Presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told Meet the Press host Chuck Todd that he's "conflicted" about the death penalty and that his "faith informs him" on the matter, which is confusing because I'm not sure which Bible he's reading that says we should execute people more quickly, rather than not at all.
CHUCK TODD: Speaking of life, have you changed your mind on the death penalty?
JEB BUSH: I'm conflicted. I am. It was the law of the land when I was governor, and I faithfully dealt with it. To be honest with you, it is not a deterrent anymore because it's seldom used. It clogs up the courts, it costs a ton of money. And--
CHUCK TODD: Are you one of those that look at the fiscal part of it and say, "You know what? Maybe it makes more fiscal sense to not do it"?
JEB BUSH: Here's the one thing, and it's hard for me, as a human being, to sign the death warrant, to be honest with you. I'm informed by my faith in many things, and this is one of them. So I have to admit that I'm conflicted about this. But here's the deal, when you meet people, this happens in rare cases where the death penalty's given out and you meet family members that have lost a loved one and it's still in their heart. It's etched in their soul. And this is the way that they get closure, I get more comfortable with it, to be honest with you.
But we should reform it. If it's to be used as a deterrent, it has to be reformed. It can't take 25 years. That does no one any good. Neither the victims nor the state is solving this problem with that kind of tangled judicial process.
CHUCK TODD: So you're still in favor of it, but?
JEB BUSH: Yeah, but I'm just saying, look, this is life, Chuck. It's not all either/or. Sometimes you can see both sides. And I believe life is truly a gift from God, and innocent life particularly should be protected at all cost, for sure. But people that commit these crimes, there should be-- justice can't be denied. And it shouldn't be delayed. And maybe there's a better way to do this where victims feel as though they're being served, because that should be front and center, the first obligation of the state.
He must just be reading the Old Testament. Like most Republicans, he doesn't seem all that hip to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
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