Capital Punishment

[clt46910]

I disagree only because I don't believe our court and justice system is effective enough to get the job right every time.

If there was no question or there was a real confession, then I would be fine with it. If by jury only, I would be against it.

 

[Rookie]

To me it's simple. If someone has no respect for other's life (the most basic of all rights), then they should have no right to live their own life. Guilty of murder? Walk them out back and put a bullet in their head.

 

[ewoodworth1]

i also have a hard time looking at capital punishment as one man killing another. i see capital punishment more as that person committing suicide, they are fully aware of the possibility of being sentenced to death if they are caught for their crime. so in my opinion capitol punishment is the "gun" and their actions are their own finger pulling the trigger

 

[concrete dog]

both ways

im on the fence,the crime has to fit the punishment.if you go out and murder someone(elderly,man women or child) with no remorse for what you did then i agree good night!

 

[SavageEagle]

Instead of paying for cable and the education lets send them to a deserted island and let them go after each other.

Escape from L.A. / Escape from New York

Take your pick.

Nuff said.

 

[Fletch]

I am for capital punishment as long as they are guilty by DNA evidence.

As for right now the criminals get a free ride in prision 3 meals a day, room and board cabe tv a college education. We does it end. Instead of paying for cable and the education lets send them to a deserted island and let them go after each other.

Exile is actually a very libertarian solution, one with which I can readily agree, assuming certain details are ironed out. It's certainly far better than what we have.

 

[eatsnopaste]

With all the convictionds being overturned lately because of DNA evidence I would be for all deaqthe row inmates be DNA tested and if found poisitive then executed within the month. If no conclusive determination then convert death to life AT HARD LABOR. We have executed innocent people...but I would imagine some of those were innocent of that particular crime, but not others.

 

[hotfarmboy1]

My vote goes for the death penalty if, the person or persons are KNOWN to be the killer. Their are cases were circumstancial evidence can be flawed, for those, if found guilty by a jury, hard time should be served. If you are guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, with eye witnesses and evidence to prove it, the perpatrator should be given enough time to set things straight with their God, and then put to sleep.

I agree with the above ^^

 

[hornadylnl]

i also have a hard time looking at capital punishment as one man killing another. i see capital punishment more as that person committing suicide, they are fully aware of the possibility of being sentenced to death if they are caught for their crime. so in my opinion capitol punishment is the "gun" and their actions are their own finger pulling the trigger

This exactly. Their blood is on their own hands when they commit the crime. If capital punishment is legal in their state, they know the possible consequences.

 

[Chefcook]

I believe in the death penalty, however I do not agree with how we carry it out...

 

[Blue Tile Spook]

Bill of Rights and the poster following him summed up my long-standing feelings on this issue: Putting down the rabid dog who is beyond rehabilitation.

I don't see the death penalty as a deterrent. I see it as being used to remove someone from society that is a sociopath, someone bent on destruction for whatever days they remain on earth.

Prison/solitary cells are to be used as the punishment or deterrent for people that society says need to be punished.

 

[Fletch]

So to summarize, things the government is not competent to manage:

Healthcare
The economy
Education
A checkbook or budget
Housing
The environment
Civil liberties
Guns
Religion
Speech
Families and children
Among others

Things the government is completely competent to manage:

Killing people

The solution for abortion is obvious, then. Let all abortions be performed by the government, and everybody wins.

 

[rambone]

Exile is actually a very libertarian solution, one with which I can readily agree, assuming certain details are ironed out. It's certainly far better than what we have.

Exile for serial killers? Like let them go somewhere else and start a new life? Harsh.

To all the posters who say it is done improperly, what do you mean specifically? Lethal injection is about as humane as you can get. Maybe you mean it should be done sooner without dragging it out? I agree.

I think it is a good thought to require indisputable DNA evidence for assigning capital punishment. Serial killers and serial rapists should be prime candidates. I think it should be used more for violent offenders whose guilt is proven beyond a doubt.

So to summarize, things the government is not competent to manage:

Healthcare
The economy
Education
A checkbook or budget
Housing
The environment
Civil liberties
Guns
Religion
Speech
Families and children
Among others

Things the government is completely competent to manage:

Killing people

Fletch, to be sure, the government should not be involved with most of that list. But the justice system is a constitutional function of government. I've come around to libertarianism a lot, but exile doesn't strike me as due justice. Maybe you mean exile to gladiator fighting pit...

 

[Phil502]

Roll over them with a steamroller from head to foot. Hell lets save gas and time link then foot to head and get er done!

I'm for it their are way to many truly evil people in this country, they can never be rehabilitated and never want to. They get out of their life sentences by some bleeding heart creep who does not have the imagination to understand the suffering the criminal caused.

 

[TRWXXA]

"Hanging one scoundrel, it appears, does not deter the next. Well, what of it? The first one is at least disposed of."

-- H. L. Mencken

 

[CulpeperMM]

it is the only truly appropriate punishment for murder.

the Law should (in my opinion) look to provide reparations for crimes (or trespasses) committed in order to give justice to the victim.

Application of Justice:
So if someone steals something of mine, it should be returned or replaced plus some punitive measure to ensure it doesn't happen on a regular basis. such as a 20% additional "surcharge" to be paid, not to the victim, but to the court for the administration of Justice.

If someone murders (note i did not say kill, or "take a life"), there is no reparation or remuneration to make the victim whole. the only appropriate punishment is for murder is to take the only thing the murderer has that could possibly be "worth" that of which he took, his life. There is no "punishment" deterrent needed, for obvious reasons. Murderers are tried by a jury of 12 peers who are required to decide unanimously for justice to be carried out.

Death penalties are not handed out willy-nilly by judges and juries. these are fairly rare considering the number of murders.

roughly 17,000 murders a year in the US (FBI Stats)
roughly 40 capital punishment executions (Bureau of Justice Statistics)

there is a 0.24% incidence of death penalties per murder. I would venture that if this was 51.00% the number of murders would drop by 95%.

 

[finity]

They were judged by their peers. mistakes can be made. After they are judged by us, they are judged by God. If it was intentional to frame someone, those people that knowingly send someone innocent away will burn.

So if your the guy who happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time...eh...get over it.

Exactly, mistakes can be made. That's why you don't make a permanent choice on someones fate.

They are judged by their peers on facts presented to them by the government who as we know has pretty well unlimited resources. They are defended by a defense attorney who either has limited resources (yours) or is paid for by the general public & have a reputation as, shall we say, lacking in motivation to get their client cleared.

I'm not saying they can't win but I'm not comfortable making a permanent decision based on those circumstances.

Capital punishment does work as a crime deterrent. Travel to some of the third world countries where the people KNOW if they mess up that they will be killed with no if, ands, or buts. No life in prison, killed usually right there on the spot. It works.

Oh good. Now your suggesting we should be more like third world tyrannical cesspools. What a worthy goal.

My vote goes for the death penalty if, the person or persons are KNOWN to be the killer. Their are cases were circumstancial evidence can be flawed, for those, if found guilty by a jury, hard time should be served. If you are guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, with eye witnesses and evidence to prove it, the perpatrator should be given enough time to set things straight with their God, and then put to sleep.

It's impossible to be 100% sure about anything. Eyewitnesses have been wrong.

The only way to know for sure is if the person confesses. Even then its not 100% because people of slightly impaired faculties have been known to confess to crimes they didn't commit either under police pressure or because they don't fully understand.

But, if someone were to harm my family, I'm pretty sure I'd be driven to take care of justice on my own. So, if I'm saying I'd want someone who committed a grievous act against my family to be pushing daisies because it is personal, capital punishment must be available for other victims' families as well.

The problem there is that there are a lot of different crimes that different people feel should be capital offenses. How many threads here have people saying that simple theft deserves the death penalty. Heck, that's the law in Texas.

The revenge reaction is normal in a crime victim. It's society's job to make certain that more reasonable heads prevail.

As for right now the criminals get a free ride in prision 3 meals a day, room and board cabe tv a college education. We does it end. Instead of paying for cable and the education lets send them to a deserted island and let them go after each other.

England tried that & we ended up with Australia. On second thought we could always use more hot Aussie blondes.

 

[Denny347]

I used to be all for it but I've got mixed feelings about it now. I read John Grisham's "The Innocent Man" and it was very moving. It is his only non-fiction novel as far as I know. It is about a man who was railroaded for a murder and was within hours of death before it was discovered he was innocent. It is truly a great read and I would encourage all to read it. Even if you are avidly for the death penalty, you should read this just to exercise your brain. I find that the answer to this simple question is not so simple. I might feel differently if it was my family that was killed but I hope to never have to face those types of decisions. I have had fellow officers killed in the line of duty and I won't lose sleep if their killers are put down, it seems strange that I can feel both ways...like I said it is a complicated answer for me.

 

[kingnereli]

Here is my short answer.

Genesis 9:6

Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

 

[melensdad]

I voted DISAGREE

My Catholic faith allows for capital punishment but is known to oppose it here in the US. Its sort of odd but if you read the texts there is plenty of logic to support the Church position of both support and opposition and, if applied correctly, it does not contradict itself. There are plenty of nuances involved, but the logic to both allow and oppose is very sound, it simply depends upon the circumstances of the society.

As our system is now, it costs more to kill a criminal than it does to keep him locked up for life. That alone is reason enough to lock them up and throw away the key. Let them live in a 6x9 cell for the rest of their lives, no TV, no magazines, nobody to talk to. I don't have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is the whole appeals and appeals and appeals process and all the costs associated with the process that keeps murders/rapists/molesters alive for a couple decades and pays their legal bills while they try to overturn their convictions. Changing the system is not going to happen. So rather than changing the whole appeals court system it strikes me that the best thing to do is bury these guys in a prison block and leave them there. It would be cheaper and society wouldn't have to deal with them.