigued with the endless political theater, hyperbole, empty promises, misinformation, unentertaining banter, commercials for catheters , and general whining that one sees when he or she sees tries to read or watch the news. So, please forgive me for not covering this absurd issue sooner. Getting to my point (finally) I read a story today that said the Department of Justice, under the Trump administration, is instructing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in some drug cases.
This insane approach to drug enforcement is an absolute violation of the spirit and credibility of the American justice system and the civil rights of anyone who is accused of a drug crime. In the modern era, at least, there has always been a sense of proportionality between crime and punishment. It was flawed, admittedly, but it existed. Committing a malum in se crime, like murder, would (usually) carry a stiffer penalty than a crime that is malum prohibitum, like selling weed. The entirety of western law has, until now, pretty much agreed on this principal. Well, that's all gone in the U.S. apparently.
This use of the death penalty for drug dealing likely violates the eight amendment to the United States constitution which, allegedly, protects people from "cruel and unusual punishment. I really hate to quote Wikipedia but I'm pretty tired and I don't want to spend too much time finding a better source, so here we go. Cruel and unusual punishment is determined by the following tests: "There are generally tests that can serve as a guide to what cruel and unusual punishment is according to various legal textbooks in accordance with the law. These are: Overall acceptance in society, severity (the punishment fits the crime), and if the punishment is arbitrary" (Wikipedia). I will focus on the first two tests as they are the most relevant. The death penalty is not generally accepted for non-capital crimes in the United States. Even in murder cases it is often inappropriate and applying it to drug offences is likely viewed as being beyond the pale by most Americans. It also does not fit the crime either. Someone possessing a prohibited substance does not rise to the levels of murder and treason and does not deserve the same punishment.
It is a really bad look for the U.S. internationally too. Most of the moral credibility (if there ever actually was any) the United States had has been slowly chipped away by this war or that drone strike but we could, at least, point to our rule of law and the (supposed) justness of that system as an example of our enlightenment. This misuse of capital punishment does away with that argument. As we established, it violates the rights of the accused and when the legal system no longer follows the law, justice dies.
This will increase violence against law enforcement and civilians alike. For most people, when death is on the line all bets are off. If an armed and potentially dangerous individual is faced with arrest, he or she will make a calculation. Call it a risk/reward assessment if you like. The reward is freedom if he or she uses violence to escape from the police and the risk is being killed by the police in the attempt. If he or she is facing three years in prison, he or she will likely conclude that the risk far outweighs the reward. If, on the other hand, this fictional person fears being put to death by the state, he or she will come to a very different conclusion because the risk is the same whether he or she fights or surrenders. Even regular people will suffer as a result of this policy. If you witness a murder, a murderer may try to silence you because you could out them for the crime and they would be severely punished. If you witness someone buying mushrooms they typically don't start plotting your death, until now, I guess.
If the death penalty is normalized for non-capital crimes, this will not stop here. I know full well that "slippery slope" arguments are considered a logical fallacy (for good reason too). I, however, am not saying that one thing naturally leads to another. I am arguing from my knowledge of history and of my own government that once a power is given to an authority they will never willingly surrender it. They, instead, abuse that power and push it as far beyond its limits as they can. We will find ourselves in a land where, at the discretion of whomever is in power, any accusation of a crime can mean the end of our lives. If you will allow me to put on my tin foil hat for a while, I will lay out how I see this happening. They will choose a class of criminal that no respectable person would defend. So, something like rape becomes a capital offense and (rightly) nobody sheds any tears for the dead rapists. Next, it is something a little less heinous than that, maybe grand theft. Then it is another thing, and another, and another, until we live only by the grace of our "benevolent" masters. "Thank's for keeping us safe from those dangerous criminals who want to kill us with drugs by hanging us with your ropes."
If you will allow me to keep my tin foil hat on for just a little longer, I will talk (well write, actually) about who I think this is really meant to benefit. I'm sure you can guess the answer but, to make it clear, I will say it. The pharmaceutical companies benefit and, doubtlessly, lobby for this type of law. They are making a play for territory by killing their competition; just like one cartel moves against another. The only difference is that they are using the state to do their dirty work and tax money to fund it. Call me crazy if you wish but they do have, both, the motive and the means to push for new political policies like these.
Well that's all I have for now but I will likely come back to this topic in the future as this story develops. I will, however, leave with these words: If you support personal freedom, drug law reform, human rights, or the fair and sensible application of justice, please do what you can to oppose this. From what I understand, gun rights people have been very successful at swaying policy in their favor with letter writing and phone call campaigns. I am not involved with that debate and you may feel however you like about it but I think we should steal that style of activism. If a thing works then there should be no shame in doing it. You could also write about this and try to spread this story to a larger number of people. I am at a loss as to how else to fight this policy but it is a fight that we must peacefully (I feel like I shouldn't have to say that) win.
Peace
This was a special installment of a continuing series of posts that are intended to highlight some of the dumber aspects of the drug war. If you liked this post feel free to check out my page for other similar content.
You can read more about this story here:
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/379508-sessions-issues-memo-on-use-of-death-penalty-in-drug-related-cases
Unless otherwise credited, all the images in this post were sourced from the free image website unsplash.com.
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In my opinion, the death penalty is justified for drug dealers. I hope Big Pharma is indicted as well, since they peddle opioids to recovering patients and turn them into drug addicts. On a side note, the FBI/CIA who were involved with smuggling cocaine in the 1970-1980s should be prosecuted as well.
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I agree with the death penalty for certain crimes. World is to soft today and crime is rife everywhere.
You are entitled to believe however you wish.
I don't think that drug dealing warrents such a sentence.
Think of how many lives they ruin. Maybe not a death sentence for drug dealing but a sentence so bad that people won't do it. I live in a country that is full of crime and have no sympathy for any of them. If you are guilty then you must pay.
It is your right to think that but I do not believe having or using drugs should be a crime at all.
If there is one thing that is truly your own, it is your body. Every person should be able to do whatever they want with their body even if it harms them. This should not concern the law at all as it only affects the individual. I do think that doing a thing like forcing another person to take a drug or giving them one without their consent is wrong and should be a very serious crime, not because I think drugs are bad but because it violates the other persons right to govern their own body.
well using drug is personal but you cant deny the vices it drives people to do.they are well dicumented and u think this is why gov fights hard
You are entitled to your opinion but I disagree. Those things people do are, in my mind, a result of the prohibition of drugs and not the drugs themselves.
Think of it like this: If a person sells cars and someone steals from him he can call the police. If that person sells drugs, on the other hand, what can he do? He most solve the problem himself and that leads to violence but the cause is the law not the drug. The same is true when people who use drugs are told that they cannot work so they may try to get their money by doing something like stealing but again this is the fault of the law.
I suspect that you still disagree with me and that is fine. We all have our right to an opinion.
well said.your argument is right but again you have to understand that the interest of the total population matter. drugs come with addiction and its attendant medical conditions.imagine making drugs legal, almost every teenager will fall to the peer pressure and use it. itbwill be followed by dependency and addiction and ultimately economic waste. come to think of it what really does drug do to the body that is beneficial
I hear this argument often but it doesn't account for the fact that drugs are already available in every school and all teenagers do not fall into a life of addiction. Even among drug users addiction is relatively rare. There were some interesting study on this topic a few years ago that found vast majority of all drug users never become addicted.
As to the cultural and economic impact, the negative side effects are offset by the more open and safer system that is created when drugs are legalized. That is to say, your total number of users may rise but the negative consequences of their use is greatly reduced. They no longer have to deal with smugglers to get their drugs, the drugs are more pure and less likely to make a user sick, et cerera all counter the new problems that a society may face.
One could argue from a moral stand point but morals are personal and no two people have the same moral code.
The question now becomes what should a society value more? Is the freedom of the individual more important than norms of a culture? From my perspective, individual freedom is of the greater importance. Further I firmly believe that freedom includes the right to do the wrong things. If a person thinks it is a good idea to set himself on fire, I will think he is foolish, I will tell him it is a bad idea but I will not use force to stop him from doing it.
I could't find the origional study but this article covers some of the same information.
http://www.thecleanslate.org/reality-check-most-dont-become-addicted/
disgraceful policy. That idiot Trump wants to give to the death penalty to opiod dealers. Good luck killing off the heads of big pharma. He should look before he leaps.
you are NOT crazy, but thank you for spreading awareness!!
Thank you for reading. This should be a much bigger story than it is.
Good post, I follow you, I hope it is useful for me and for you.
This post is resteemed and upvoted by @bestboom
Perhaps, lets look at it this way.
Drug Dealer gets tried, and since a president is ASKING << emphasis, that drug dealers be sentenced to death. This would very well violate many civil rights that the criminal is entitled to.
Yet, if a president can deprive rights of citizens under decree or colour of law, who will step in to balance out these decrees? Will it be our justice system? Probably not.
Our government running drugs, the opiate mills that our health industry that benefited during Afghan war...etc etc. Who holds these parties equally accountable as dealers? Would they die?
More of the same thing from them, ignorance. Good read thanks.
Thank you.
theres inequality in every system though...there will always be a formal coverup for any illegal activity the gov does.it is what it is
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