In support of the death penalty?
An elder told me that the death penalty should still be in place for extreme crimes, otherwise people will hurt or kill other people (whether intentionally or not) since they won't have to fear death themselves.
Do you agree or not?
Answer:
No, I do not agree. My objection to the death penalty is because of what it does to us as a society. If it is not revenge it is certainly built up into an unhealthy blood lust. Back when life was valued more highly than it is in our society you weren't just executing the person, you were also eliminating all his children yet unborn. Capital punishment has been in effect for most of our existence, yet people continue to commit capital crimes. Most European nations have eliminated the death penalty yet our homicide rate is considerably higher. Lastly, do you really want government to have power over life and death? The likes of Marc Rich and Scooter Libby will skate and the unconnected (and perhaps innocent) guy from down the street will pay full price.
Yes, I agree. Some crimes are so bad that rehabilitation is not possible.
Agree 100%
Your elder is very wise, indeed
Executing a murderer is the only way to adequately express our horror at the taking of an innocent life. Nothing else suffices. To equate the lives of killers with those of victims is the worst kind of moral equivalency. If capital punishment is state murder, then imprisonment is state kidnapping and restitution is state theft
I support the death penalty. Recent studies have shown that every execution that is carried out results in 3-18 fewer homicides, so it is definately a deterent. Plus you guarentee that that murderer will never kill again.
That's certainly a reason...and I agree.
There are others who committed crimes so heinous, however, that simply should not live to see another day...regardless of any deterrent benefit
So deterrent.and punishment are both good reasons.
100% agree.
How can we as a society respect the life of a man/woman that apparently does not respect life themselves.
yes i agree in some crimes the death penalty is most proper
I agree 100%, not surprisingly, everybody I know does too.
Edit:: I notice some ***** has been giving thumbs-down, wonder what YOU'VE done then PERV???
I am absolutely in favor of the death penalty. In fact, I think it should be given more liberally. I think in most cases even child molesters should be given the death penalty.
I agree completely with the "Death Penalty", however I'd like to take it further.
I want to see PUBLIC execution. Talk about 'deterrent' , there it is right in the middle of town square. Right infront of everyone. Or Death by the "same means" they killed their victims. I personally don't feel it should be swift and painless, their victims most likely did not die that way.
Um mm no. The death penalty is a permanent solution to what is sometimes a very inconclusive crime. There have been numerous people in the past 40 yrs let off of death row because DNA evidence showed that they may not have created the crime they were convicted of. What happens when we come up with a better way of detecting who killed and who did not? How many innocent people have to die before we decide we are wrong for killing. I am not a religious person. There are some people I think should not be allowed to live with other humans. (pedophiles, actual murderers, torturers) However, unless it can be proved...not without reasonable doubt but proven forth with (video, new technology) that someone took the life of someone else for no other reason than to take a life, there should be no death penalty. The police do it everyday but they are not subject to the death penalty. For example...I decide not to stop for the police...all I have is a few speeding tickets...they try a pit maneuver...they are endangering my life and those of others. All I did was not stop. I am not a threat, but the police are. Now the police decide to shoot at me and my vehicle. Raising my chance at death. Shouldn't I be able to return fire to protect myself? Some people who have never been in a life threatening circumstance will say NO. Most people who have been in that same scenario will say yes. Because they are guilty of a simple traffic violation should they be allowed to be killed?
I entirely agree and think it would be ridiculous not to. The harsher the penalty the less murders, rapes, robberies, and other crimes!
Research & anecdotal evidence has shown the death penalty is not an effective deterent.
Sometimes, it's not about the deterrent but about punishment, and in that sense, in some cases I am in favour of it
I agree 100%. And I also think they should be public.
I don't know. I think I value my freedom more than anything in the world, and would literally rather die than lose it. I can't for instance imagine being cooped up into a cell since I am deathly claustrophobic.
On the other hand I have absolutely no fear of going to bed and not waking up.
I have been "put under" for a very simple procedure and the experience was very exhilarating; which to me is very similar to death.
On balance I think I would much rather be put to death than being locked up indefinitely. It is only our fear of death, but in less than 10 seconds the perpetrator has "paid for" all the agony he has put a family through. To me it is not fair.
It has to differ from person to person, but I think I would opt for the death penalty for myself; and I don't think the death penalty is a deterrent, unless it takes on a much more bizarre form.
Yup, I agree.
We need death penalty.
There's some untreatable sociapath walking around in this world, inflicting great harm on communities.
Feed them every day until they dead with my tax money ?, no way.
Even if death penalty no longer cause fear on criminals, removing one useless living creature off this world can ease pressure on mother earth to support living on this planet.
Even God, the Almighty, created hell to cope with unrepairable defected creatures.
I disagree. I actually used to be pro-death penalty, but I have changed my stance over the years, for several reasons:
1. By far the biggest reason is this: Sometimes our legal system gets it wrong. Look at all the criminals who are being released after years of imprisonment because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. No matter how rare it is, our government should not risk executing one single innocent person.
Really, that should be reason enough for most reasonable people. If you need more, read on:
2. Because of the extra expense of prosecuting a DP case and the appeals process (which is necessary - see reason #1), it costs taxpayers MUCH more to execute prisoners than to imprison them for life.
3. The deterrent effect is questionable at best. Violent crime rates are actually higher in death penalty states. This may seem counterintuitive, but think about the mixed message it sends: we’re trying to take a stand against murder…by killing people. The government becomes the bad parent who says, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’
4. There’s also an argument to be made that death is too good for the worst of our criminals. Let them wake up and go to bed every day of their lives in a prison cell, and think about the freedom they DON’T have, until they rot of old age.
5. The U.S. government is supposed to be secular, but for those who invoke Christian law in this debate, you can find arguments both for AND against the death penalty in the Bible. For example, Matthew 5:38-39 insists that violence shall not beget violence. 1 Peter 3:9 argues AGAINST “eye for an eye”-type justice. Leviticus 19:18 warns against vengeance (which, really, is what the death penalty amounts to). In John 8:7, Jesus himself says, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
Yes an eye for an eye. Sad but sort of true.
Besides the prisons are overcrowded and these low life scum bags are living off our taxes, getting a roof over their heads, 2-3 squaure meals a day, TV and an education if they really want.
All this for nothing, at the cost of the tax payer, for murdering raping and pillaging our friends, family and community.
I disagree. The death penalty is not a deterrent. Robert R and many others have been misled by studies that claim that each execution prevents a specific number of homicides.
The recent studies you refer to are not supported by most scholars in the field. There were problems with the way these studies were done (econometrics,) with the data used and more.
Unless you are a statistician or a mathematician, the studies are hard to follow. The best place to look for the studies (and summaries) and discussion about them is at
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.
I hope that you, the elder you mentioned and Robert L will take a look at this. Best to have the facts,
Easiest to understand, however, is the fact that homicide rates are consistently higher in states and regions with death penalty than in those without it.
I think it would be worse punishment to rot in prison for the rest of your life without any chance of ever getting out
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