Death Penalty?

[Simba Cub]

Do you support it? Just curious! I myself do not.



Rich::

[CodeCat]

I definitely don't. No exceptions either, even the most horrible despot doesn't deserve death. That said, I wouldn't really cry about them if they got killed either, but I am still fundamentally opposed to the idea of lawful murder.

[nickspoon]

I am opposed to the death penalty as it would be impossible to undo, were the suspect innocent. And there's always that possibility, no matter how remote it is.

[Muninn]

I'm against and no exceptions.

[Arloest]

I'm pretty much against it. There's the whole possibility that the suspect may be innocent, and if a person did something REALLY horrible, they don't deserve death; they deserve worse, like lifetime in prison.

[Loeln]

Depends on the crime and reasons behind it.

[Holyman83]

I agree with Loeln it depends on the crime, and there can't be any doubt that the person did it.

[Zaaphod]

(Moved to World Events. 'Tis a better place for such topics.)



I agree with Loeln as well.

[osprey]

Why stoop to the level of a killer? I'm hugely against it.

[Mostly Harmless!]

I'm not for the death penalty, but I live in a state that supports it. It's really not a cut-and-dry topic. You'd have to look at individual cases to decide.

[The Donmeister]

I believe that the death penalty should be available, but used only in very special cases. I think that prison should be about rehabilitation, not punishment, so if a convict shows no signs of guilt, or has already been convicted of many similar crimes, and shows no signs of ever stopping, prison would be a waste of time, and money, and execution would be the logical thing to do.

Prison can also be used to keep troublesome members of society isolated from the general population to prevent them harming anyone else. However, most sentences aren't for life, thus the offenders will some day be released back into their community, to cause more damage, and with the few that are sentenced to (true) life in prison, there's still a chance the convict might escape, and go on a mad crime spree. In such a case, death would be the only way to ensure that the community will be safe from this threat.

And to debate Arloest's point (nothing personal), while prison may seem like a cruel punishment, most convicts can get around most of the rules set up within prison, trafficking drugs, forming gangs, etc. so suffer very little whilst inside. If prison was really a punishment, repeat offences would be far less common.

Sorry for the long rant, but there's a lot to say on this topic.

[Rooster]

The "eye for an eye" mentality has no place in this century.

There is no reason to end a life, for whatever reason. No one has the right to kill anyone, no matter what the individual's crimes.

Even Saddamn deserves life.

[Tom Flapwell]

I am not fully against it in principle, but the state of things in the U.S. has convinced me not to support it. I've heard that it is statistically feckless as a deterrent, presumably because it helps killers feel justified in matters of vengeance.

Some people reject the argument that innocent people might get executed, on the grounds that the same can be said of other punishments. Can't give back the years spent in prison.

[Bocaj Claw]

I still have a nebulous position on this debate.

[Raz]

The "eye for an eye" mentality has no place in this century.

There is no reason to end a life, for whatever reason. No one has the right to kill anyone, no matter what the individual's crimes.

Even Saddamn deserves life.

I agree.

Killing Saddam seems a bit pointless... It wouldn't bring back all the people he has killed, and the thing is, he's already defeated. He can't do any more harm, and killing him would be a bit like lowering yourself to his level.

That is also one of the reasons why I'm against death penalty in general: Just because someone has killed someone else doesn't justify that the same is done to the killer, since it would be like dropping to his/her level.

How can we fight crimes like murder if we start committing them ourselves...?