Death Penalty

[Anatta]

What do you think of it? Is your view influenced by any religious traditions?

 

[Tonix]

I agree with it. It's a practical and sometimes a necessary course of action. No, my view is not influenced by my faith. I held this view even while I was a Christian.

 

[Penumbra]

What do you think of it? Is your view influenced by any religious traditions?

It's not particularly important to me. I'm not directly influenced by any religious traditions on the matter.

For modern states, I'm not really in favor of them having the power to end the life of citizens through the death penalty. So politically, I'm against the death penalty, but it's a very small and largely irrelevant part of my politics. In some ways, I think the death penalty is more humane than life in prison or long stretches in solitary confinement, but most prisoners don't seem to think that's so, so I'm not really in favor of having them forcibly executed.

For older times, when it would be difficult or impossible to humanely keep someone reliable contained for a lifetime, I think the death penalty would be the only reasonable approach towards dangerous people.

 

[Absolute Zero]

I think the death penalty should be elimnated so that we can redirect resourses and tax payer money else where.We should focus on rehabiltaion and psych evaluation/testing to help them become desent members of socity

 

[Tonix]

I think the death penalty should be elimnated so that we can redirect resourses and tax payer money else where.We should focus on rehabiltaion and psych evaluation/testing to help them become desent members of socity

Lethal injection is ultimately more cost effective than finding new ways to rehabilitate prisoners. Not that this justifies execution, just something to think about.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Still a waste.Wouldnt it be better to make them members of socity by doing something useful such as learning to mend or repair shoes for homeless people or something to that effect

 

[Penumbra]

Lethal injection is ultimately more cost effective than finding new ways to rehabilitate prisoners. Not that this justifies execution, just something to think about.

I've seen studies that say death penalty is often more expensive than life in prison after all costs are considered.
-Years and years of prison before the execution
-Appeals, lawyer fees
-Medical staff

In some places, death penalties are carried out rather quickly and so are cheaper, but then there are fewer safeguards against the possibility of executing an innocent person.

 

[Zoe Doidge]

What do you think of it? Is your view influenced by any religious traditions?

I'd apply the death penalty as standard for certain crimes, it is useful for getting rid of people who might otherwise be dangerous. I am not religious so that bit doesn't apply to me.

I think the death penalty should be elimnated so that we can redirect resourses and tax payer money else where.We should focus on rehabiltaion and psych evaluation/testing to help them become desent members of socity

Why would we do that?

I mean don't get me wrong, no doubt it's possible to rehabilitate almost anyone if you're willing to put the time and money into it. But it's not like our population is so low that we need to do so (if anything the opposite is true). Hell we could set up work camps for the unemployed if the government was desperate to have menial work done.

 

[BSM1]

It is imperative that the state enforce the death penalty. This keeps many of us from becoming murderers. If you kill a member of my family and the state doesn't execute you, I would. Two in the chest and not lose a minutes sleep. Thank God for the death penalty.

 

[Tonix]

I've seen studies that say death penalty is often more expensive than life in prison after all costs are considered.
-Years and years of prison before the execution
-Appeals, lawyer fees
-Medical staff

In some places, death penalties are carried out rather quickly and so are cheaper, but then there are fewer safeguards against the possibility of executing an innocent person.

Doesn't many of those depend on the decision of the defendant. They don't have to appeal. If they don't appeal, the two major costs are eliminated.

Execution is a deterrent if nothing else.

 

[Anatta]

Doesn't many of those depend on the decision of the defendant. They don't have to appeal. If they don't appeal, the two major costs are eliminated.

Execution is a deterrent if nothing else.

I'm not sure this is true. I don't believe there is data to demonstrate that the incidence of violent crime in states which enforce the death penalty is significantly lower than in states which don't enforce it. That may just be something we'd all like to believe. In reality, it seems that people who are crazy enough to do the sorts of things you get the death penalty for, are usually crazy anough to think they'll get away with it, and there is very little you can scare them with.

 

[Anatta]

It is imperative that the state enforce the death penalty. This keeps many of us from becoming murderers. If you kill a member of my family and the state doesn't execute you, I would. Two in the chest and not lose a minutes sleep. Thank God for the death penalty.

Personally, the threat of punishment is not what keeps me from killing or injuring other people. I simply won't do to someone else what I wouldn't want done to me.

 

[Sir Doom]

I'm for it. Religion has nothing to do with it for me.

I don't think its applied enough, to be honest. And it certainly isn't applied quickly, which is just as bad as not applying it at all. Crimes like rape, molestation, kidnapping, torture, murder, and probably a few others that I'm leaving out should all carry a death penalty in my opinion.

The cost of housing violent criminals is enormous, and the cost to rehabilitate them is likewise. If I had my way that money would go to education and social programs instead. I think that would do a lot more to prevent crime than boxing them up with each other and reinforcing their lack of worth to society. Spend the money on the petty criminals that have a far better chance of turning their life around. Spend it on the potential criminals that can't see another road to escaping poverty.

I think the humanity of it has gotten out of control, as well. A quick death is humane, not a 'painless' one. Strapping someone to an operating table and pumping chemicals into him does not alleviate the terror for the person at all. The amount of money we spend to perpetuate this charade is ridiculous. A high-powered pneumatic device like they use on livestock would be just as humane and far more efficient. Barring that, a high-powered rifle round in the face is a pretty cost-effective method.

 

[Skwim]

Lethal injection is ultimately more cost effective than finding new ways to rehabilitate prisoners. Not that this justifies execution, just something to think about.

Typically, offensives that merit the death penalty in those states that have it would merit mandatory life imprisonment in those that don't. So rehabilitation is not a concern in such cases.

Execution is a deterrent if nothing else.

As is life without parole. Unfortunately. neither is much of a deterrent. Most capital offenses are either done with little consideration or anticipation of getting caught, or are done within unexpected circumstances, which leave next to no time for reflection on possible consequences.

I think the death penalty should be elimnated so that we can redirect resourses and tax payer money else where.We should focus on rehabiltaion and psych evaluation/testing to help them become desent members of socity

As for saving resources, some years ago a study came out showing that it costs less to keep a person in prison for life than to commit him to execution. The principle reason being the enormous cost to the state for all the appeals and delays that are made. If it were not for these expenses I would have no trouble with the death penalty, and would readily support it.

 

[s2a]

What do you think of it? Is your view influenced by any religious traditions?

Last bit first, my view is not influenced by any religious perspective at all.

That said, it may explain why I think that any civilized society may choose to exact ultimate and final retribution upon any person that abdicates their own claim to exist within humanity as a whole.

When an individual acts with utter disregard and lack of any compassion or sense of basic humanity, in my eyes they forgo any claim to exist amongst us as equals in observing basic human rights or most any legal civil/criminal protections afforded everyday criminals and crooks.

There is further little served in detailing or outlining the nature or specificity of any sociopath's acts that may meet such a judgmental conclusion and subsequent condemnation.

Not unlike the debate that ensued decades past (and arguably continues a bit even today), It's difficult to "define" obscenity in any mutually agreeable and universally applicable manner in every case...but there remain some acts that are so obviously counter to any estimable degrees of humanity, that society as a whole can conclude beyond any reasonable doubts that the perpetrator has chosen to act beyond all boundaries of even the most basic concepts of being human, by choice... and therefore place themselves outside of any of those concepts, and stops being human, or entitled to claim any continued existence in this mortal realm amongst any other species on the planet.

 

[Skwim]

Last bit first, my view is not influenced by any religious perspective at all.

That said, it may explain why I think that any civilized society may choose to exact ultimate and final retribution upon any person that abdicates their own claim to exist within humanity as a whole.

When an individual acts with utter disregard and lack of any compassion or sense of basic humanity, in my eyes they forgo any claim to exist amongst us as equals in observing basic human rights or most any legal civil/criminal protections afforded everyday criminals and crooks.

There is further little served in detailing or outlining the nature or specificity of any sociopath's acts that may meet such a judgmental conclusion and subsequent condemnation.

Not unlike the debate that ensued decades past (and arguably continues a bit even today), It's difficult to "define" obscenity in any mutually agreeable and universally applicable manner in every case...but there remain some acts that are so obviously counter to any estimable degrees of humanity, that society as a whole can conclude beyond any reasonable doubts that the perpetrator has chosen to act beyond all boundaries of even the most basic concepts of being human, by choice... and therefore place themselves outside of any of those concepts, and stops being human, or entitled to claim any continued existence in this mortal realm amongst any other species on the planet.

Hmmm. . . .

Gotta admit there's a lot of words in what you say.

 

[Orias]

What do you think of it? Is your view influenced by any religious traditions?

I think eye for an eye exists for very important reasons.

People can disagree and say that it gets people no where in life, but if they had an ounce of intelligence they would see why it is a functioning part of society.

Sure, if we try to take an eye for every eye that was taken we will end up with no eyes, but it was meant to be. If man is too stupid to protect his eyes then he is not worthy of the gift of life.

I agree with it. It's a practical and sometimes a necessary course of action. No, my view is not influenced by my faith. I held this view even while I was a Christian.

Where the hell did you come from?

Stop by in the LHP DIR.

 

[BSM1]

Execution is a deterrent if nothing else.

The death penalty was never meant to be a deterrent, it's punishment. Obviously people still commit murder even in States that have a highly visible death penalty. As far as rehabilitation, there are over 6 billion of us on this planet and there are some people we can live without. Charlie Manson, Jeffrey Dahlmer, John Wayne Gacy- these are just a few that come to mind. I don't think I would be comfortable living in the same neighborhood with any of these guys no matter how much rehab you gave them.

 

[Jainarayan]

I'm on the fence about it, to be perfectly honest, mostly for religious and ethical reasons. Though in some fashion murderers, child molesters, rapists and others who commit such heinous crimes must be removed from society. I don't have an answer.

 

[Vinayaka]

Some world stats ... Death penalty statistics, country by country | visualisation and data | News | guardian.co.uk Several countries, although they have sentenced people to death, haven't carried it out. My personal view is that it is absolutely barbaric.