The Death Penalty

[PSPHax0r9]

I hate to ignore the morality of this, which I know is important, but in all practicality we can't just send people to prison for life anymore. Our prisons are so absolutely overcrowded that we just don't have the room or resources to keep anyone in prison for that long.

In terms of morality, I do think that we should reserve the right to implement the death penalty. There are just some people that commit such heinous acts that I believe that they choose to forfeit their right to live. I know it might sound harsh, but remember, these people have a made a choice and it is their decision to commit this crime with the knowledge that there will be repercussions. They are essentially choosing to die by choosing to commit the crime. We often ignore the fact that a person makes a decision to commit a crime and get so wrapped up in their punishment. How about they just don't commit the crime? It's very simple. It seems like we de-emphasize the responsibility a person needs to take for their actions and instead want to focus on helping that person. How about they just don't commit the crime, then they won't have to deal with any repercussions?

 

[Hanzo_f19]

In my opinion, people who committed crimes such as murder or rape should be kept alone with their thoughts until they die, they will suffer much more than being simply killed. Especially if they regret their acts.

 

[soha]

i feel that the point of the death penalty is not to punish them for their crimes or to give them an easy out; its to remove them from society, so they wont be able to commit the act again. getting rid of the death penalty would be a dumb thing to do. the criminal wouldnt have to worry about being setenced to death, and our tax money will go to keeping said criminal alive and healthy. that doesnt sound like a punishment to me..

 

[Adiuvo]

A lot of people seem to think that prison is consistent solitary confinement with no privileges at all. It's not. Prisoners are allowed to read, and as previously mentioned, occasionally allowed to have color TV. There's also the social aspect of being in general population. Sure it may not be as interesting as out of prison, but it's not always being alone with your thoughts as another poster said.

 

[Hanzo_f19]

A lot of people seem to think that prison is consistent solitary confinement with no privileges at all. It's not.

It should be..... (-.-)

 

[Adiuvo]

I agree with that as well for violent offenders, but that's another topic.

 

[Mister Chief]

I believe people who commit first degree murderer and extreme sexual crimes should be up for the death penalty.

 

[Sullivan]

I believe people who commit first degree murderer and extreme sexual crimes should be up for the death penalty in texas.

Fixed.

 

[PSPHax0r9]

In my opinion, people who committed crimes such as murder or rape should be kept alone with their thoughts until they die, they will suffer much more than being simply killed. Especially if they regret their acts.

But that ignores the taxpayer financial burdens as well as the pragmatic overpopulation issue. You can want them to suffer by doing that, but that won't get them out of the prisons that desperately need more space.

 

[Slasher]

Then perhaps a complete overhaul of prison should be done. Like people who would otherwise be sentenced to death should then just be put in total isolation for the rest of their useless lives. Give them a small room, and feed them a meal every once in a while - give em hell if that's what they deserve. It wouldn't cost much just to simply keep them alive.

If prisons in the US are so brutally overpopulated, then does that not tell you something? What an over-violent general population. Maybe focus a little less on military spendings (1 trillion+ per year), and a little more on social problems.

Spoiler: .

 

[Adiuvo]

That would require a complete overhaul of basic things we take for granted. Plus you would always get some 'human rights' activist who complains about how we're treating them as animals.

In my eyes, if you commit an act such as rape, murder, or abuse, you are an animal. You cease to be human when you severely harm another human.

 

[Slasher]

I see where you're coming from and I do somewhat agree, but in the end I think they should be kept alive as it is more often than not a more harsher punishment for them in the end.

This brings a question to mind: Are we much better then them if we kill them because of their crime(s)?

 

[soha]

Then perhaps a complete overhaul of prison should be done. Like people who would otherwise be sentenced to death should then just be put in total isolation for the rest of their useless lives. Give them a small room, and feed them a meal every once in a while - give em hell if that's what they deserve. It wouldn't cost much just to simply keep them alive.

If prisons in the US are so brutally overpopulated, then does that not tell you something? What an over-violent general population.

well not really, i'll dig up some sources later but, i think that a large percent of the people in prison are there for non violent crimes, like drug related crimes or any other victimless crime. i dont think that they should be there, if they didnt harm anyone they shouldnt be kept away from society for like 30 years.. plus most of the people who end up there and were non violent criminal offenders, well they become hardened criminals while theyre in there.

---------- Post added at 08:48 PM EST ---------- Previous post was at 08:42 PM EST ----------

I see where you're coming from and I do somewhat agree, but in the end I think they should be kept alive as it is more often than not a more harsher punishment for them in the end.

This brings a question to mind: Are we much better then them if we kill them because of their crime(s)?

No, we are not as bad as them. We kill them to rid them of our society, so they no longer pose a threat. Now if we keep them in small rooms like you said we'd be treating them like animals. To me there is nothing more demeaning and cruel than treating a prisoner as a piece of trash. We seek vengeance by treating the criminal like an animal, vengeance is the key word.

 

[Slasher]

No, we are not as bad as them. We kill them to rid them of our society, so they no longer pose a threat. Now if we keep them in small rooms like you said we'd be treating them like animals. To me there is nothing more demeaning and cruel than treating a prisoner as a piece of trash. We seek vengeance by treating the criminal like an animal, vengeance is the key word.

So we kill them so they no longer pose a threat to society? ... I don't think they pose much of a threat when they are stuck in jail.

Also, I don't agree with treating them all as 'animals', I was just proposing it to add some fuel to the conversation. If sombody is seriously that much of a threat to even the security guards working there though and the person is just so far gone that some people may find them unworthy of living, then maybe I would agree with some type of maximum security.

 

[PSPHax0r9]

I see where you're coming from and I do somewhat agree, but in the end I think they should be kept alive as it is more often than not a more harsher punishment for them in the end.

This brings a question to mind: Are we much better then them if we kill them because of their crime(s)?

Yes, because we are not simply killing them because they're bad people - they made a decision to commit a crime where objective laws exist that mandate at least the consideration of the death penalty. Criminals kill victims. We eliminate people who consciously choose to end the life of another person (it is their choice to do this vs. a murder victim, who does not choose to die).

The key word here is choice. If they choose to kill, they also choose to die. After the point that they choose to kill, I honestly don't care what happens to them. If they don't want to be killed, then they shouldn't commit the crime. End of story.

 

[Slasher]

What if the person is at a later date found to be not guilty? There's been cases of this.

Oops, we just killed an innocent man.

 

[PSPHax0r9]

What if the person is later found to be not guilty.

Oops, we just killed an innocent man.

With current DNA evidence and the years and years of appeals that are allowed and always happen in death penalty cases, most don't even get the death penalty, and the ones that do in modern society must have extremely good evidence. The process is not just "guilty - go be sentenced to death." It's much, much more involved than that.

 

[soha]

So we kill them so they no longer pose a threat to society? ... I don't think they pose much of a threat when they are stuck in jail.

Also, I don't agree with treating them all as 'animals', I was just proposing it to add some fuel to the conversation. If sombody is seriously that much of a threat to even the security guards working there though and the person is just so far gone that some people may find them unworthy of living, then maybe I would agree with some type of maximum security.

Well lets see.. what if they break out? what if they have ties to the outside? iirc they are still allowed to communicate with the outside world. what if they are able to call shots from behind bars? order more murders? and why should my money help to keep the scum of the earth alive?

---------- Post added at 09:07 PM EST ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 PM EST ----------

With current DNA evidence and the years and years of appeals that are allowed and always happen in death penalty cases, most don't even get the death penalty, and the ones that do in modern society must have extremely good evidence. The process is not just "guilty - go be sentenced to death." It's much, much more involved than that.

oh wait you posted this... im so sloooow...

 

[Slasher]

Interesting thoughts. I tend to take things with more of a moral stance, so that's why I'm hesitant to switch my stance on this particular issue.

Here's a map showing the world and what each countries current state concerning capital punishment is at.

Blue is countries that have completely abolished it.
Green is abolished for all offenses except under special circumstances.
Orange is retained, though not used for at least past 10 years.
and Red is for countries that still retain it.

Does this map surprise any of you? It's amazing that America is a little 'old-fashioned' in this sense. It's as if most of the developed world has moved on, yet America is stuck continuing to enforce capital punishment. If it works out fine for other countries, could it work for America?

 

[ServerPlague]

I have to agree with slasher's points here. America has got high crime rates compared to most of the developed world. It needs to spend more money on education and social development. It also needs a general overhaul of the governmental spending (especially the completely unconstitutional parts).