There are no statutes at state or federal level that allow for capitol punishment for property
crimes. There are 42 Federal statutes that grant the possibility of the death sentence and only one cites anything other the death of attempted murder of a human being, that one being Treason.
There are a number of state laws that allow for the death penalty for petty crime but they are camouflaged as gun rights laws. Every person who carries a gun legally is offered the opportunity to be judge, jury and executioner for any minor crime, real or imagined. The only criteria is that the gun carrier thinks his life or person is in danger of injury. In the case of Stand Your Ground laws it actually behooves the gunner to kill the offender, armed or not, instead of retreating if possible. After all, if the other guy is alive he might tell a different story than the gunner and that might complicate things. Ask George Zimmerman.
Make no mistake, it's not about self defense, it's about testosterone poisoning. FBI data from the Victims data base prove that resistance to armed robbery is 4x more likely to cause injury to the victim and resistance with a gun is 5x as likely. If it's about preserving your life you're 5 times better off just giving the guy that ATM withdrawal. It's not about that, it's about who has the bigger dick.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Kick in to the DU tip jar?
This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.
As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.