The Death Penalty: For or Against?

[Jackeens]

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

1. It has been shown

to have no effect as a crime deterrent. Nevertheless, I would prefer that some grievous offenders be sent packing rather than having them consume significant tax dollars spending their lives behind bars.

[depakid]

4. Trouble is that it's far more expensive to execute than it is to keep a person behind bars for life

unless you want to dispense with due process, that is. Then the costs would be closer to equivalent.

[Dennis Donovan]

6. It costs more taxpayer $$$ when death penalty defendants appeal....

...than it does to house them for the rest of thei lives.

[Soylent Brice]

9. bingo.

[spoony]

37. I've heard pro-DP people (on the right, of course) respond to that

by suggesting we "streamline" the process and eliminate some appeals. Then this happens in my head: :wow:

[SCantiGOP]

10. In addition

To being ineffective, it is racist and arbitrary. I can't believe there would be votes for the death penalty on this board.
You don't kill people to show that it's wrong to kill people.

[Cant trust em]

2. I find it to be a barbaric punishment.

We don't need state sponsored revenge. It might make us feel better, but it has no actual criminal justice applications.

[defendandprotect]

20. And. . . consider that we then HIRE SOMEONE TO DO THIS KILLING FOR US --!!!

Turning someone else into an actual murderer . . . !!!

Is there anything more insane than the death penalty???

No --

[Cant trust em]

25. Dr. Fate who posts here made a good point

The people who are for the death penalty should put their name in a lottery. When it's time to execute someone, we draw from their names and they get to pull the switch. Since they are all about killing someone, they can have a shot first hand.

[defendandprotect]

33. What a great idea . . . . !!

[question everything]

45. Some years back, there was a debate of whether executions should be

televised. My objection was that even though I could always turned it off, executions would be televised as "promos" for coming up next, and would reported after the fact. I kept my TV off for three days when Saddam was executed, did not help when Olbermann, without warning, posted the clip.

Anyway, during that debate, I suggested that the prosecutors and the jury be made to witness these barbaric acts, then I realized that in our society, many would actually cheer such an event. After all, many cheered the guillotine during the French revolution, and lynching were "celebrated" in this country by members of the audience taking parts of the dead men as "souvenirs."

[ContinentalOp]

52. What!?

The people who are in favor of the death penalty would LOVE this. They would jump at the chance!

[Dennis Donovan]

3. 100% opposed

[panader0]

5. While I oppose the death penalty

I also oppose having the taxpayer support some baby-raper for life, giving them college courses and color TVs, three squares and heating and airconditioning. The cost of imprisoning someone is much more than I make in a year. Some people are far beyond rehabilitation. All penal systems should be set up so that the prisoners support themselves. They could raise their own food and have some manufacturing to pay the guards salaries.

[polmaven]

8. As has been stated elsewhere in this thread,

the cost of execution is far more than life imprisonment.

I also cannot support state sponsored murder. Not in my name. Killing is wrong - always!

[defendandprotect]

21. There seems to be substantial exploitation of our prisoners right now . . .

I think they would be thrilled to be able to farm - wash their own clothing --

select their own books from libraries -- clean their own bathrooms --

Rather we have something more like rape of males and females in our prisons --

280,000 or more male-on-male rapes and once their males are released many will

rape a female in order to prove their manhood!

Females prisoners seem to be forcibly delivered to male prisoners for rape.

TORTURE in our prisons is being mentioned.

The purpose of prison is to isolate the prisoner from society -- that's all.

"Beware of those with a strong urge to punish" -- !!!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. The only issue where I am 100% opposed to it in all circumstances.

Once a person is in custody and not a danger to general society, there is absolutely no reason to kill that person. Any attempt to do so in the name of "justice" is either bloodlust or humanity's discomfort with the fact that unfortunately human beings will do evil things to other human beings, and by killing the person, that will somehow kill the evil. Which never happens. Never.

[vadawg]

19. problem is a lot of these people are not a danger to general society, but they are to other inmates

and people who work in the jail/prison. i think a lot of people forget that even though they may be locked away for the rest of their natural a lot of them do kill again inside the correctional facility. Plus some on them are just palin evil so thats why i vote yes in certain circumstances.

[jmm]

35. That's one of the many reasons I'm against the death penalty

If we can't trust the criminal justice system to lock somebody up then we shouldn't trust it to take lives.

[mvd]

11. Against in all cases

I used to fit option #2 when I was younger, but then after more reading, study, and self-reflection, I changed my position to opposing it without exceptions.

[Jackeens]

16. Me too, used to believe in 'limited circumstances', but not any more.

[SCantiGOP]

17. agreed, mvd

I also was a bit ambivalent when I was young, based on the 'well, what if someone murdered your family' argument. I was 17 when a cowardly bastard murdered Robert Kennedy and perhaps gave this country its last real chance to avoid the Nixon/Reagan politics that have caused so much death and misery here and around the world. I did a lot of soul searching, and realized that RFK would have said not to execute him. I realized that the fact that I could easily kill someone who had murdered someone in my family would represent an emotional, perhaps even temporarily insane, response. Government should act dispassionately. Embrace the moral clarity of knowing that it is wrong, other than self defense, to ever kill anyone, either directly or through your government.

[Hydra]

12. I would normally support it

But there's one rather large problem- lots of people on Death Row didn't do it. For whatever reason, our justice system is off at least 30% of the time. That is unacceptable just looking at normal prison, let alone execution, which has the effect of "burying" a case if the wrong person got put away.

[bertman]

13. I'm opposed to it until we find a way to have fair trials and good representation for all

defendants in capital cases. Too many innocent people are railroaded by overzealous and deceitful prosecutors, or (mis)represented by incompetent attorneys.

There are some crimes that deserve the death penalty. Call it vengeance if you want. That's fine with me.

[MajorChode]

51. Here's the problem with that

Even if it were possible to insure 100% integrity on behalf of all officers of the court, the standard for guilt is still within reasonable doubt, not within absolute doubt. This means that even under our hypothetical situation, it's still just a matter of time and the law of averages before an innocent person is put to death. So you still must ask yourself how many innocent people are you willing to put to death in order to execute 100, 1000, or 10,000 murderers?

My answer to that question is zero in all cases. That reason alone makes the death penalty completely unacceptable to me.

[Uncle Joe]

14. I'm against it under any circumstance, because it can't be perfect

and if you leave the door open, inevitably some innocent people will be murdered by the state.

[JitterbugPerfume]

15. When the state kills someone

they do it in our name . I do not want murder comitted in my name.

[defendandprotect]

18. When the state kills someone it teaches that killing is Okay . . !!!

[YOY]

22. When killing someone fixes things and makes them the way it was before a crime...

I will support it.

I'm not holding my breath. I don't expect murdered loved ones to rise from the grave once their killer is vanquished in some medieval state ceremony.

I've heard a conservative whine about "closure"...kiss my ass...he was talking about vengence.

[Silent3]

23. While it's probably poetic justice in many cases...

...and while I'm not one to weep over the death of some of the worst criminals, I feel we're probably all better off if the power of execution is not one of the powers of government.

If the deterrent effect were significant it might change my mind about some more extreme cases, but since there is no significant deterrent effect, and since I believe the job of the penal system is deterrence and protection of the public from dangerous individuals, not satisfying the public's thirst for vengeance, I don't support the death penalty.

While this may sound odd, and I can't imagine the rest of the country ever accepting this idea, I'd gladly give prisoners who have been sentenced to life imprisonment the option of execution, at their own choice.

[northernlights]

24. keeping someone in a small cage for decades

is far more cruel than a quick, humane euthanasia, imho.

I see no benefit to either Charles Manson or to society by keeping him alive in a cage. I do see a detriment to both.

Same for many, many serial killers and sociopaths.

To me it's not about it being a deterent, or about revenge, or about punishment. It's about the reality of the situation -- there is no happy ending possible, so go for the quickest end and be more merciful to the killer/torturer/rapist than they were to their victim(s).

[Uncle Joe]

32. There is a possible happy ending for someone sentenced to life in prison without parole

and that is eventual vindication if they're innocent, no such possibility exists after execution.

[billyoc]

26. I understand that there are people who support the death penalty.

These people are stupid and brutish.

[provis99]

48. are you opposed to the military then, or merely calling them stupid and brutish?

Killing for the state is the military's stock in trade.

[billyoc]

49. Both.

[Hippo_Tron]

27. I'm against it because it's a highly irrational policy

It's more expensive than life imprisonment and it doesn't have any quantifiable benefits.

[Scout]

28. Other

in theory, i support it in limited circumstances.

in reality i do not support it.

[BuyingThyme]

29. I'm always against, but I think the only way to abolish the death penalty is...

to start sentencing a bunch of "politicians" to death for the crimes they committed against the American people over the past 8 years.

[bigwillq]

30. Against

I don't think it serves any purpose. I think the better punishment is life in prison without parole.

[hay rick]

31. Favor public execution of Dick Cheney.

Vive la Republique!

[ZombieHorde]

34. Opposed. nt

[DevinKline]

36. Death penalty = justified homicide = still wrong

I think in most cases the motivation for the death penalty is revenge, and the argument for it is the same as justified homicide. In either case, I feel both are short-sighted and, in the end, only make the world less good.

[aikoaiko]

39. justified homicide is based on a reasonable belief that lethal force was necessary for defense.

It has nothing to do with revenge, AFAIK.

[aikoaiko]

40. certainty of killer + heinous crime = DP

I just can't abide some people living after what they did.

[spoony]

41. Certainty? When does that enter most DP cases? nt

[aikoaiko]

42. When there is overwhelming evidence.

Even though a jury might find someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, I think the DP should only be applied when the jury or judge is certain. Obiously, far fewer people would be executed.

[LAGC]

47. Does (child) rape count?

The problem with opening pandora's box is that you can never be certain... unless the convict actually ADMITS guilt and WANTS to die, I don't see the justice in taking the risk of taking a possibly innocent person's life...

[aikoaiko]

50. child rape used to count but no longer. I would be ok with the DP for child rape

again, certainty would be required.

I understand why people are opposed to the DP because of the risk of an innocent being killed. Its the only thing that gives me pause.

[invictus]

38. Oppose. nt

[ecstatic]

43. Modified version of options 1 & 2: Generally against it at all times but won't shed tears for

murderous pedophiles. Will I personally call for the death penalty for people like that? No... But I have nothing but contempt and disgust for child murderers and rapists. If they get the DP, so be it.

[Iggo]

44. Again?

It's like every month, now!

[LAGC]

46. Death Penalty? NO. Euthanasia? YES.

As has been mentioned above, its more costly for the lengthy appeals process for those who fight it than it is to just let them serve the rest of their lives in prison.

But for those who ADMIT they are guilty and WANT to die, I see nothing wrong with dispatching them from this world. Same goes with those serving like 25+ or 50+ year to Life sentences -- the option should be available for those who want a painless way out, to end their suffering in prison.

[Dorian Gray]

53. I have trouble with this question

I am theoretically opposed to the Death Penalty in all situations, and when I use my head, I can maintain that position. However, there are at times crimes that are so egregious that my gut takes over and I feel that it is warranted.

Which is why I am happy that we have an "objective" (hopefully) legal system that makes the determination devoid of my "feelings."

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

54. State sanctioned murder.

[quaker bill]

55. oppose

but readily admit that there are individuals who have acted in a manner that make a strong argument for it. That said, still oppose state-sanctioned homocide.