Bible presence in jury room spares murderer's life

Colorado ruling in murder case angers Christians

from JoeUser Forums
From The Washington Times, boy this one is a doozy. Bringing in a bible and referencing the "eye for an eye" passage has resulted (thus far) in over-turning the death penalty for a convicted murder. Wow.

Headline is linked.


Colorado ruling in murder case angers Christians


By Valerie Richardson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES


DENVER — Barry Arrington can quote entire books of the Bible from memory, which could present a problem if he's ever called for jury duty, given a decision this week by the Colorado Supreme Court.
In a 3-2 ruling, the state's high court upheld a lower court's decision to spare convicted murderer Robert Harlan from execution because jurors consulted a Bible during the sentencing phase. Harlan instead will receive life in prison without parole.
The decision has touched off protests from Christians and social conservatives, including Mr. Arrington, who see it as another example of a judiciary determined to marginalize traditional beliefs.
"Does this mean I can never sit on a jury?" said Mr. Arrington, a lawyer from Arvada, Colo. "Everyone brings a store of cultural, religious and moral values to the jury room. Would it have been different if someone merely quoted the Bible from memory?"
In its opinion, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled jurors went beyond relying on their own individual religious knowledge when they brought a Bible into the deliberation room. One of the verses consulted by jurors was Leviticus 24:20-21, the "eye for an eye" passage.
"Some jurors may view biblical texts like the Leviticus passage at issue here as a factual representation of God's will," the court said. "The text may also be viewed as a legal instruction, issuing from God, requiring a particular and mandatory punishment for murder."


... more at linked article


Argh!! More church vs. state type issues, and such a (to me) stupid decision.

I swear that our jurisprudence system demands complete and total idiots to serve as jurors, and then unfortunately we get decisions like the OJ verdict or the Robert Blake verdict that makes most of us scratch our heads and go WTF?!?!?
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3,435 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
There's nothing wrong with consulting a bible when it comes to making a moral decision. But I have to wonder whether these people consult the bible about other serious issues in their lives, or whether they are using this event to make their first-ever bible-consulting decision. So if the female jurors had better be calling themselves unclean for a few days every month, and every last one of the male jurors had better be snipped of their foreskin and sacrificing lambs regularly, to avoid being exposed as hypocrites.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
Isn't this a bit like the gun control debate, but strangely reversed? ie. The oft trotted out 'Guns don't kill people - people (with guns) do'. Well, surely now we have 'Bibles don't save convicted murderers from the death penalty - people (who consult the bible) do.' Just a thought.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top

Isn't this a bit like the gun control debate, but strangely reversed? ie. The oft trotted out 'Guns don't kill people - people (with guns) do'.


You need to drop this! When are people going to realize that if someone is going to kill someone else they do NOT need a gun! A stick, stone,knife, pipe...... all work equally as well. You'd be just as dead. Guns do NOT kill people, people kill people. Quit blaming the tool.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
'You need to drop this! When are people going to realize that if someone is going to kill someone else they do NOT need a gun!'
And, good doctor, you need to chill out! I wasn't PROMOTING this idea, I was merely commenting on a similarity I noted. (That said, how many people in America were killed last year with guns, and how many with sticks? LOL)
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
'You need to drop this! When are people going to realize that if someone is going to kill someone else they do NOT need a gun!'
And, good doctor, you need to chill out! I wasn't PROMOTING this idea, I was merely commenting on a similarity I noted. (That said, how many people in America were killed last year with guns, and how many with sticks? LOL)


I can't tell you about sticks. Nobody keeps that info. I can say this though. Approximately 20,000 more people were killed by a motor vehicle than by a gun. That info can be found on the CDC website.



Here's the reason I said what I did. There are a LOT of sheeple out there that will believe anything you say if you repeat it enough. And there are already too many idiots out there that believe what you said.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
'I can't tell you about sticks. Nobody keeps that info.'
Well YOU brought them up!

'And there are already too many idiots out there that believe what you said.'
Suggest you read my reply again, 'doctor'. Once again (slowly this time): "I ... wasn't ... PROMOTING ... this ... idea." Got it now?
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
'And there are already too many idiots out there that believe what you said.'
Suggest you read my reply again, 'doctor'. Once again (slowly this time): "I ... wasn't ... PROMOTING ... this ... idea." Got it now?


This time *you* read slowly.You wrote/said it did you not? I never said you were promoting it. Just that you said it (which you did) and that there are sheeple out there who have swallowed this as truth. You are not the first person that they have heard it from.
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
All I can say is this...our judiciary is out of control. Period.

I'd stay to discuss it, but this seems to be rapidly becoming another gun control thread...I'll check back later to see if the hijackers have gone home.


No it isn't, because I ain't taking it any further. A comment was made and I called them on it. The rest of the time was spent on them trying to deny they said it. Back to the task at hand. I think our courts have gone over to the "stupid" side of being PC. Does this mean you are no longer going to have to put your hand on the bible when being sworn in?