This is an issue for the state that sentenced him.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic It’s similar to the question about the Manson Women; what do you think – given the choice?

I wiki’ed him, I don’t see where he’s getting released..it says he got a life sentence..
I don’t think anyone should be released when they assassinate someone. I’m a proponent of the death penelty, and that should have been dealt out in that case. Or any assassination of an official.

@Zen In the US the justice system comes down very harshly on people that attempt to kill the President. That crazy guy who shot Reagan won’t ever be completely free although I heard he gets supervised visits or some such.

As far as the Manson follower who wanted to be released because of her terminal cancer, why should she have been set free when she didn’t give the actress or her unborn child the opportunity to live back in the day?

If it were me running the judiciary business, I wouldn’t let that person free ever but I wouldn’t kill them either.

Wasn’t Rabin the one who first started releasing Palestinian prisoners, even after violent offenses, in exchange for the release of Israeli prisoners in jails? I would think that he might not be as quick to say the guy should stay in jail forever.

That said, it depends on the individual, the state and the security concerns that his possible release may cause. I would probably not vote to release him, just because it would set a bad example for potential loons in the future.

I didn’t say he’ll be released tomorrow, but he might someday. Life can be reduced to 25–50. It’s hypothetical. Apropos the death penalty – I agree, but only in this and very extreme cases, not all.

Well, it’s that old discussion. Do we put people in prison to punish or rehabilitate?

If someone is clever enough to be able to get through all the security and kill someone of such importance, s/he is definitely very dangerous (more dangerous than someone killing someone who wasn’t famous). So, no, they shouldn’t be released.

The question that occurs to me is what the difference is between murdering any citizen versus a public figure? Certainly the logistics of carrying out the assassination of a head of state requires premeditation, which typically carries a lifetime sentence.

My country does not have parole. For murder, the penalty is either hanging or life imprisonment. In practice, life means 30 years. The men who were sentenced for the murders of Maurice Bishop and his cabinet, the Grenada 17 – the death penalty was commuted to imprisonment, and some were released in 2003. The release was controversial: in Grenada, as in many of the smaller West Indian islands, everybody knows everybody else: Coard and Bishop were at school together.

@bea2345 Sorry I’m missing something – your country doesn’t have parole but life means 30 years? How does a life sentence get reduced if there’s no parole?

@artificialard If the penalty is life imprisonment, after 30 years the case can be reviewed (I think the prisoner has to make an application) and the court decides if he can be freed. There was a case where the penalty was life imprisonment for the term of the convict’s natural life, and it was overturned on appeal because there was no such penalty in law. He got the usual life sentence instead.

Interesting, and confusing. I’m not questioning what you’re saying at all but what the heck is the difference between that and parole then?

depends, if it would’ve been W then i wouldn’t have minded. lol I am going to hell for that statement. Most of the time these killers are fanatics who are usually very left or very right (depending the intended target). These people usually are to insane for their own political party and aren’t supported by anyone but other idiots just like them. I don’t think they should get out, due to the fact that if, when they get out, the next figurehead is the same as the one they killed, they will just repeat their actions. They will just be a ticking time bomb.

@artificialard what the heck is the difference quite considerable. Once the prisoner is released, that’s it. No parole officer, no weekly reports to the local police station, etc.

@bea2345 x2

Pedophiles and their ilk should be treated in the same way, imo. They should be chemically castrated, and if released, depending on the case, paroled, with restrictions and safety precautions: not just released after 10 years for good behaviour. Anyone have the (alarming, I’m sure) stats on recurrences for freed peds?

@Zen We have only just begun to keep a register of sex offenders. The law was on the books, but the infrastructure was lacking. The trouble is not the convicted offenders: it is the ones that we do not know about. The ones who get away because the discovery rate is low, because victims are too intimidated, or too ashamed, to go to the police, etc.