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Joseph Smith Facing Sentencing

The man convicted in November of kidnapping, raping and murdering 11-year-old Carlie Brucia in Florida two years ago, will be going before a judge for his sentencing today. The jury that convicted him recommended the death penalty, however Joseph Smith's lawyer argued that because the monster was under the influence of drugs at the time, he should only be given life in prison.

Which brings me to this: Are you responsible for your actions if you willingly become dependent upon drugs, and if you are under that influence at the time of the crime? In MHO, you are just as responsible, if not more so. By now, every single person should know that drugs can carry a high cost- and not just to your wallet. This low life decided to try drugs, he became addicted because of that choice, he alone is responsible for his addiction, and his choice to continue to use drugs should not be an acceptable defense. And even more compelling is the simple fact that millions of people are using drugs every day, and yet we don't see a rush of addicts attacking 11 year old girls and killing them.

I'll be keeping an eye out for the results of today's hearing, and will update this post with the sentence.


NBC5.com - News - Kidnapper Who Raped, Killed Carlie Brucia Faces Sentencing

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Anonymous said…
I agree 100% No one forced him to take the drug. He did that voluntarily. If he was addicted, no one prevented him from seeking out treatment. Both decisions were voluntary. Just because he came to those decisions voluntarily, doesn't give him a pass to kill another, and esp a child. That was his choice also.
When he chose to take the drugs, he put himself in the position of making poor choices. Don't blame the justice system, because they are now making the choices available to them for punishment for those crimes.
Personally, I would like to see taking drugs as one of the elements for the death penalty requirements.
13/2/06
Anonymous said…
I watched most of it today...he is supposed to speak tomorrow..I mean beg for his life. What irritated the socks off me was his lawyer saying his prescriptions drugs for valid reasons led to his illegal drug use. That's BS.I think it's the other way around. Many folks have to take RX's..almost if not all 100% of these people don't turn to criminal activity.
13/2/06
Anonymous said…
I couldn't have said it any better. It's standard practice for criminals to not take responsibility for their actions and to blame everything else but themselves for the atrocities they commit. I hope he gets death.
14/2/06
Anonymous said…
I have an idea:
Let him live. Throw him in prison. Once the other inmates find out what he did, they will take it from there!!!
10/3/06
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