[speaker001:] Okay, so, what are, what are your views on capital punishment?
[speaker002:] I have ambivalent feelings because I don't think it serves as a kind of deterrent we would like to think it is. [lipsmack] But, on the other hand, it is very, very expensive to maintain, you know, Texas has one of the biggest criminal justice systems in the country.
[speaker001:] Yes.
[speaker002:] And it's eating us alive budget wise and, uh,
[speaker001:] So are they currently practicing capital punishment
[speaker002:] Yes, we
[speaker001:] in your state?
[speaker002:] do practice capital punishment, but the nature of the, uh, courts and the appeals and the stays and all that means that it's a very long haul before anybody's ever executed.
[speaker001:] Yes, that's similar to Georgia.
[speaker002:] Yeah. And then, I was reading in the paper just this morning, it's interesting because I had forgotten, I guess, that I wrote this little topic down, that it costs more to execute somebody th-, than it does to keep them.
[speaker001:] That's probably true considering,
[speaker002:] Because of all the costs of the appeals and all that
[speaker001:] Yes.
[speaker002:] you know.
[speaker001:] Yes, uh, I guess in a way that, it, it kind of defeats the purpose of having capital punishment if,
[speaker002:] Well, I think capital punishment is supposed to be primarily a deterrent to other people.
[speaker001:] Yes.
[speaker002:] You know, who would see it.
[speaker001:] Right, that would be the intent of it.
[speaker002:] Yeah, but I'm not sure how successful that is.
[speaker001:] Well, I think it would be more successful if it was applied in a more expedient manner, if there weren't so many
[speaker002:] Quicker
[speaker001:] appeals.
[speaker002:] maybe, yeah.
[speaker001:] Yeah, if, if the person who's going to commit the crime
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] knew that they were going to be punished severely, possibly capital punishment,
[speaker002:] What, what kind of work do you do?
[speaker001:] Uh, I'm a research engineer, I work, uh, f-, with Georgia Tech.
[speaker002:] Um, well, see, I'm a school principal.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] Elementary school.
[speaker001:] Yes.
[speaker002:] And in a very poor section of town with p-, predominantly Anglo kids. And I see kids already that are going to be criminals
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] in spite of everything we can do and, see, I'm afraid I think if we would take the equivalent amount of money and invest it in young people, that, I mean, course, you couldn't do that because you got to do something with the ones that are already there
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] but I think we would make a bigger investment in kids, we'd have fewer decisions to make.
[speaker001:] Um, that's probably true, but I guess
[speaker002:] Down the road, you know.
[speaker001:] there's other factors that,
[speaker002:] Oh, yeah.
[speaker001:] But, p-, p-, pumping more money into the school system is a
[speaker002:] Well
[speaker001:] good thing, but it's not going to,
[speaker002:] I'm not talking about just in the school system.
[speaker001:] Oh, I see.
[speaker002:] See, I'm talking about, like, in, in, uh, I'm afraid I think that there are kids who just ought to be taken out of their homes and reared. Uh, I know the institutions don't work that well, but it's a bad day because [LAUGHTER] I get all these kids through my office. I have a school of five hundred and thirty-seven kids.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Five hundred of them are good, solid kids and I have the same thirty-seven in my office every day.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] And a lot of their parents are totally irresponsible. Some of them in the penal system.
[speaker001:] So that's a difficult situation.
[speaker002:] And, you know, you just see those kids going down the road. Now, not all of them will commit offenses that have to do with capital punishment, but some of them have already been in youth centers.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] And that kind of thing, and if we had something to do before they get to be full-blown adult criminals, and I'm not talking about necessarily in the school system, I'm not sure that the school system should be the agent of all the social action.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] I think that's one reason we have problems in schools, uh, and some of them are our problems, but a lot of it's because everything society wants, we are supposed to do.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] But that's another subject but,
[speaker001:] Well, that's probably true. W-,
[speaker002:] Anyway, I dealt with two or three kids today that are going to end up where somebody has, making a decision what to do with them.
[speaker001:] Um, yeah, I guess that's not an easy solution. There's, there's no easy
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] solution for that.
[speaker002:] I don't, I don't know that there is an easy solution, but if you could find a way to prevent some of it, and I'm not sure what it would be.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] It would be money better spent than, do you know it costs more to keep an inmate on death row than it does to send a kid to Harvard?
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] That's true.
[speaker001:] I'm sure it is, yeah.
[speaker002:] Statistically, that's true.
[speaker001:] Um, yeah, I don't, I don't, certainly capital punishment isn't
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] going to solve a lot of problems but,
[speaker002:] Are you for it?
[speaker001:] Uh,
[speaker002:] I'm for it in
[speaker001:] I guess I am
[speaker002:] in some cases.
[speaker001:] for certain cri-,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] yeah, in certain crimes.
[speaker002:] What kind of crimes would you d-, use it for?
[speaker001:] Uh, premeditated murder.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Crimes of that nature, I think should definitely, any mass murderer type individual.
[speaker002:] I, I would consider it for sexual abuse of children, on going.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] You know, not one instance, but perpetual abusers of children.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. Well, you always have castration [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Well, you know, somebody elected that recently.
[speaker001:] Yes, I read about that [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] And all the civil rights people are up in arms about it, you know.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] But, uh,