How do you feel about the death penalty?
ive heard a lot of argument about this and im kind of leaning against it. id like to hear your opinoins and please dont give the argument saying wait till one of your relatives gets killed you will want the murderer dead. that is not a legitimate argument. i want facts and real reasons whay you are for or against it.
Answers:
I was pro-death penalty for a long time, but I have changed my stance over the years, for several reasons:
1. By far the most compelling is this: Sometimes the legal system gets it wrong. Look at all the people who have been released after years of imprisonment because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. Unfortunately, DNA evidence is not available in most cases. No matter how rare it is, the government should not risk executing one single innocent person.
Really, that should be reason enough for most people. If you need more, read on:
2. Because of the extra expense of prosecuting a DP case and the appeals process (which is necessary - see reason #1), it costs taxpayers MUCH more to execute prisoners than to imprison them for life.
3. The deterrent effect is questionable at best. Violent crime rates are actually higher in death penalty states. This may seem counterintuitive, and there are many theories about why this is (Ted Bundy saw it as a challenge, so he chose Florida – the most active execution state at the time – to carry out his final murder spree). Personally, I think it has to do with the hypocrisy of taking a stand against murder…by killing people. The government becomes the bad parent who says, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’
4. There’s also an argument to be made that death is too good for the worst of our criminals. Let them wake up and go to bed every day of their lives in a prison cell, and think about the freedom they DON’T have, until they rot of old age. When Ted Bundy was finally arrested in 1978, he told the police officer, “I wish you had killed me.”
5. The U.S. government is supposed to be secular, but for those who invoke Christian law in this debate, you can find arguments both for AND against the death penalty in the Bible. For example, Matthew 5:38-39 insists that violence shall not beget violence. James 4:12 says that God is the only one who can take a life in the name of justice. Leviticus 19:18 warns against vengeance (which, really, is what the death penalty amounts to). In John 8:7, Jesus himself says, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
Love it. I'd like it even more if it were more painful.
I am FOR the death penalty.
It needs to be more painful.
I am for it for many reasons. First and foremost you have to have a retributivst mentality with criminal sentencing. This means that you feel the criminal should be punished for his actions. Additionally, all the stories about the torture with the electric chair is no longer valid since i believe texas and florida are the only states that allow it (but dont use it).
Either carry it out or do away with it. This setting on death roll for twenty years is ridiculous. Take it away if a State can not follow through with the sentence
I am for it and I'm also FOR abortion
you cant be for one and against another
I am all for it in the case of serious crimes. However DNA testing should be implemented, when possible, so as to possible free a wrongly imprisoned inmate.
If someone killed one of my relatives, and I wanted them dead - I would do it myself.
Regardless of where they were.
As far as sentencing someone to death - if the crimes they committed are severe enough, then I support it.
If there is any doubt as to the guilt of the accused, then they should not get the death sentence.
Up to the individual judge to decide though.
Example: Andrea Yates: executing her would not bring back her 5 kids. I think she knows now what she's done is wrong & she's in a state mental health facility & I personally think she should be sterilzed so she can't have children anymore.
Clara Harris: NO: I think she was momentarily insane & if ANY1 disagrees you can either you keep it to yourself or e mail me & not bash me on a public forum to make yourself look better.
Some people just aren't rehabilitative: I.E. John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Son Of Sam, Tim McVeigh, Ted Bundy & several others. I do believe in it in cases of multiple or premeditated murders & if the person was in their right mind.
I am against the death penalty. I think it's barbaric and there are way too many cases of people getting executed only to be exonerated posthumously.
ps- in response to death-by-stereo: you can be pro-choice and anti-death penalty. An early term abortion removes a cluster of cells which can hardly be considered a person. Baby killing and early term abortions are very different practices. Someone who kills an actual baby should go to jail for life.
In my humble opinion, it seems to me that if some one killed another person and there was irrefutable proof that person should be killed in a like manner by the justice system, so that they would go to their deaths knowing what their victims experienced. Also, if they were just put to death you can be sure that they would never have to languish in jail or prison living off taxpayers money like kings and queens and they would never do what they did again!
The reason I am for the death penalty is that I believe in God. God stated in the Bible that all murderers and rapists are to be sent to Him IMMEDIATELY--"So these things will cease to be among you". God doesn't want our society to suffer from murderers and rapists. Personally, I think the United States would be a better country without murderers and rapists! And about any innocent people who may be executed, God said that he would take care of them well. We all have souls, and I would love to live eternally with God. God hates murderers and rapists. That is more than enough for me! May God bless you.
I am British and I have often remarked what a positive impact the death penalty would have if implemeted here. As several people have mentioned, in America inmates have to wait for a long time, at least five years and sometimes up to twenty! If it was to be brought in in Britian (and I speak for the majority of the population in saying that it should be) it would have to be carried out within weeks or months while publc anger is still high.
This country has become far too soft, it is time to punish criminals, not protect them.
Some people are so damaged and dangerous to others that I believe they should be killed when they commit a heinous crime. That way we aren't warehousing them at the tune of thousands of dollars for every year of their lives and they don't ever get loose to harm others. I even believe that the crimes punishable by death should be expanded. People who molest children under 13 years old, people who kill anyone no limitation, and people who kidnap should be executed.
For it.
There have been studies that the death penalty decreases crimes that warrant the death penalty by 15% or more (You can take that however you want since I don't have a source on this, but I read it a long time ago).
And just for the record, death_by_stereo, abortion and death penalty are not the same thing. Death penalty is exactly that... penalizing someone for something they did. If you don't respect other people's lives, you don't deserve your own life. Abortion is killing someone that has done nothing wrong. It's usually a result of someone else doing something wrong that an abortion takes place. Most of the time, it's just saying, "eh, I don't think this person deserves to live because I don't feel like it."
ALL for the Death Penalty. They need to make an Express Lane for certain situations.
I am for the death penalty, but only if there was no doubt of guilt. I am one person who says that I don't think I should have to help support these criminals for the rest of their lives. Also, haven't you heard? Our prisons and jails are overcrowded enough. And if thats not legitimate enough, how about escapees? Alcatraz was inescapable, or so they thought. Not too long ago, there was a guy who killed a police officer in Chillicothe. A year later, he escaped, and it took them weeks to find him. To me, I would rather allow the death penalty, and keep the chances of another murder happening.
Well think about it this way, if a person is accused of a crime and punished by a death penalty, and suddenly, a proof comes up that he was innocent! What then? "Uhh, sorry we killed your husband and a father of 3 kids. Just a little misunderstanding."
Of course there's the question of them being a real criminal and breaking out of prison. So my suggestion is, make it 20-30 year hold, and only THEN if nothing was proved otherwise, do the death penalty... OR you could make it their choice whether to live 20-30 more years and wait for better facts, or die now, or soon.
all for it...an eye for an eye. killers are killers and should be killed for there crimes. What right did they have to take a persons life, who gave them the power to decide who lives and dies. If a bear went on a wild attack and attacked, not killed, several people that bear would be destroyed, no second thoughts. Why is ok for humans to act in such barbaric ways.we are mammals just as a bear is just a different species. If you act like a rogue, barbaric animal shouldnt you treated as such.no questions asked. Im not saying kill them as we would a animal but I think they should be killed. When you take a life your not just taking one life your taking several lives and the ones who suffer are the ones left behind.
Why are you leaning against it? You ask for us to give reason where are yours?
Although I think that some crimes do deserve the death penalty, I do not think that the government is capable of handing it out fairly. In this country we use it in a very arbitrary fashion. If you are wealthy you will never sit on death row. If you need the services of a state provided attorney you have a very good chance of sitting on death row. OJ Simpson is the perfect example. Until we can dish it out fairly, we shouldn't dish it out at all.
An eye for an eye.
The death penalty is an ineffective way to prevent or reduce crime and it risks executing innocent people. Here are answers to questions about the practical aspects of the death penalty system, with sources listed below. This subject deserves solid facts and not sound bites.
What about the risk of executing innocent people?
124 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence.
Doesn't DNA keep new cases like these from happening?
DNA is available in less than 10% of all homicides. It is not a guarantee against the execution of innocent people.
Doesn't the death penalty prevent others from committing murder?
No reputable study shows the death penalty to be a deterrent. To be a deterrent a punishment must be sure and swift. The death penalty is neither. Homicide rates are higher in states and regions that have it than in states that do not.
So, what are the alternatives?
Life without parole is now on the books in 48 states. It means what it says. It is sure and swift and rarely appealed. Life without parole is less expensive than the death penalty.
But isn't the death penalty cheaper than keeping criminals in prison?
The death penalty costs much more than life in prison, largely because of the legal process, which, it is hoped, keep us from exectuing innocent people.
What about the very worst crimes?
The death penalty isn’t reserved for the “worst of the worst,” but rather for defendants with the worst lawyers. When is the last time a wealthy person was sentenced to death, let alone executed??
Doesn't the death penalty help families of murder victims?
Not necessarily. Murder victim family members across the country argue that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative.
So, why don't we speed up the process?
Over 50 of the innocent people released from death row had already served over a decade. If the process is speeded up we are sure to execute an innocent person.
The Answers post by the user, for information only, FreeLawAnswer does not guarantee the right.
Answer question:
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Answers:
I was pro-death penalty for a long time, but I have changed my stance over the years, for several reasons:
1. By far the most compelling is this: Sometimes the legal system gets it wrong. Look at all the people who have been released after years of imprisonment because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. Unfortunately, DNA evidence is not available in most cases. No matter how rare it is, the government should not risk executing one single innocent person.
Really, that should be reason enough for most people. If you need more, read on:
2. Because of the extra expense of prosecuting a DP case and the appeals process (which is necessary - see reason #1), it costs taxpayers MUCH more to execute prisoners than to imprison them for life.
3. The deterrent effect is questionable at best. Violent crime rates are actually higher in death penalty states. This may seem counterintuitive, and there are many theories about why this is (Ted Bundy saw it as a challenge, so he chose Florida – the most active execution state at the time – to carry out his final murder spree). Personally, I think it has to do with the hypocrisy of taking a stand against murder…by killing people. The government becomes the bad parent who says, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’
4. There’s also an argument to be made that death is too good for the worst of our criminals. Let them wake up and go to bed every day of their lives in a prison cell, and think about the freedom they DON’T have, until they rot of old age. When Ted Bundy was finally arrested in 1978, he told the police officer, “I wish you had killed me.”
5. The U.S. government is supposed to be secular, but for those who invoke Christian law in this debate, you can find arguments both for AND against the death penalty in the Bible. For example, Matthew 5:38-39 insists that violence shall not beget violence. James 4:12 says that God is the only one who can take a life in the name of justice. Leviticus 19:18 warns against vengeance (which, really, is what the death penalty amounts to). In John 8:7, Jesus himself says, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
Love it. I'd like it even more if it were more painful.
I am FOR the death penalty.
It needs to be more painful.
I am for it for many reasons. First and foremost you have to have a retributivst mentality with criminal sentencing. This means that you feel the criminal should be punished for his actions. Additionally, all the stories about the torture with the electric chair is no longer valid since i believe texas and florida are the only states that allow it (but dont use it).
Either carry it out or do away with it. This setting on death roll for twenty years is ridiculous. Take it away if a State can not follow through with the sentence
I am for it and I'm also FOR abortion
you cant be for one and against another
I am all for it in the case of serious crimes. However DNA testing should be implemented, when possible, so as to possible free a wrongly imprisoned inmate.
If someone killed one of my relatives, and I wanted them dead - I would do it myself.
Regardless of where they were.
As far as sentencing someone to death - if the crimes they committed are severe enough, then I support it.
If there is any doubt as to the guilt of the accused, then they should not get the death sentence.
Up to the individual judge to decide though.
Example: Andrea Yates: executing her would not bring back her 5 kids. I think she knows now what she's done is wrong & she's in a state mental health facility & I personally think she should be sterilzed so she can't have children anymore.
Clara Harris: NO: I think she was momentarily insane & if ANY1 disagrees you can either you keep it to yourself or e mail me & not bash me on a public forum to make yourself look better.
Some people just aren't rehabilitative: I.E. John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Son Of Sam, Tim McVeigh, Ted Bundy & several others. I do believe in it in cases of multiple or premeditated murders & if the person was in their right mind.
I am against the death penalty. I think it's barbaric and there are way too many cases of people getting executed only to be exonerated posthumously.
ps- in response to death-by-stereo: you can be pro-choice and anti-death penalty. An early term abortion removes a cluster of cells which can hardly be considered a person. Baby killing and early term abortions are very different practices. Someone who kills an actual baby should go to jail for life.
In my humble opinion, it seems to me that if some one killed another person and there was irrefutable proof that person should be killed in a like manner by the justice system, so that they would go to their deaths knowing what their victims experienced. Also, if they were just put to death you can be sure that they would never have to languish in jail or prison living off taxpayers money like kings and queens and they would never do what they did again!
The reason I am for the death penalty is that I believe in God. God stated in the Bible that all murderers and rapists are to be sent to Him IMMEDIATELY--"So these things will cease to be among you". God doesn't want our society to suffer from murderers and rapists. Personally, I think the United States would be a better country without murderers and rapists! And about any innocent people who may be executed, God said that he would take care of them well. We all have souls, and I would love to live eternally with God. God hates murderers and rapists. That is more than enough for me! May God bless you.
I am British and I have often remarked what a positive impact the death penalty would have if implemeted here. As several people have mentioned, in America inmates have to wait for a long time, at least five years and sometimes up to twenty! If it was to be brought in in Britian (and I speak for the majority of the population in saying that it should be) it would have to be carried out within weeks or months while publc anger is still high.
This country has become far too soft, it is time to punish criminals, not protect them.
Some people are so damaged and dangerous to others that I believe they should be killed when they commit a heinous crime. That way we aren't warehousing them at the tune of thousands of dollars for every year of their lives and they don't ever get loose to harm others. I even believe that the crimes punishable by death should be expanded. People who molest children under 13 years old, people who kill anyone no limitation, and people who kidnap should be executed.
For it.
There have been studies that the death penalty decreases crimes that warrant the death penalty by 15% or more (You can take that however you want since I don't have a source on this, but I read it a long time ago).
And just for the record, death_by_stereo, abortion and death penalty are not the same thing. Death penalty is exactly that... penalizing someone for something they did. If you don't respect other people's lives, you don't deserve your own life. Abortion is killing someone that has done nothing wrong. It's usually a result of someone else doing something wrong that an abortion takes place. Most of the time, it's just saying, "eh, I don't think this person deserves to live because I don't feel like it."
ALL for the Death Penalty. They need to make an Express Lane for certain situations.
I am for the death penalty, but only if there was no doubt of guilt. I am one person who says that I don't think I should have to help support these criminals for the rest of their lives. Also, haven't you heard? Our prisons and jails are overcrowded enough. And if thats not legitimate enough, how about escapees? Alcatraz was inescapable, or so they thought. Not too long ago, there was a guy who killed a police officer in Chillicothe. A year later, he escaped, and it took them weeks to find him. To me, I would rather allow the death penalty, and keep the chances of another murder happening.
Well think about it this way, if a person is accused of a crime and punished by a death penalty, and suddenly, a proof comes up that he was innocent! What then? "Uhh, sorry we killed your husband and a father of 3 kids. Just a little misunderstanding."
Of course there's the question of them being a real criminal and breaking out of prison. So my suggestion is, make it 20-30 year hold, and only THEN if nothing was proved otherwise, do the death penalty... OR you could make it their choice whether to live 20-30 more years and wait for better facts, or die now, or soon.
all for it...an eye for an eye. killers are killers and should be killed for there crimes. What right did they have to take a persons life, who gave them the power to decide who lives and dies. If a bear went on a wild attack and attacked, not killed, several people that bear would be destroyed, no second thoughts. Why is ok for humans to act in such barbaric ways.we are mammals just as a bear is just a different species. If you act like a rogue, barbaric animal shouldnt you treated as such.no questions asked. Im not saying kill them as we would a animal but I think they should be killed. When you take a life your not just taking one life your taking several lives and the ones who suffer are the ones left behind.
Why are you leaning against it? You ask for us to give reason where are yours?
Although I think that some crimes do deserve the death penalty, I do not think that the government is capable of handing it out fairly. In this country we use it in a very arbitrary fashion. If you are wealthy you will never sit on death row. If you need the services of a state provided attorney you have a very good chance of sitting on death row. OJ Simpson is the perfect example. Until we can dish it out fairly, we shouldn't dish it out at all.
An eye for an eye.
The death penalty is an ineffective way to prevent or reduce crime and it risks executing innocent people. Here are answers to questions about the practical aspects of the death penalty system, with sources listed below. This subject deserves solid facts and not sound bites.
What about the risk of executing innocent people?
124 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence.
Doesn't DNA keep new cases like these from happening?
DNA is available in less than 10% of all homicides. It is not a guarantee against the execution of innocent people.
Doesn't the death penalty prevent others from committing murder?
No reputable study shows the death penalty to be a deterrent. To be a deterrent a punishment must be sure and swift. The death penalty is neither. Homicide rates are higher in states and regions that have it than in states that do not.
So, what are the alternatives?
Life without parole is now on the books in 48 states. It means what it says. It is sure and swift and rarely appealed. Life without parole is less expensive than the death penalty.
But isn't the death penalty cheaper than keeping criminals in prison?
The death penalty costs much more than life in prison, largely because of the legal process, which, it is hoped, keep us from exectuing innocent people.
What about the very worst crimes?
The death penalty isn’t reserved for the “worst of the worst,” but rather for defendants with the worst lawyers. When is the last time a wealthy person was sentenced to death, let alone executed??
Doesn't the death penalty help families of murder victims?
Not necessarily. Murder victim family members across the country argue that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative.
So, why don't we speed up the process?
Over 50 of the innocent people released from death row had already served over a decade. If the process is speeded up we are sure to execute an innocent person.
The Answers post by the user, for information only, FreeLawAnswer does not guarantee the right.
Answer question:
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