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Death Penalty

For or Against?

  • Total voters
    62
I've always been a big fan of the death penalty when the situation warrants it. I have never heard a good reason to not have it. Why should murderers be allowed to impose their style of the death penalty upon innocent people, and not have it done likewise to them?
 
Just because the crime is terrible, doesn't justify the death penalty. An eye for an eye, that line of thinking will get noone anywhere. No healing can be done, no rehibilitation. Plus, the amount of injustice that coincides with Capital punishment is not worth having because maybe 1% truly need the punishment.
 
Its not about revenge. Its about justice, which is the province of the just. The criminals should not be allowed to be the arbitors of justice. They revoked their right to life, when they denied another persons theirs.
 
I use to be against the death penaulty however people on this forum made me change my mind because it is probably more cruel to keep someone who is very dangerous in solitary confinment with little human contact and nothing to look forward to in life.Also not all people in prison are evil men some are just guys who went down a wrong path and dont really deserve to be under constant threat dangerous seriel killer.
 
I'm for it. Very for it.

For all the reasons Crippler mentioned...

Peace
 
I'm pro-life, so I'm pretty much against the death penalty. I don't think the government should have an avenue open to it in which it can off its own citizens. We don't need to put people down, we have jails and they can go there. Besides, many places the restrictions on the death penalty are too low and it's very possible to get innocent people in death row. Colorado has the best set up for the death penalty, but I really don't see how it's necessary anymore.
 
Intransigent Atheist said:
After reading this story, I must say, this is one case that may change my mind and make me pro death penalty. What is your stance on the death penalty?

NYC student recounts torture - Crime & courts - MSNBC.com
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I am a firm believer in the death penalty.Certain crimes warrant certain punishments.Murderer, traitors, rapist and other heinous criminals deserve the death penalty.And depending on how strong the evidence is should determine the number of appeals they get.For example if we got them on video murdering someone like in a bank/store robbery then they should not get any appeals and no lawyers.If however all the evidence is circumstantial and there is no confession then the individual should get an appeal or two.


We do not punish criminals based on the small percentage that might actually be innocent of the crime they have been found guilty of in a court of law by a jury of their peers.We punish criminals based on the severity of the crime they have committed.The more severe the crime the individual has committed the more severe the punishment the individual will receive for committing that crime.
 
I'm 95% pro-capital punishment, with the 5% only being the resentment of the costs involved. If they reduced appeals processes and cheapened it significantly, I'd support the death penalty in all cases where DNA evidence or a multitude of witnesses warrants a removal of doubt.

There are many reasons I believe in it, and it requires a conglomerate. I believe in its deterrent effect, I believe in its maintenance of justice, and I believe that very few crimes of that caliber can truly be rehabilitated. With all three factors, it's a cinch for me.
 
Gipper said:
I believe in its deterrent effect
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The empirical evidence into deterrence effects is, at best, dodgy. First, the analysis suggests that deterrence effects are reliant on minimising the time between the crime and the execution. Thus, to maximise deterrence we'd have to maximise the number of “mistakes”. Second, it suggests that only certain forms of execution (i.e. electrocution) are consistent with the deterrence hypothesis. This raises concerns about the whole approach. Third, we also should consider potential negative encouraged by the death penalty. For example, the marginal cost from committing multiple murders is eliminated if the death penalty is given to the 'joe norm' murderer. It therefore delivers perverse incentives to increase your kill rate.
 
I'm 100% in favor of it, I don't think we use it nearly enough nor is it nearly fast enough. If you were guaranteed execution in less than a year after your conviction (and mandatory appeal), there would likely be a lot more deterrent effect, if that's important at all. Personally, I don't care if it deters anyone, it isn't like prison deters anyone, the recidivism rate is ridiculously high.

It's all about punishing those who have committed crimes so heinous as to revoke their right to keep breathing the same air as decent people. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
Cephus said:
I don't care if it deters anyone
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That is when the alarm bell rings! Construction of punishment around deterrence is mightily important. The death penalty could well increase the risks of multiple murders. It also could well increase the risk of police deaths, given the criminal's incentive to escape becomes integral
 
I believe the Death Penalty still exists in the UK but only for acts of sabotage during the war. I don't recall fully but I do remember my father discussing it.

I don't believe the Death Penalty has any deterrent effect but I would only vote for it to be brought back for unreformed or unreformable paedophiles. Some of these people simply sit through their sentence patiently waiting and planning their next attack. I see no point in keeping such people alive at tax-payer cost.
 
I don't know how anyone can say the death penalty is not a deterrent.........It sure as hell deters the guy that committed the murder.....He will never murder anyone else..........
 
Navy Pride said:
I don't know how anyone can say the death penalty is not a deterrent.........It sure as hell deters the guy that committed the murder.....He will never murder anyone else..........
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The HRCC is totally against Capitol Punishment. As a Catholic I would have thought you were against it but then again you are an American RC.

:2wave:
 
Navy Pride said:
I don't know how anyone can say the death penalty is not a deterrent.........It sure as hell deters the guy that committed the murder.....He will never murder anyone else..........
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He's not going to murder anyone else if you lock him up by himself for the rest of his life, with nothing to do except reflect on the terrible crime he committed that got him there.

jamesrage said:
And depending on how strong the evidence is should determine the number of appeals they get.For example if we got them on video murdering someone like in a bank/store robbery then they should not get any appeals and no lawyers.
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:roll: Get a clue jamesrage, and take a look at the Sixth Amendment:

Bill of Rights said:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
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I'm 100% against the death penalty. If killing is wrong, it is wrong. Capital punishment is barbaric. Also, the risk that even one innocent person is executed is too great. I think murderers, rapists, etc. should be put in prison the rest of their lives. Prison should be a very unpleasant place. No TV, weight room, computers. The inmates should be at hard labor and have no contact with people on the outside.
 
Skip said:
He's not going to murder anyone else if you lock him up by himself for the rest of his life, with nothing to do except reflect on the terrible crime he committed that got him there.
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:rofl

If you believe that, I truly pity you.

Layla said:
Prison should be a very unpleasant place. No TV, weight room, computers. The inmates should be at hard labor and have no contact with people on the outside.
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This wouldn't be hilariously ironic if you didn't just call capital punishment "barbaric" in the exact same paragraph.
 
What is the point of the death penalty?

There's no evidence that it acts as a deterrent if we use the actual definition of deterrence. In both Gregg vs Georgia and Furman vs Georgia, the Supreme court has stated there is no evidence supporting the claim that penalty is an effective deterrent.

If it's for revenge, well, it's pretty obvious that it works.

Without knowing the purpose of the death penalty, all statements are just blanket statements.
 
Navy Pride said:
I don't know how anyone can say the death penalty is not a deterrent.........It sure as hell deters the guy that committed the murder.....He will never murder anyone else..........
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Only if we redefine deter and deterrence.

Explain to me VOR, how a dead man can be deterred when he has no fear.

Main Entry:
de·ter·rence Listen to the pronunciation of deterrence Listen to the pronunciation of deterrence
Pronunciation:
\di-ˈtər-ən(t)s, -ˈter-; -ˈtə-rən(t)s, -ˈte-; dē-\
Function:
noun
Date:
1861

: the act or process of deterring: as a: the inhibition of criminal behavior by fear especially of punishment b: the maintenance of military power for the purpose of discouraging attack
 
Gipper said:
:rofl

This wouldn't be hilariously ironic if you didn't just call capital punishment "barbaric" in the exact same paragraph.
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If you thought it was ironic you really don't understand. The guilty should be punished. Sitting in prison watching cable, working out, and still being able to communicate with criminals on the outside is not punishment. Working hard and having lots of time to think about what you have done is. Killing someone is wrong. Punishing someone who has committed a crime is not. Before you accuse me of it, I am not advocating torture.
 
rsixing said:
The HRCC is totally against Capitol Punishment. As a Catholic I would have thought you were against it but then again you are an American RC.

:2wave:
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I actually use to be against it until a close friend of mines daughter got raped and murdered.......That changed my mind............I am a RC but sadly not a perfect one..........
 
Intransigent Atheist said:
After reading this story, I must say, this is one case that may change my mind and make me pro death penalty. What is your stance on the death penalty?

NYC student recounts torture - Crime & courts - MSNBC.com
Click to expand...

I would be for the death penalty, except for the fact that mistakes happen (for example, Illinois declared a moratorium on the death penalty when more than half of the inmates on death row were exonerated via DNA and other evidence).

Morally, I'm all for it. Pragmatically, though, I am against it, as it is irreversible when mistakes are discovered after the fact.
 
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