Do you think The death penalty Is Right?

[Mullen4Prez]

I Think it should be legal everywhere because people that kill do not deserve to live at all. If they took a life then its only right that The other person is killed.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Doesn't solve squat, death is an easy escape - being denied freedom for decades is true punishment. This is not to say that I have any problem if a criminal is killed when they cannot be captured without undue risk to law enforcement or citizens. Once captured and neutralised there is rarely any justification to kill them but one can always be pushed to extreme situations which occasionally pop up.

 

[kobayashi]

no one deserves to be killed. no matter what theyve done.

 

[AcrobatMan]

death penalty should be used very very rarely.

death penalty should be NEVER USED for any crime that doesnt directly involve MURDER like betrayal, possesion/use of drug, rape...etc etc

Even with murder or multiple murder cases, it should be used VERY VERY VERY rarely.. IF AT ALL

 

[Sheltie]

For murders, yes.

 

[financeguy]

I know a guy whose brother was murdered some years ago. Nevertheless he once said to me (unprompted) that he did not agree with the death penalty as there was always a chance - however slight - that they get the wrong person.

Having said that some crimes, such as child murders, are so appalling that the death penalty should be available - the problem is that some jurisdictions that have the death penalty apply it far too often in my view.

 

[BVS]

Our justice system is ran by humans therefore flawed. Therefore the possibility of convicting the wrong person exists. Therefore I don't believe in it.

We are not the ones to decide who lives or dies out of "justice". I do not believe in eye for an eye.

 

[nbcrusader]

"for all who draw the sword will die by the sword"

Yes, the death penalty is an acceptable punishment.

 

[U2Kitten]

no one deserves to be killed. no matter what theyve done.

What about being unlucky enough to have been concieved in the belly of a woman who doesn't feel like accepting responsibility for a child?

The thing that tears the hell out of me on this is that the strongest abortion supporters are always the strongest death penalty opponents! It's so twisted I can't stand it. The unborn baby has done nothing wrong, the killer has. I am for the death penalty in EXTREME cases where someone has heartlessly and cruelly murdered someone, especially a child. I can't believe anyone would believe that a person who has tortured, raped, and killed young children, then mutilated the bodies deserves
to live!While I believe life is precious, once someone has heniously and purposely robbed another of their life, they no longer should be able to enjoy being alive, even eating, sleeping, reading, watching TV in prison. And don't give me the old 'they'll have a lot of time to think about what they did' line, look, they don't care, if they had a conscience they'd never have done it in the first place!

Here are some extreme examples that happened in VA that I followed closely on the news and was very upset by: a man kidnapped and molested a six year old boy, then beat him to death. Then he cut off his little penis and stuck it in his mouth and hung him in the closet like that with an electrical cord. My sister worked with the father of this boy, and she said he was so disturbed he would mix things up or just stop and start shaking. They never fired him because his story was so sad, but he was ruined for life. See the killer doesn't just take one life, they take the lives of those around the victim too.

In another case, same area of VA years later, an 11 year old girl was left at the skating rink after it closed because her mother's drunken boyfriend who was supposed to pick her up when she called passed out. The girl accepted a ride from a stranger who took her into the woods, tortured her and sexually abused her, then (assuming after she was dead, maybe not) he sliced off her little breast buds and put them in her hands. Her vagina was destroyed by broken branches used to rape her with. I'm also going to add that my nephew's girlfriend was in the same fifth grade class as this girl, and she still takes spells of crying to this day because of it and screams when she drives past the place in the woods where it happened. Image how the girl's family must feel. A fucker who did all that deserves to live? Please.

Oh and for the record I have had someone in my family murdered, a cousin who was a real estate agent was set up on a fake call and raped and stabbed repeatedly, her body tossed in a dumpster like yesterday's burger wrapper.

I'm sorry, both those fucking bastards deserve to die, and lethal injection is too good for them.

 

[Irvine511]

please, please, please ... let's not turn this into an abortion thread (though i will add that it strikes me as hypocritical to be anti-choice and pro-death penalty).

anyway ... the death penalty strikes me as illogical and hypocritical (not, btw, morally wrong ... it's not a moral issue for me, the same way that the aforementioned issue that i'll not answer again is not a moral issue).

there's a Ghandi quote: "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

also, how do you propose to show that killing is wrong by killing someone?

it simply doesn't make any sense, but then again, i've never had anyone close to me murdered.

 

[Anthony]

Death shouldnt be meted out for most crimes anyway. And for those crimes which are so heinous - the death penalty isn't good enough anyway. Death 'is' the easy way out.

Ant.

 

[cardosino]

I Think it should be legal everywhere because people that kill do not deserve to live at all. If they took a life then its only right that The other person is killed.

The death penalty is institutionalized murder, takign one of humanit's worst character traits, the need for revenge, and making it legal.

Sick.

 

[U2Kitten]

please, please, please ... let's not turn this into an abortion thread (though i will add that it strikes me as hypocritical to be anti-choice and pro-death penalty).

As I've said before, I will keep quiet on abortion, until someone mentions the the ignorant, sickening, hypocritical term anti-choice, that's what sets me off, and you did it so here goes! If you do not support every choice,you are anti choice, it's stupid. Stop trying to cover up what abortion really is with your comfy little terms. We are talking about murder here. Since you're for choice perhaps you agree with the choices the murderer made too!

As I explained in my last post, there is a difference between an innocent baby and a killer who has raped murdered tortured and mutilated people. They no longer deserve to live. I already explained that. I am not pro life, as I always say, I hate the terms pro and anti life and choice, it's pro and anti abortion. I am for the death penalty because scum who do the things I described in my last post do not even deserve the air they breathe or the food they eat, and to compare them to an innocent unborn child who has done nothing wrong makes my blood boil. And quite honestly, Irvine, the fact that you could value their lives more than a baby's makes me have a hard time respecting you as a human being.

If anyone had bothered to read my first post why would they even say this to me, I've already stated my position. I must run now before I get myself banned.

 

[Irvine511]

i am totally going to ignore your post. just watch me.

 

[Anthony]

And that would probably be the best way to go about it - Irvine. (Thanks in advance).

U2Kitten - please calm down. No one wants the thread to be derailed, strong feelings notwithstanding, and no one wants to start calling people horrid things.

I won't close this thread, but if people don't calm down and debate is thrown out the window in the name of calling people 'sub-human' for their views, I shall.

Cool it.

Ant.

 

[BVS]

How did I know this was going to happen, and how did I know who.

 

[cardosino]

"for all who draw the sword will die by the sword"

Yes, the death penalty is an acceptable punishment.

I believe in the context that this was meant as a prediction, not a command.

Jesus taught extensively about forgiveness, and cautioned against revenge.

I don't believe for one second that Jesus would be pro-revenge and pro-institutionalized murder, but that's me.

Matthew 5:38-48

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. "

 

[BVS]

I believe in the context that this was meant as a prediction, not a command.

Jesus taught extensively about forgiveness, and cautioned against revenge.

I don't believe for one second that Jesus would be pro-revenge and pro-institutionalized murder, but that's me.

Matthew 5:38-48

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. "

Thanks.

 

[Anthony]

Yes indeed, thank you cardosino.

Ant.

 

[U2Kitten]

I am also going to try to hold my temper and ask why there is so much sympathy for the murderer and none for the victims, even the ones in the true stories I described? Something is very very wrong here.



What a sick and twisted world.

 

[cardosino]

I am also going to try to hold my temper and ask why there is so much sympathy for the murderer and none for the victims, even the ones in the true stories I described? Something is very very wrong here.



What a sick and twisted world.

Where is it said that no-one has sympathy for the victims ?

I mean, you said "none for the victims".........

 

[Tania]

I have read through all these posts twice, and I don't believe anyone has any sympathy for the criminal at all. I thought that the discussion was more about as a society are we any better by condemming people to death than those committing the crimes?

I honestly don't know how I would feel if someone I loved was hurt in any way by another person or how I would want them punished. I do know that no matter what punishment is given it is not going to change the crime that has been committed or the impact on everyone involved.

 

[starsgoblue]

It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on the innocent. In some countries it is even used as a political tool to silence individuals. It has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments. And it can't undo the crime they had commited either.

 

[ahmedadam]

Then the teenagers that did break my glass car window to steal from me I can steal from their home. No. It is then to make me as bad as they are. So I can chop off their hands. No, I would like but it would be wrong. But then what to do?

 

[coemgen]

As a Christian, (and someone who's against abortion by the way) I am opposed to the death penalty. It's a very flawed system. It's been proven racist. It's taken the lives of mentally ill. And for those who like to talk about the money side of things, it's more expensive to execute someone when you factor in all the appeals costs. The most important thing however, is it's been proven to not give the family the closure they were looking for. It still doesn't bring back their loved one and now their death is remembered along with another. As a Christian, forgiveness is the key. If I'm to forgive someone for killing a friend or family member, as I know Christ would want me to, then what good does it do for me to support their death? I think that just adds to the false need for "revenge," which is not Biblical.

 

[Irvine511]

As a Christian, (and someone who's against abortion by the way) I am opposed to the death penalty. It's a very flawed system. It's been proven racist. It's taken the lives of mentally ill. And for those who like to talk about the money side of things, it's more expensive to execute someone when you factor in all the appeals costs. The most important thing however, is it's been proven to not give the family the closure they were looking for. It still doesn't bring back their loved one and now their death is remembered along with another. As a Christian, forgiveness is the key. If I'm to forgive someone for killing a friend or family member, as I know Christ would want me to, then what good does it do for me to support their death? I think that just adds to the false need for "revenge," which is not Biblical.

Bible aside, this is thoroughly logical from a secular standpoint. the death penalty simply doesn't make any sense other than to satisfy the understandable but irrational need for revenge.

ah, the secular and the religious finding points of commonality, arriving at the same conclusion via different paths ...

 

[coemgen]

See Irvine, we have something in common other than U2.

 

[U2Kitten]

I am not talking 'revenge' I'm saying that how can a person who has done such unspeakable things that I mentioned in my post possibly deserve to live and be fed and kept by the state? Homeless people live in worse conditions than prisoners. And while my views are not based on religion, those tossing 'forgiveness' around should also note the Bible verse, I can't name the book and number on it, that Jesus said 'he who harms one of these little ones shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven' making me believe that child killing is indeed an unforgiveable sin. I had always been told growing up that any murder was an unforgiveable sin.

And as far as 'won't bring the victim back' does that mean we should just let anyone do what they want? I do believe there has to be some kind of retribution for extreme henious crimes, and set an example for others as a possible detterant. It may not work, but it's worth a try.

Look at what prison life really is- it's a free home. They feed you, you have a bed, a toilet, 2 showers a week. There are people in America who have none of those things. Some criminals don't even want to be free because they'd have to work for a living and pay for things. In a way, jail is a free ride, so they're not even suffering! As I posted once before, I have a friend whose husband actually told her this, he wanted to kill her and he didn't care if he went to jail because he'd get a free home and free food and just get to lay around reading and never have to work and he'd be rid of her and laugh inside every day he was living and she was not. That's the kind of mind these criminals have. They do not deserve to live and breathe and eat after they have tortured and killed someone intentionally and cruelly.

 

[digsy]

in some ways i think there are people out there who commit crimes so heinous they dont deserve to live and in that sense i agree with the death penalty

BUT

i dont think we as human beings are capable as a soceity to fairly hand out that punishment. as somone pointed out, its a flawed system - it can be racist and prejudiced in far too many ways and the possibility that what one person may view as a crime worthy of the death penalty another person may not, is indiciative of the unfairness and unreliabilty of the system.
human beings are naturally emotive and i think we all know that emotions can stop someone from making a rational or well judged decision.
basically i dont think we're strong in mind enough to handle the responsibility of FAIRLY deciding who lives and who dies.

so while i might not necessarily disagree with the theory of the death penalty, i dont think we should have it either.

 

[cardosino]

I am not talking 'revenge' I'm saying that how can a person who has done such unspeakable things that I mentioned in my post possibly deserve to live and be fed and kept by the state?

Because we're not barbaric animals ?

Homeless people live in worse conditions than prisoners.

Different topic

And while my views are not based on religion, those tossing 'forgiveness'

It's not about pro-forvigeness, but anti-revenge-murdering

And as far as 'won't bring the victim back' does that mean we should just let anyone do what they want?

Leap of logic of Bob Beamon-esque proportions

I do believe there has to be some kind of retribution for extreme henious crimes, and set an example for others as a possible detterant. It may not work, but it's worth a try.
[/B]

Death Penalty has been tried and doesn't work as a deterent

Fact