Category Archives: death penalty

John Kelly: A social policy of assisted suicide is just as dangerous as the death penalty

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John B. Kelly  Testimony in strong opposition to AB2x 15  September 3, 2015 Members of the Finance Committee: If you are opposed to the death penalty, I hope you will have second thoughts about legalized assisted suicide. Yes, there is a committed group of proponents who believe that assisted suicide would benefit them, and many … Continue reading John Kelly: A social policy of assisted suicide is just as dangerous as the death penalty →

NJ Attorney Compares Death Penalty and Assisted Suicide, Finds Both Unworkable

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An interesting op ed appeared in the Times of Trenton late last month, comparing death penalty and assisted suicide laws.  H. John Witman III is a retired attorney who practiced for nearly 20 years in the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. He is a member of the board of directors of the Progressive Center … Continue reading NJ Attorney Compares Death Penalty and Assisted Suicide, Finds Both Unworkable →

Yesterday’s Joke Becoming Today’s Reality – Death Row and Assisted Suicide

assisted suicide, crime and punishment, death penalty, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, satire, slippery slope

Back on April 1, 1998 I sent out an obviously bogus press release from an email address I reserved for just such purposes.  It was an attempt at some (I thought) outrageous satire, taking pro-assisted suicide arguments based on “quality of life” to one of their many logical conclusions.  What would happen, I wondered, when … Continue reading Yesterday’s Joke Becoming Today’s Reality – Death Row and Assisted Suicide →

Organ Donation by Death Row Inmates – Get Ready to Start Hearing More About How it’s “Good” for Everyone

Art Caplan, Ben Goldhirsh, bioethics, crime and punishment, death penalty, Dylan Ratigan, Eric Meslin, good magazine, Graeme Wood, Kevorkian, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, Wesley Smith

Wesley Smith has two related pieces on an op-ed by a death row prisoner that was published in the NY Times on March 6th.  Christian Longo, who admits to being guilty of killing his wife and three children, wrote to the newspaper to promote voluntary organ donation by death row prisoners. In Wesley’s first blog … Continue reading Organ Donation by Death Row Inmates – Get Ready to Start Hearing More About How it’s “Good” for Everyone →

The “Right to Die” Expands Into New Territory

"end of life", crime and punishment, death penalty, euthanasia, legislation, life-ending decisions, media coverage, media issues, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, right to die

Sometimes I think I’ve lost the capacity to be surprised by new developments.  I tend to think I’ve grown so jaded that nothing that comes up can really surprise me.  I think that in spite of the fact that I do get surprised on occasion. This week’s collision with surrealism came in the form of … Continue reading The “Right to Die” Expands Into New Territory →