Death Penalty, For or Against?

[Toxic]

[quote name='Nebulous'][quote name='Toxic']Depending on the case, if let's say they murdered a 10293892940493 people then yeah they need to die.

If they murder one person they need to die. An eye for an eye I say.[/quote]



Who gives you the right though to take someone else's life? Does that really make you any better than them? The emotional impulse for revenge isn't a sufficient justification for invoking a system of capital punishment, with all its accompanying problems and risks. Our laws and criminal justice system should lead us to higher principles that demonstrate a complete respect for life, even the life of a murderer. Encouraging our basest motives of revenge, which ends in another killing, extends the chain of violence. Allowing executions sanctions killing as a form of 'pay-back.'



The saying of an eye for an eye, or a life for a life, is a simplistic one in which our society has never endorsed. We do not allow torturing the torturer, or raping the rapist. Taking the life of a murderer is a similarly disproportionate punishment, especially in light of the fact that the U.S. executes only a small percentage of those convicted of murder, and these defendants are typically not the worst offenders but merely the ones with the fewest resources to defend themselves.[/quote]



Still though if nobody take any action to this, anyone in next generation will think that killing someone is okay. You just have to spend x amount of years to live in jail and serve community service then if you're good enough you'll be set free. That means more crime will be operated sooner or later and I'm not saying that I agree with an eye for an eye. That's still wrong in my opinion.

 

[Skillet]

So are you willing to fork out 4 times as much as you already for all of this, to see them dead? Remember the costs of both mentioned.. 500k to 2 million. I found one more stat I really want to add:



Since 1973, at least 121 people have been released from death row after evidence of their innocence emerged. During the same period of time, over 982 people have been executed. Thus, for every eight people executed, we have found one person on death row who never should have been convicted. These statistics represent an intolerable risk of executing the innocent. If an automobile manufacturer operated with similar failure rates, it would be run out of business.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

So are you willing to fork out 4 times as much as you already for all of this, to see them dead? Remember the costs of both mentioned.. 500k to 2 million.

A bullet is cheaper..

I'd rather their families see justice then allow these horrible people to live in a resort where they can get 3 meals a day, watch tv, interact with other people, work out, and do all sorts of other various activities they get to do in prison. like is said in my last post...

These people should have no rights and even prison is too good for them.

 

[Skillet]

[quote name='Skillet']So are you willing to fork out 4 times as much as you already for all of this, to see them dead? Remember the costs of both mentioned.. 500k to 2 million.

A bullet is cheaper..

I'd rather their families see justice then allow these horrible people to live in a resort where they can get 3 meals a day, watch tv, interact with other people, work out, and do all sorts of other various activities they get to do in prison. like is said in my last post...

These people should have no rights and even prison is too good for them.

[/quote]



What about the 12% that are innocent? Is prison too good for them too?

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

Lets stop focusing on the innocent and focus on the actual PROVEN with out a doubt guilty people. Or ones that confessed to their crimes.

 

[Skillet]

Lets stop focusing on the innocent and focus on the actual PROVEN with out a doubt guilty people. Or ones that confessed to their crimes.

Okay, fair enough.



Normally if a person is found guilty in any situation, there is NO doubt. Why does this change 12% of the time?



To the ones that have confessed: Few people actually have full out confessed. Out of the ones that have:



6 were mentally retarded..

And many others had no chance in court because they couldn't afford a lawyer, or the government provided one was so low paid that he didn't care, or hasn't had much experiences with Capital cases.





The innocent is the point I AM TRYING TO MAKE THOUGH. Is it worth having Capital Punishment if all of these innocent people are being killed? If there ever a way to be 100% certain of a person's guilt 100% of the time? Rarely. Even when this can be the case, a faulty witness, or someone lying can change the whole case.



Also, on money. Your way in theory would be cheaper, but than even more innocent people would be killed. Those 120+ people/900 would be dead. Are you willing to take that chance.



So as it stands.. Lets do some math, using current methods.



982 Executed @ an average cost of $2 000 000 = 1 964 000 000 (That's billions)

Subtract 982 in Life with no possible parole @ average cost of 500 000 = 491 000 000



Total savings = 1 473 000 000 (Billions)



It would save every person in USA 6 dollars. May not sound like a lot, but it is. Think of what could be purchased with 1.5 billion US dollars. Debt? Third World Countries.. Possibilities are endless.





In the current state of Capital Punishment, it is not feasible in any sense to keep it.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

Well I dont care about saving money... or the laws. Im simply stating my opinion.

If someone did do such a crime, they should pay with their life.

We can talk about technicalities and other possibilities until we are blue in the face.

 

[Skillet]

Then that's just what I'll do. These technicalities are my own personal reasons why the Death Penalty isn't effective. If it really was an eye for an eye, instead of 1/300 murderers getting death, maybe it'd mean something. Maybe if the court wasn't so faulty, maybe it would be possible. If we could kill every murderer in a feasible way, yet prove their innocence beyond a doubt, then maybe it's possible. But if innocent people are going to continue to die, then it's just not right.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

Luckily its 2009 and DNA evidence and other methods of proving someone guilty are very effective.

The examples of innocent people probably relate to older cases when technology was outdated and faulty.

 

[Skillet]

Yet the average person is still on death row for 18 years before they are murdered. As technology gets more effective, I can't argue with you it's benefit.



But I want to remind you that every court is different. How is it fair for one criminal to get life, yet the other get injection? There needs to be some guidelines, and also if it is being used as a deterrent, more than 1/300 murderers need to be executed.

 

[civilwarrocks]

I support the death penalty. The prison system has been proven to create more radical criminals & foster gang activity. If you are not mentally deranged & you kill someone than you should be killed. Period. I do disagree with T though, those who are crazy & can't control what they do should not be killed. They should be institutionalized & kept where they won't harm themselves or others.

 

[phatuis]

I believe it is absolutely stupid, you dont do any better murdering the murderer.

 

[phatuis]

I can assure you, Prison would not be like a Resort

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

I know its not a resort but for someone who has done such things, I think the brutal prison system is too good for them. Thats why I used the term resort

 

[phatuis]

They do give them a little bit of freedom, keeping them locked up 24/7 would just be inhumane though, worse than murder as it is practically torture.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

They do give them a little bit of freedom, keeping them locked up 24/7 would just be inhumane though, worse than murder as it is practically torture.

Your right.. We shouldnt let people rape little boys and girls, torture people for weeks and months before finally killing them, etc etc etc be as comfortable as possible. No inhumane treatment should be given to them at all.

 

[phatuis]

But if they get the life sentence, and are locked in a tiny cell for years, that is more inhumane than rape, the kid would not go crazy, but the prisoner would, they would have mental problems, thus making them do more stuff to more people.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

I think when people commit such crimes they should get back what they did 10 fold.

 

[phatuis]

But that makes the dealer of the punishment 10 times worse than the commiter of the crime.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

Lol.. That argument is tired and old, and doesnt make much sense. If we used that logic, nobody would be punished for anything.