We spoke about this in class the other day. This is one of those hard issues that you need to think about and have an opinion on as an adult. Remember you vote for candidates that share your views on the issues. This is one of those issues. Where do you stand on the question of capital punishment?
70 comments:
I may be called apathetic or insensitive to human life, but I firmly support capital punishment.
Personally, it I believe in the Code of Hammurabi. More specifically, I believe the "wrong for a wrong" concept depicted in number 197 of the laws: "If he has broken the limb of a patrician, his limb shall be broken." I.E.: If one commits a huge offense such as murder or anything of the magnitude, why should he be spared from an equal fate?
However, I do assert that if the board decides to execute someone, they should conduct and extremely thorough investigation to ensure no mistakes. Thus, executions should take place, but only when absolutely necessary.
2nd.
I agree with Samee, the death penalty, although an extreme punishment, is acceptable for extreme crimes such as murder. An eye for an eye.
While I agree with the death penalty, the frequency of the executions is rather alarming. 10 in one momth is surprising given that Texas has executed 416 criminals in the past 32 years.
I too believe some crimes deserve death. Giving life in prison for a crime is practically a death sentence - they'll spend the rest of their lives behind bars - but also costs the government to maintain them.
However, it's possible for felons to repent - and maybe ease the pain for the victim(s)' relatives. If they are sentenced to death, they are probably less likely to do so. So if the criminal seems willing to seek forgiveness, then the death penalty should be reconsidered.
Also, as Samee said, the death penalty should not be given unless there is no doubt of the defendant's guilt. An execution can't be taken back, but years in prison can somewhat be made up for.
Its just like what Samee said: wrong for a wrong. I think that the criminal and his crime should be thoroughly investigated and have the degree of punishment based on that. If the criminal is unrepentant then he should be executed in the most torturous way. But if he is repentant then he can be "put down" nicely. Whatever the outcome is, he's still going to die anyways. Its just a matter of how he dies.
In my opinion, if you intentionally killed someone, you should be intentionally killed. an eye for an eye. it's justice. in some ways i feel like it would be a better punishment to make them stay alive in a jail and suffer, but that costs money. it's the appeals process that makes execution so expensive which is unfortunate. I think the person should be paid back exactly for what they are being puninished (killed the way they killed their victims) but it's unlikely the government will ever go for that...
Texas may execute more than all the other states combined but it's still not enough.
Well unlike the first 5 comeents.. i do not agree in the death penalty. First of all felice, you say that if you intenionally kill someone then you deserve to die but what about the judges who convict these criminals to death row and the people who inject them? they most definatly are also intentionally killing someone and therefore should die as well? i dont think people should have the power to justly sentace someone else to death because death is death no matter who the person is or what they did. This doesnt mean i dont think murderers deserve harsh punishments, they should all be stripped of their rights and have a miserable time in jail for the rest of their lives but.. not executed
I personally disagree with executions, a life for a life does not give back anything. I think executions are only necessary if that person is still unmanageable in prison. But to me, I think it is more of a punishment to have the criminal locked in prison for the rest of his and live with his guilt, than to be quickly executed.
I believe all crimes deserve death. The people that serve life in prison should just be sentenced to death rather than keeping them behind bars wasting the government's money to maintain them. I think if you commit a crime, you deserve to have it happen to you also. An eye for an eye. If you killed someone a certain way, your punishment should be equally done.
-Tracy Kwong
I am not sure how I feel about the death penalty, but I did some research and the Texas death penalty cost about three times a much as to imprison a person in the highest form of security for 40 years. That is a lot of tax payers money, decreasing money for highways and roads and other state expenses.
Also, if I had committed a major crime and had to spend the rest of my life in jail, I would rather die.
I believe the death penalty is somewhat cruel, but then again, these people did commit horrible crimes. If not the death penalty then these criminals would, without a doubt, have life in prison. Either way their life is basically wasted away because of what they did in the past. If you think about it, the death penalty is more civilized than locking someone in a cage for their entire life, so its definately necessary.
I don't agree with the death penalty to the extent that we take it to. When you are going to kill somebody it should be with absolute evidence that they have commitied the crime. It sounds as if the evidence is good enough the judge calls the death penalty. There are no take backs with death and it seems as though we are not taking that seroiusly enough.
I know we can never be sure of someone's guilt. However, i feel when we have clear cut cases ie. repetitive murder, rape or child abuse,society should not have to support them. The numbers are little too high but death penalty is a an unfortunately good tool for protecting society. crazy serial killers for example we really don't need them.
I don't know if i would personally choose to go to jail for life or recieve the death penalty. Who knows, there might be some interesting people in jail, like in the shawshank redemption. Its a tough choice, but in reality, a group of random peers will choose for me. I think the death penalty should exist, but it should be limited alot more than it is now.
So far until today the law system has been following the same system of death as a penalty for the victims crime, because if they have commited a crime they should be punished according to the severness of the crime. They are doing it with the full right and with factual evidence. This system was also followed by our ancestors, as seen in the bible. Thus I will support the candidate who will maintain this system. And just as every one has mentioned it costs the government to take care of increasing number of criminals, but the answer to it is not to excecute everyone slowly, but that doesn't even mean that the youngsters who work to pay taxes are all put for the maintenance of the criminals. Thus I Support the current justice system.
I support the executions taking place in Texas. I think if people do not want to face the death penalty they shouldn't kill in the first place. I feel that if you are going to kill someone you should suffer the same. It is not fair to the family or friends who lost a loved one. I agree with comedian Ron White when he said "If more then 3 people saw you do what you did you dont sit on death row for 20 years, your first in line". I think people should be punished for their actions.
Although i think the death penalty can be wrong, i mostly agree with it. I think of it from more of a socail stand point. It costs more of the tax payers dollars to keep killers in prison for life than to give them the death penalty. Morally, i do not agree with the whole an eye for an eye thing, but i think if someone killed someone intenionally, you have caused so much more suffering than you could possibly imagine. The death penalty is fine in my book, although sometimes I am torn.
I support the death penalty. There are certain individuals that are a threat to themselves and everyone around them. Some individuals are so terrible that that they can cause the death of innocent people even if they are in jail.These people should not exsist.But, many people on death row are not like that. Some are even innocent of the crimes they are killed for.Texas' approach to capitol punishment is vindictive, and when people seek revenge, their judgement becomes faulty.The courts of Texas do a good job of serving revenge, but lose the ability to serve justice in the process.Maybe, before we preach "a wrong for a wrong", we should be absolutely sure a wrong was commited.
The death penalty seems hypocritical to me; killing someone to show that killing is wrong.Alhough there are some people that really do deserve capital punishment for the safety of the people,life in prison is much harder.Spending the rest of your life in a tiny cell that feels like it's closing in on you you start to go crazy, then you start wishing you were dead. But it is even worse when your are in lockdown in a maximum security prison, you don't ever leave you cell. Really,how can you not go crazy from that? I believe that is enough punishment for someone one,the loss of freedom. The death penalty is just an easy way out.
Killing murderers for being murderers is ironic already. What else is ironic is that we spend more money executing someone than if we let them rot in life in prison (if im not mistaken). Still, many are killed on death row who were actually innocent. Lets stick to life in prison, or solitary confinement -that way prisoners can have a lifetime to reflect on what they did wrong...and when we run out of room, take the execution money and build some more cells.
I also support capital punishment. I think that in some cases "lethal injection" is letting people off too easily, and along with that so many of these criminals get to sit in jail and decide they want to become religious and repent. I think it's a bunch of bull. When they get sentenced i think they should face their punishment sooner and should be killed the same way they killed someone else. It may sound cruel, but some people get off too easy. Do you think Charles Manson really feels any guilt what so ever over what he did? And life in prison isn't teaching him anything. They should have stuck with the death penalty with him, but then again, he probably wasn't even intimidated at all by "lethal injection". I agree with "an eye for an eye".
Yes, I definately think that the death penalty is not a "cruel and unusual punishment" when used under the right and ethical circumstances. Think of all the cruel things criminals have done. Some truely deserve the death penalty. But ultimately, each case should be analyzed by a case to case basis to see if they actually deserve the death penalty.
Texas appears to use the death penalty a little to Wild West-ish. Texas needs to cowboy down and be a little bit more conservative with it. The amount of people we have executed exceeds any other state by a lot, and it isn't even close. I agree it should be used in some cases, but only in extremely severe cases. Let the guy have his conciseness torture him for the rest of his life.
Killing people... lets get serious, we are killing CRIMINALS. They chose to end someone’s life, so Texas is making the choice back at them. My Question is, why should tax payers have to continue to pay for convicted murders? Inmates cost the state thousands of dollars per criminal. We can fix one of our other problems with the money we save. Once they are sentenced to death, send em to Huntsville and help better this fine state of Texas.
Unlike the first couple of comments, I disagree with the death penalty. I understand where people come from when they say they agree...but I strongly belive that killing them is only letting them go free. If a person commits murder, he should be put into prison and suffer in prison for the rest of his life. He took away the life of someone else, so he should have his life taken away as well. In jail there is a guarentee that he is living at a lower level of living and is constantly reminded of his crime everyday he is alive in jail till he dies.
In my opinion, the death penalty is actually a way out for convicts. I mean, they don't feel the pain they probably dealt out when they murdered themselves, they get fed meals (for free), they get to sleep on a bed, etc. In many senses, they have better lives than the homeless and the poor. I believe that the death penalty should not be enforced with such care. If a criminal is sent to the penalty, they should just be killed, without any special type of poison that costs taxpayers and the gov't money.
Back in the day, they had firing lines, or people were hanged, or even the electric chair. Those need to be brought back. It is senseless trying to preserve lives in order for injection. Additionally, life in prison should not be hospitable either. Men should not be fed so well, as they probably did not care for others when they were free (they actually probably killed people).
Yes I might sound a bit harsh, but it is what I firmly believe. The death penalty is not really a "penalty", it is just a prolonging of death through a simple injection. If i mixed lethal chemicals and put it into a syringe, I could enforce the "penalty" with a lot less money!!
I believe in captal punishment, letting people go for their wrongly doings is just as bad as what they did to someone else.
I'm not saying that every crime deserves the death penalty, only just the crimes that are extreme.
But on the other hand, one question does arise:
Is it bad to kill someone,
who killed someone,
to show others that
killing someone is bad?
In the cases of serial killers and such I wholeheartedly believe in capital punishment but in other cases I find my self a bit torn, but for the most part I agree with the use of the death penalty.
But honestly, I do kind of see the death penalty as an easy way out for the criminal. They don't have to suffer through jail and a guilty conscious, they're basically just put down like a dog. Which, sounds bad and all "putting down" a human, but really, they are the ones who chose to intentionally take someone's life.
Personally, I'm in favor of the death penalty. I understand that there are some cases where it shouldn't be used, and I am in favor of using it sparingly. However, if you kill someone in cold blood, I don't see how it could be fair to let you live out your life, sheltered, fed and clothed on tax payer's dollars. Even the injection, peacefully falling asleep to never wake up again, would be too good for you.
The article functions under the assumption that the executions are inherently wrong. The problem with this is that taking an ends based standard analysis destroys the means based method. If we as a state look to the means to justify the end of killing we see that a)these men (according to the court) killed people and b)they had fair opportunties to defend their innocence (in theory), therefore the end functions as a natural extension of the means analysis. If the means the men employ are bad, then the end should put about a stop to those ends and so an execution is employed. The ultimate question is whether or not people should be executed, but that question can not be definitively answered.
Id like to repeat Samees opening statement here: I may be called apathetic or insensitive to human life, but i firmly support capital punishment.
For me, it's not about the eye for an eye thing, like maggie said its mostly a social (she meant economical) issue. These people on death row could be filling up a prison thats already packed to the brim and for what? To take up space until they can gently die in their sleep? The end result remains the same, they contribute nothing to society and die in the end.
What really bugs me about it is that this first guy to be killed has been sitting around waiting for years! Waiting for Death! Gee im sure he did a lot for humanity while busy with that! And yes the way they execute people nowadays cost a lot of money, because they dont feel a thing, but they dont feel a thing if you put a bullet in their head either...The loss of money keeping zombies walking is idiotic, either give them a chance to carry a hammer and nails or string em up.
It's hard to make a decision about this. I don't necessarily agree with the "eye for an eye" mentality, because in many cases that just seems barbaric. We punish these people for killing other people...by killing them? That doesn't seem just or fair.
But I do think there are certain circumstances when the death penalty is necessary, like mentioned above, when a prisoner becomes unmanageable. Also, Maggie has a point...our economy has struggled enough on its own. If it really is cheaper to lethally inject someone than to support their life for decades, that may be something to consider. Though, that is also barbaric: to kill someone just to get out of paying for them to live.
If it wasn't obvious, I'm torn.
I strongly agree with capital punishment. If someone commits a crime such as murder, then likewise they deserve to die. If you kill, you get killed. If there was no death penalty then the murderers would receive life in prison, while the common people have to pay taxes in order to pay for that person to be in prison. The death penalty is not harsh, since those who receive it truly deserve it, and therefore they should be shown no sympathy.
Charles Manson(an inmate in California who is currently serving several life sentences for the murder of half a dozen people)once said, "I feel no remorse for what I've done...prison is great, you can get anything you want here."
This is why I agree with capital punishment. Letting a criminal waste their time and our tax money in prison doesn't punish them, it punishes us.
Yes, certain crimes do deserve capital punishment, but only after thorough investigation or absolute certainty that the offender is guilty. In order to receive the death penalty, the magnitude of the crime justifies the act so there should be no sympathy. Why put a serial murder culprit behind bars for the rest of his/her life, when all it does is eat away at society's tax dollars?
I support capital punishment only if the criminal has murdered with a plan to murder, especially if the person he or she murdered is a child. Those people completely deserve to die. If they don't have any regard for life, why should it matter, anyway? However, in general I think that capital punishment isn't the best solution. Why should we play G-d when we are human, just like the criminals?
I'm not sure where i stand yet. There is always the chance that the person being executed is really innocent so it's hard to allow that kind of thing to happen. But there is also a bunch of sick and irreversibly disturbed people out there who cannot be rehabilitated and shouldn't be allowed to live after the atrocious crimes they commited. And on a personal level, if anyone ever murdered or severely harmed someone i loved, i would go to any length to make sure that person could never do so again. An eye for an eye. i tend to lean towards favor of the death penalty, but i have yet to make up my mind entirely on the subject.
Im honestly not sure what to think about the whole death penalty process. I know i do believe though that we tax payers should not have to pay for criminals to sit and maybe mope and feel guilty for their actions while we're dishing out loads of money year after year to them. Thats rediculous. I think instead, maybe we could create like an "Alcatraz Island" or what Britian did to their criminals[effect] when they sent them to Australia!..? Just set up some land or something and have them grow crops or do factory work. Productive actions that will pick up a little slack that we need and put a little money more money into the economy..
I see the validity in the statement an "eye for an eye". First off, this tradition has been in place in many parts of the world since the Code of Hammurabi, the first written laws. If you think of this in a less severe instance—if someone hits you, you expect the opportunity to return the blow—but in this case someone’s life is involved. While it costs the government money to maintain the inmates, I feel life in prison is a worse punishment. Every day is structured and they have few privileges and only the memories of what their life once was. Also, like someone else said, you can’t reverse death. Breakthroughs in some cases have found the person innocent after they were put to death still proclaiming that innocence.
I fully support the death penalty. Some crimes are so grave that death seems to be the only logical answer. Though a crucially harsh punishment, I too believe in the Code of Hammurabi, as samee mentioned. Say some guy is a savage and dangerous serial killer. Why should he life a live behind bars when he took the lives of others? Such a serious crime deserves a serious punishment.
I support the death penalty system. I used to live in the Middle East, and so death penalties were quite common there, and so I grew up with the ‘eye for an eye’ policy. I understand there may be circumstances in which the person convicted should is innocent, but I think that the justice system must thoroughly investigate the criminal and be a hundred percent sure that the criminal has committed the crime. There are people in the world who truly deserve to die or else more innocents will die.
Crimes do need to be paid for by death depending on what they did. But i believe they should have investigated the case to the fullest extent in order to determine weather or not they should have been sent to death. In some cases they were found not guilty after they were put to death and the price to the families are irreplacable. The death penalty is good but not until further investigations.
Although the death penalty may seem harsh in some cases I believe it is justified. I think the ideal of eye for an eye is justified because it is unfair for the victem's family to lose a loved one while the murderer sits in jail.
I think capital punishment is wrong. Why should people decide the fate of another person? Like Gandhi says if everyone took an eye for an eye everyone would be blind. In the aarticle, it say that 9 of the people were convicted before 2001. That must be really scary to know that your days are numbered.
The death penatly should be used as it is today. If someone commits murder they should loose thier life for it, an eye for eye punishment is fair justice. If an exucution is going to take place, they should do a yearly invetegations to make sure he is guilty. If the jury finds him guilty, then hes guilty in this country
I hate to sound harsh, but as the saying goes, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
There is really no reason for criminals who feel no guilt and aren't willing to change. If they aren't beneficial to society and are, instead, harmful, they should be exterminated. They make terrible mistakes, they pay the price and suffer the consequences. That's how things always work. I think it's better than staying in a stinky prison cell for the rest of your life, and not to mention, so much less squandered money.
At least it would put some fear into the hearts of those who think about committing heinous crimes.
my policy is the 'eye for an eye'. if you murder someone then you should be executed, simple as that. if people have a problem with the execution policy, then stop murdering. personally, i think a life in prison is worse than execution.
I support the use of the death penalty, but the only problem i have with it is the previous executions of people who turneb out to be innocent. I think the state should use everything in its power to have a thourough investigation before executing someone
I'm personally rather torn on this issue. Part of me says that the "eye for an eye" clause is unfair. Shouldn't we be the bigger people? It almost makes us as bad as the person who murdered. But then the other side of me asks that person killed someone, don't they deserve the same? One thing I absolutely despise, though, is the maneuver to save money by making bargains with a murderer to get information. I personally have known and been close to someone who was murdered. Her killers walked away with only 20 years in prison because they bargained with the da. That's wrong. Murderers should at least have life in prison, no exceptions. You took like away from someone; now the government takes your life away from you. Maybe just premeditated murder should be punished with death and unmeditated murder should be punished with life in prison. I just don't like the government taking the easy way out by making bargains. I don't mind paying higher taxes if it means keeping criminals off of the streets.
10 executions in on month is a huge number. But the probably deserve what they did because murder is the worst sin. Life in prison in my opinion is worse than death, but the court has to make sure he/she is guilty
The death penalty is a law that has come up in everyone's mind. Some people believe that people should be executed because they killed someone else. In my opinion, the death penalty is an easy way for a criminal to escape. However, if you look a criminal up for their lifetime, they have to live with what they did every day of their lives until they die.
I personally dont see a problem with us executing people. It is serving its purpose by killing them and i dont see a reason to slow it down. I say kill faster. Maybe it will make the prisons less crowded and maybe let more of the guards go home and maybe they'll start working for the police department and pulling more criminals behind bars.
I think it is better to not have someone such as the people being executed out on the streets for sure. However even if they spend their life in jail... what does that do? They get fed, clothed, housed, good behavior gets them rewards. I know jail isn't the best of places, but it could be worse. Some people think that rotting in a jail cell, left to think about your crimes, will be good enough a punishment. I do not agree. Half of the people who are able to commit such terrible crimes.. feel no remorse. They don't care. That isn't true for some, but for others it is. I believe in capital punishment and ridding the world of people unfit or unwilling to be in it peacefully with others.
i feel that if you kill someone then u should b put to death. why should they escape the same fate they forced upon someone else. an they actually get it better than the ppl they killed all the inmate gets is a lethal injection while the person they killed could have been torchered or something like that. samee said it all perfectly so i agree with all that he said. so i agree with the death penalty if u kill u deserve to be killed
I have to say that i feel the choice of capital punishment is to great a power for man to control, but it has to be done by someone so i am torn on this topic. I do feel that a man who commited murder or some outragous crime should be punished, but i do not believe instant death penalty is the right choice. I believe that the victim should be able to choose between life sentence or the death penalty. The main reason for this chosing is because a man may have a child that he would want to see in 20 years. For that reason i do find the life sentence useful to some regard. It is firm but still shows some compassion. If the victim chooses death then we should give it to him and not prolong the inevitable. I do not feel that there truly is winner in any choice that is made, but that is the hand that has been dealt to this society.
Personally, i love that Texas still has the death penalty. It shows that not only do we not put up with nonsense we believe that people should not get off so easy for committing crimes. An eye for an eye. Yes, 10 is a big number but if someone hurt a person close to you wouldn't you want them to be treated the same way they treated your loved one (it also may be nicer, because that's how cruel people are these days).
well this is how the world runs: wrong for a wrong. I think that the criminal and his crime should be investigated and be appropriately given the punishment for the sin they have committed. If the criminal is unrepentant then he should be executed in the most torturous way. But if he is repentant then he can be "put down" nicely. Whatever the outcome is, he's still going to die anyways. Its just a matter of how he dies.
Wow, ten in 1 month is a huge number. I sort of believe in the death penalty. People who kill numerous number of people deserve it, but i really dont think that people who have killed on e person should recieve it. Im not saying that I support what there doing, but i would just give them life witout parole. Honestly i think that life in a little cell with 4 bricks walls is worst anyway.
i agree with captiol punishment. if it is recalled, it puts less of a hesitation in a criminal out on the streets. but it the capitol punishment is still in effect, there is a fear in the mind of that criminal whenever he thinks about committing a crime. but i stongly suggest that the cases that they chose for capitol punishment should carefully chosen because not all murders are intentional.accidents happen, or sometimes it happened as part of self defense. so capitol punishment should be there,but should be carefully executed.
people who kill should be placed in institutions thats basic, but killed? im not sure. Ashley had a good point on this one but she constantly misplaces her socialism into democratic affairs where they arent relevant. I honestly think this is an issue that i would step back from and not make the decision because its above my head regardless of age. I have a right not to vote and remain silent so i believe i will.
I support capital punishment. If anyone kills another human being, they should pay the consequence for their actions with their own life.
Also, like Justin said, capital punishment is a lot cheaper than housing a convict for 50 years. I'd rather see someone recieve the death penalty than a life sentance. Really, why should my tax money be wasted on someone who will slowly rot away in the jail system until he dies naturally anyways?
"Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so"
Its not so much a question of whether or not capital punishment is right, but how your intake on the situation is. To take away another human beings life may not be the best way to deal with the situation considering how long it takes for these decisions to get through our judiciary system in the first place. Maybe we should consider the prisoner's new point of view? Should we really punish a man when his guilt has punished him more? There are so many questions to be asked and Im not sure if any of them have a right answer.
Ashley Abraham
In my opinion I believe that the death penalty for those that have committed the worst crimes such as murder. It is cheaper than keeping criminals that have been given life in prison because of the cost that would be presented for caring for each prisoner. an eye for an eye as some others have said
I do not agree with capital punishment. In what way can you teach someone that what they did is wrong by inflicting the same crime on them? That makes no sense. It is just giving into the sick idea that killing someone is the right way to go about things. If you want to teach someone what they did is wrong, let them relish in their own self-hatred. By killing them, it is giving them the easy way out of what they did. Letting them sit and think about what crime they have commited, to me, is a more serious and excushiating.
I don't think executing people is a good way to punish them from their crims. Unfortunately, if there's no execution for certain crim, the world will be in chaos.
SJOLANDRA PAUL
I believe that the death penalty is need in some circumstances. you killed someone so maybe you should see hoe it feels to know that your going to die.But 10 executed within a month is kind of crazy. Like why so many in one month. But hey if thats how it has to go than thats how it has to go.
I think Texas is doing a great job in applying this law, criminal should be punish at the same level of the crime the committed. Although i think they should make sure they are not make any mistakes , we are talking about lives here not material things, lives can't be restore.
Ok so this page didnt pull up either so from what I can gather from others comments this is about killing people. I am not entirely sure how i feel about that i wish i could read the article but oh well there are many more things for me to do on the wiki so i had better not spend to much time crying over spilt milk
I strongly agree with capital punishment. If someone commits a crime such as murder, then likewise they deserve to die. If you kill, you get killed. If there was no death penalty then the murderers would receive life in prison, while the common people have to pay taxes in order to pay for that person to be in prison. The death penalty is not harsh, since those who receive it truly deserve it, and therefore they should be shown no sympathy.
Its just like what Samee said: wrong for a wrong. I think that the criminal and his crime should be thoroughly investigated and have the degree of punishment based on that. If the criminal is unrepentant then he should be executed in the most torturous way. But if he is repentant then he can be "put down" nicely. Whatever the outcome is, he's still going to die anyways. Its just a matter of how he dies.
-KAtie Carlseen
I strongly believe in the death penalty. I believe that if a person is responsible for a persons death, then death should be be brought upon them also. The whole Karma concept comes into play here, what comes around goes around, or in other words. A life for a life.
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