[LAST CALL] Win or Die Trying

[Sacara]

Unfortunately, there is real-life inspiration for this draft.

[Name] Win or Die Trying
[Desc] The @@ANIMAL@@ Penitentiary All-Stars, an amateur baseball team exclusively comprised of inmates on death row, has stolen national headlines after their recent success on the field. The team is on an incredible fifteen-game win streak, and it seems as if nothing can stop them. That is, until it was announced that @@RANDOMNAME_1@@, the team's captain, is set to be executed next week.
[validity] has capital punishment, has prisons, has sports, adult

[option] "I've finally found a passion for something productive for once in my life," writes @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME_1@@ in a letter personally addressed to you. "I've also found the right thing to hit with a bat is a ball, not a face, but that's beside the point. If you would commute our death sentences to life in prison, we can truly show the country we are much more than the crimes we once committed. Should we really be defined by the lowest moments in our lives when our batting averages are so high? Please, show us some mercy and let us play ball."
[effect] prisoners claim to have a love for the game to avoid the chair

[option] "Why should they be allowed to do something they enjoy?" asks the judge who sentenced over half of the team to be executed, taking the letter from your hands and ripping it to shreds. "This group is the absolute worst our society has to offer, made up of some of the most violent criminals I have ever seen. Instead, this team should be disbanded, and going forward we ought to make sure those sitting on death row don't have the opportunity to have any fun. They don't deserve any better than to sit in a cell and rot until their final hour has come."
[effect] the fat lady is finally singing

[option] "I know a way that keeps everyone's interests in mind," mutters your Minister of Out-There Solutions. "Cut them a deal: as long as they keep winning, promise to keep staying their executions. But, if they would happen to lose a game, they would also lose their lives. That way it wouldn't be you choosing if they live or die. At that point, they would be in control of their own destiny! It's not like they will keep winning forever, right?"
[effect] there's a new meaning to playing like your life depends on it

[Candensia]

A rather unique idea, and that title is to die for.

That being said, I'm not a huge fan of option 2. It isn't that different from the dismiss button, since doing nothing presumably means executions proceed as planned.

Personally, I think it makes more sense to have that option advocate for proceeding with the execution, disbanding the team, and banning any similar recreational, potential fun generating, or non death related activities for death row inmates.

[Trotterdam]

I think the harsh pro-execution option would be shortening the time you take to execute prisoners once they've been convicted, so they don't spend so long in death row that they have time to go start a sports team. I don't think the issue base can handle completely doing away with "death row" without causing problems, though.

[USS Monitor]

This is interesting, but I immediately found myself thinking, "But who would let them out to play baseball?" and wondering about security. I don't think most places in the present day are as lawless as that town where you took your inspiration was in 1911.

If you do go ahead with this, I don't think the team needs to be gendered. The majority of baseball players and death row inmates are male, but there is no reason why they have to be.

[Candensia]

This is interesting, but I immediately found myself thinking, "But who would let them out to play baseball?" and wondering about security. I don't think most places in the present day are as lawless as that town where you took your inspiration was in 1911.

If you do go ahead with this, I don't think the team needs to be gendered. The majority of baseball players and death row inmates are male, but there is no reason why they have to be.

It isn't exactly baseball, but a state prison in Louisiana holds a prison rodeo, so I don't think it’s that much of a stretch.

I agree with Monitor's points regarding not gendering the team.

[Sacara]

A rather unique idea, and that title is to die for.

That being said, I'm not a huge fan of option 2. It isn't that different from the dismiss button, since doing nothing presumably means executions proceed as planned.

Personally, I think it makes more sense to have that option advocate for proceeding with the execution, disbanding the team, and banning any similar recreational, potential fun generating, or non death related activities for death row inmates.

Thanks! I have made some changes to option two in my latest draft.

If you do go ahead with this, I don't think the team needs to be gendered. The majority of baseball players and death row inmates are male, but there is no reason why they have to be.

I've gone ahead and removed the gendered name. I appreciate the feedback.

In addition to changing option two up, I've edited the wording here and there around the draft.

[Verdant Haven]

Having seen the conversation that I suspect recently inspired this, I'm delighted to see an issue made of it :-D

You'll want to add validities for allowing sports and for having prisons.

In the second option, I have two suggestions:

One is that it might be worthwhile to find a way to reference the criminals without specifying the exact crimes in question (thievery, murder, etc) that led to the penalty - those can vary dramatically from one nation to the next, and some may not be accurate for some players.

The other is that since the warden of the penitentiary these players are from would certainly have to have agreed to their participation in this league, that shouldn't be the speaker who is demanding they not be permitted to participate (the warden could simply end it themself, if they wanted). Perhaps the warden from a rival prison, or an angry judge, victim's family member, etc would be a better speaker?

Fascinating idea for an issue!

[Sacara]

Having seen the conversation that I suspect recently inspired this, I'm delighted to see an issue made of it :-D

You'll want to add validities for allowing sports and for having prisons.

In the second option, I have two suggestions:

One is that it might be worthwhile to find a way to reference the criminals without specifying the exact crimes in question (thievery, murder, etc) that led to the penalty - those can vary dramatically from one nation to the next, and some may not be accurate for some players.

The other is that since the warden of the penitentiary these players are from would certainly have to have agreed to their participation in this league, that shouldn't be the speaker who is demanding they not be permitted to participate (the warden could simply end it themself, if they wanted). Perhaps the warden from a rival prison, or an angry judge, victim's family member, etc would be a better speaker?

Fascinating idea for an issue!

Thanks! And good points.

I have changed the speaker in option two and removed references to the exact crimes committed by the team. I also added another baseball joke in option one.

[Sacara]

Bump for last call.