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A few years ago I took my dad to the Benson Tech Show.  He graduated from Benson in 1939.  I have to say I was so impressed with the Benson students.  They were well-spoken, so very proud of their school and each was enthusiastic about their goals. 

It would be a big mistake to cut back on Benson.  It is one school we should work to build on and improve.  I would support that kind of program.

Rosie

posted 2 years ago
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03/15/10

An excerpt from AP story by Matt Leingang on the Ohio Death row inmate, Lawrence Reynolds, who tried to commit suicide just before he was executed:

It's rare, but not unheard of, for condemned inmates to attempt suicide as they approach execution dates, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a group opposed to capital punishment.

California has executed 13 inmates since capital punishment was reinstated in 1978 - a period during which 17 condemned inmates committed suicide.

Nine condemned inmates in Texas have committed suicide since death row reopened there in 1974. The last, William Robinson, 49, used a sheet to hang himself in his cell at a psychiatric center in February 2008

Many lifers and death row inmates would just as soon end their lives and get it over with.  It is time to begin considering suicide as a valid option.  Our prisons are overcrowded and it is a pretty miserable life to live for 50 years or until your appeals expire.  Can we devise a system of annually offering voluntary euthanasia to all long term offenders.  A simple, self-administered pill that would end their suffering without the hoopla and expense of a formal execution.  Should voluntary euthanasia be a lawful option for inmates?

posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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