Do you support the death penalty

[Darth Elektra]

No, I believe it's wrong.

 

[Victarion]

....Well, while I am hardly "the average person"; my opinions are as follows...

There are certain crimes that merit no lesser punishment than Death.
One might think that Life Imprisonment is sufficient, but that Sentence allows the Guilty both paid shelter and food for Life ( supposedly) and the hope that at some time, their Sentence might be Commuted --either by caprice of Elected Officials or by some circumstance ( there have been cases of both escapes and clerical errors releasing prisoners convicted of Capitol Crimes).

Thus, a Life Sentence is in no way a "definite" punishment or even a indefinitely prolonged one. ( In most penal systems, a court sentence is automatically cut in half due to overcrowding of the prisons. Many "Life" sentences are actually made subject to Parole review by this measure)

So--in ONLY cases where Guilt is established BEYOND ALL POSSIBILITY OF DOUBT.....I see nothing inherently wrong with The Death Penalty. As far as I am concerned, when certain crimes are committed, the Guilty has in effect; forfeited All Right To Life by their willful victimization of another Human Being.

In short....

There is nothing wrong with people being killed.
As long as it is The Right People.

Bear in mind, that each such case must be considered entirely on it`s own merits and details examined minutely. There must be NO QUESTION.

By the way, anyone opposing my viewpoint; please spare me any "But What If..." and "Well, Suppose..." situations you may craft to illustrate and support your dissent .
I DID say that Each Situation MUST be considered individually, so I am in no way advocating an Automatic Death Sentence.

As such, I have abstained from voting in the poll, since I find it extremely general in scope and waay too limited in the choices offered.

^He speaks for me. I voted yes.

 

[kainedamo]

I voted no.

Justice has to be above revenge. Justice can never be about revenge. Otheriwse, whats the point?

Plus, too many innocent people have been put to death. The system will never be perfect.

What does it say about society when the public behaves like an angry mob calling for the heads of criminals.

We would get very pissed off if a foreign country put one of ours to death. We should set the example of what justice should be by not putting people to death.

The only reason I would agree with the death penalty is if a dangerous criminal just kept escaping prison to kill more people.

 

[CyberFaust]

no, the death penalty is wrong and this is why:
would you rather live in a society that along with the guilty kills some inocent or in a society that doesn't kill at all, i go for the second but that's just me

 

[Victarion]

I voted no.

Justice has to be above revenge. Justice can never be about revenge. Otheriwse, whats the point?

Plus, too many innocent people have been put to death. The system will never be perfect.

What does it say about society when the public behaves like an angry mob calling for the heads of criminals.

We would get very pissed off if a foreign country put one of ours to death. We should set the example of what justice should be by not putting people to death.

The only reason I would agree with the death penalty is if a dangerous criminal just kept escaping prison to kill more people.

Tis true. But what of the ones who do deserve it, such as the child molesters?

 

[kainedamo]

Tis true. But what of the ones who do deserve it, such as the child molesters?

See, you are thinking of it in terms of anger and revenge. Justice has to be above that.

 

[Victarion]

Hmmm....never seen a thread that made me use my brain so much...what do you think about the Vermont judge that let the molesters walk? Personally I think they'd be safer in prison...cause then someone close to the victim could gun them down or something.

The just thing would be to let them rot in jail then?

 

[kainedamo]

Hmmm....never seen a thread that made me use my brain so much...what do you think about the Vermont judge that let the molesters walk? Personally I think they'd be safer in prison...cause then someone close to the victim could gun them down or something.

The just thing would be to let them rot in jail then?

I don't think a molester should be allowed to walk free. There have been some cases where child molesters have gotten insanely light sentences.

Although, I do feel that prison is an imperfect system We've had prisons for many years. We have very high tech prisons with many prisoners. We increasingly put more and more people in prison. Every year, more prisons are built, and they just get full. It's not working.

Alot of guys that go to prison for minor crimes come out of prison even worse. Once you've been in prison, it's VERY difficult to get a job once you're out. If you can't get a job, you are far more likely to turn to crime. I think that more effort needs to be put into rehabilitating people that can be rehabilitated.

And the causes of crime need to be tackled. Mainly, poverty and education.

 

[AllThingsComic]

Like comedian Robin Harris said, give me the switch gotta go gotta go. If you maliciously take a life, then yours should be taken. The bible says an eye for an eye.

 

[Superman79]

I don't so much like the death penalty, but I support it. At least until we start taking away the satellite and cable tv, the fancy workout facilities (see teh new state prison in Tecumsah NE), the ability for felons to earn a college degree on taxpayer money, special segregated cells for child molestors, and the meals that are better than what I was served in my public school and in college. And that's jsut some of the ameneties...imagine what they'd save on incarceration costs by cutting that crap.

Additionally, limit frivilous appeals and limit sentence commuting.

You make prison TOUGH and maybe then life in prision would be more acceptable to me.

 

[Superman79]

The just thing would be to let them rot in jail then?

problem is many prisons (not all of course) are kinda cushy...I mean some homeless will go so far as to commit a felony just to have a bed and 3 squares a day.

so it's not really "rotting" in prison...

 

[Victarion]

Like comedian Robin Harris said, give me the switch gotta go gotta go. If you maliciously take a life, the yours should be taken. The bible says an eye for an eye.

Aye. Then you have a vicious circle.

I say all this justice stuff depends on your POV.

 

[dpm07]

I do not endorse the death penalty, per se.

 

[lordofthenerds]

Unless completely necessary, no.

 

[lordofthenerds]

But what of the ones who do deserve it, such as the child molesters?

I think that "an eye for an eye" would apply here.

 

[kainedamo]

I don't so much like the death penalty, but I support it. At least until we start taking away the satellite and cable tv, the fancy workout facilities (see teh new state prison in Tecumsah NE), the ability for felons to earn a college degree on taxpayer money, special segregated cells for child molestors, and the meals that are better than what I was served in my public school and in college. And that's jsut some of the ameneties...imagine what they'd save on incarceration costs by cutting that crap.

Additionally, limit frivilous appeals and limit sentence commuting.

You make prison TOUGH and maybe then life in prision would be more acceptable to me.

So you want to take away all chance of rehabilitation??

 

[Superman79]

So you want to take away all chance of rehabilitation??

no, we can teach them a skill, but most people in the US and the western world have had to shell out thousands of dollars to get a college education...these guys shouldn't be getting a free one because they knocked over a bank, or killed someone. Skills are ok, College level teaching is not.

Besides, studies have shown that rehabilitaion figures are fairly low...most repeat offend. This is why I'm more of a retributivist than a rehabilitationist.

 

[kainedamo]

I don't think the system tries hard enough to rehabilitate.

It's clear that simply building more and more prisons doesn't stop crime in the long term.

 

[Sun_Down]

The death penalty is hypocritical and barbaric. I'm always amazed by those from the Christian right who support capital punishment. I must've missed the part of the fifth commandment that said "...unless he's a really bad man."

 

[Kritish]

I see no reason not to, there's tons of people out here that cannot be rehabilitated and are threats to society. Plus I think it’s more human to kill someone via lethal injection rather than keep them in six by ten foot rooms for the rest of their lives. There’s a reason why solitary confinement is considered cruel and unusual punishment.

 

[Kritish]

The death penalty is hypocritical and barbaric. I'm always amazed by those from the Christian right who support capital punishment. I must've missed the part of the fifth commandment that said "...unless he's a really bad man."

Let’s see, I’m a hard core atheist that’s pro-choice and I have no problem with the death penalty what so ever.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Wow, this thread is over two years old people

 

[Kritish]

Wow, this thread is over two years old people

I didn't bring it back up...

 

[Sun_Down]

Let’s see, I’m a hard core atheist that’s pro-choice and I have no problem with the death penalty what so ever.

Right...so then you're obviously not even close to the group I was talking about.

 

[Snipershot]

most people who need the death penalty as a punishment means they did sumthing for worse then standard punishment