So, I got offered the chance to witness someone getting killed...

[Byrd Man]

If we are to value human life, we must value all life. Regardless of race, religion or creed. Killing to stop killing is a self-defeating endeavor and does not clarify righteousness in anyway.

You have a point there, that is the thing that has kept me on the fence when it comes to capital punishment. Do two wrongs make a right? I think I could sleep easy at night seeing it, not knowing the man in any personal way and seeing him die.

 

[Silverstein]

You have a point there, that is the thing that has kept me on the fence when it comes to capital punishment. Do two wrongs make a right? I think I could sleep easy at night seeing it, not knowing the man in any personal way and seeing him die.

Why don't you write an article about this very discussion?

Explain how you were given the option for the media viewing of the...termination. And discuss your feelings and the social and moral complications that arise, talk about different arguments that one could make and then your conclusion could be about your outcome and what you choose to do.

 

[SuperFerret]

The death penalty isn't about "righteousness" or making things fair. It's about removing a threat to society, and about retribution, and that's perfectly fine.

 

[Byrd Man]

The death penalty isn't about "righteousness" or making things fair. It's about removing a threat to society, and about retribution, and that's perfectly fine.

I understand that aspect of it, too. One thing that keeps me on the fence about it is that I try to picture myself in the shoes of someone who had a loved one killed in cold blood. Would I want the murderer to be taken away just like my family member was taken away? Would I rather see him rot in jail for the rest of his life, or become rehabilitated and emerge from prison as a valuable member of society. It's a hot button issue, with good reason.

 

[Silverstein]

The death penalty isn't about "righteousness" or making things fair. It's about removing a threat to society, and about retribution, and that's perfectly fine.

It's perfectly fine to commit the same crime that makes a man a threat....without finding out why or making an attempt to help him?Years of growing up around violence and racism doesn't go away in a few short years of solitutde. Jail does not make anyone a better person, it only gives them time to think over what happened.

MURDER is always murder, whether a government does it or not. Now we're going to kill a man for burning down a crack house? I'm sorry, isn't that the same stuff that these super heroes do that we support? Hmmm...

He did something wrong. There's no denying that. But you mend what's broken...not throw it away.

 

[Addendum]

Because it's quite easy to fix something in jail that took many years to get there, so it can be released.

I mean, it's not like people get concerned when a child molester moves in to their neighborhood. They perfectly understand that it served the required time in jail and successfully completed the counseling

 

[Byrd Man]

MURDER is always murder, whether a government does it or not. Now we're going to kill a man for burning down a crack house? I'm sorry, isn't that the same stuff that these super heroes do that we support? Hmmm....

He didn't burn down a crack house. He blew a guy's head off for not burning down a crack house.

 

[Cunning Stunts]

Like I said in the other thread:

I don't agree with the death penalty, but watching someone actually die (i.e., not staged like in movies), is a life-altering experience, and puts a new spin on a lot of things.

I say do it.

 

[SuperFerret]

It's perfectly fine to commit the same crime that makes a man a threat....without finding out why or making an attempt to help him?Years of growing up around violence and racism doesn't go away in a few short years of solitutde. Jail does not make anyone a better person, it only gives them time to think over what happened.

MURDER is always murder, whether a government does it or not. Now we're going to kill a man for burning down a crack house? I'm sorry, isn't that the same stuff that these super heroes do that we support? Hmmm...

He did something wrong. There's no denying that. But you mend what's broken...not throw it away.

I've heard all these arguments before, and to them I say "Eh."

Years of violence and racism don't go away, and it's a typical (and correct) policy to put down dogs that can't be rehabilitated, the same should apply to humans.

You said it yourself, "Jail does not make anyone a better person, it only gives them time to think over what happened." "Time outs" don't work on children, and they don't work on adults.

Yes, he did something wrong, and yes, two wrongs don't make a right, but the second wrong prevents future wrongs. We've got to get this notion that we're the "good guys" out of our heads.

 

[Byrd Man]

Given his racist ways, he could very well end up a leader of a Aryan prison gang if he was given life.

 

[BestGirl]

If we are to value human life, we must value all life. Regardless of race, religion or creed. Killing to stop killing is a self-defeating endeavor and does not clarify righteousness in anyway.

I just can't bring myself to care about a person who's killed someone else in cold blood. Take the money that would have been used to support this guy in prison and spend it on an at-risk kid so he won't end up on death row too, I say.

 

[michephantom]

Morality questions of execution aside, why is this "news"? I mean, I guess it's news if a man is executed, but what will seeing the execution do? It's not like you're going to describe how the person died, and for the victim family's reaction, you could get it from interveiws after the fact.

Is this going to be a front page story, or a small blurb?

 

[Sentinel X]

If we are to value human life, we must value all life. Regardless of race, religion or creed. Killing to stop killing is a self-defeating endeavor and does not clarify righteousness in anyway.

There are somethings that a person does that I DO NOT concider them human. Some people are just forces of evil.

When you can kill an innocent child, molest them, torture them, and then cut them to pieces.
Or a person who blows someones head off with a shotgun just for 20 dollars. Or someone who decides to randomly attack a homeless person and bash their brains out with a metal bat...etc...etc.

Its sad but in cases like these I think that the death penalty is justified. I don't necessarily think "an eye for an eye"...but I do believe that some crimes are so brutal and heartless that it crosses the line.

 

[Byrd Man]

Morality questions of execution aside, why is this "news"? I mean, I guess it's news if a man is executed, but what will seeing the execution do? It's not like you're going to describe how the person died, and for the victim family's reaction, you could get it from interveiws after the fact.

Is this going to be a front page story, or a small blurb?

It'll be front page news in the local papers, and the top story on our newscasts. As to wether it's nessecary? Well, the Department of Corrections need non-family witnesses at the execution. Depending on who is there, I hope to catch a soundbite from some bigwig with the department of corrections, the inmates' lawyer, if he's there, and maybe even Georgia's Attorney General if he plans to show.

Me being there isn't a must, but it would make the story better and the state needs media present to witness.

 

[wiegeabo]

I'm against the Death Penalty, if for no other reason than financially. It's actually cheaper for the state to keep an inmate in prison for life, then on death row for the 10-20 years they typically stay there.

Funny that killing a man is a bigger burden on tax payers. Not funny haha, but funny ironic.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

And, while seeing anyone being killed isn't good. I'd say lethal injection would be the best way to go, I would hate to witness someone getting the chair or even hung.

Wrong. Lethal injection only LOOKS painless to the spectators.

From a post of mine in another thread:

"In lethal injection, an inmate first receives sodium thiopental which makes them unconscious. They then receive 2 injections; the first paralyzes the lungs and the second induces cardiac arrest. A study was done that found 43% of the inmates they did autopsies on did not receive enough sodium thiopental. Meaning the inmate was awake the entire time and experienced excruciating pain. The only reason lethal injection is used is to look nice and clean to the people watching."



Basically, seeing someone beheaded via guillotined would be more humane. But of course that doesn't look nice.

The death penalty isn't about "righteousness" or making things fair. It's about removing a threat to society, and about retribution, and that's perfectly fine.

Life imprisonment accomplishes that, too.

 

[Prison Mike]

I saw my dog get put to sleep. I'm sure it will be similar to that. Go ahead and say YES!

 

[SuperFerret]

I'm against the Death Penalty, if for no other reason than financially. It's actually cheaper for the state to keep an inmate in prison for life, then on death row for the 10-20 years they typically stay there.

Funny that killing a man is a bigger burden on tax payers. Not funny haha, but funny ironic.

That's why I'm against death row. Give them a year at most, then kill them. It should be cheaper.

Life imprisonment accomplishes that, too.

But it's nowhere near as fun.

 

[Addendum]

Wrong. Lethal injection only LOOKS painless to the spectators.

From a post of mine in another thread:

"In lethal injection, an inmate first receives sodium thiopental which makes them unconscious. They then receive 2 injections; the first paralyzes the lungs and the second induces cardiac arrest. A study was done that found 43% of the inmates they did autopsies on did not receive enough sodium thiopental. Meaning the inmate was awake the entire time and experienced excruciating pain. The only reason lethal injection is used is to look nice and clean to the people watching."

It's not like they're going to complain about it.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

It's not like they're going to complain about it.

Then let's go back to hanging, drawing, and quartering. Like you said, it's not like they're going to complain afterwards

 

[SuperFerret]

Then let's go back to hanging, drawing, and quartering. Like you said, it's not like they're going to complain afterwards

Like I always say, the death penalty can work as a deterrant, we're just not doing it right.

 

[psychocheeseman]

And, while seeing anyone being killed isn't good. I'd say lethal injection would be the best way to go, I would hate to witness someone getting the chair or even hung.

Perhaps the least disturbing to watch, but it can still be incredibly painful for the recipient.

I am wholly opposed to the death penalty having seen it first hand myself. I think that it is an enlightening experience. Not that I get some sicko fascination from watching people die but when I saw this man die... He died. Someone, a real person, killed him. It was a moving and powerful experience and I don't think you should miss it out.

you almost sound like you're saying everyone should see one...
which would mean we'd have to kill a lot more people.

Surely you would have realized that the death penalty involved a real person being killed by another before you saw it?

 

[Addendum]

Then let's go back to hanging, drawing, and quartering. Like you said, it's not like they're going to complain afterwards

Wouldn't bother me if we did

 

[terry78]

All I heard was "white supremacist". After that I just blanked out and was figuring out what time you were planning to go and when I could watch the story.

 

[wiegeabo]

Like I always say, the death penalty can work as a deterrant, we're just not doing it right.

It'll only work as a deterrent to people who are afraid to die. Drug dealers, for example, aren't afraid to die.

The bankers who launder the drug money, on the other hand...

You start executing some of these bankers and you'll see the streets clean up pretty damn quick.