Your Stance on death penalty?

[Deidre]

I'd much rather have better people that make all of it unnecessary but I'm not holding my breath. Until we get an entirely better class of people, there are some who have proven they have no right to breathe the same air as decent people.

But everyone's life has intrinsic value, because we are human. Not because of our good/bad actions in this life. Prisons are sufficient to containing people who are not capable of living in society without harming others.

 

[Sha'irullah]

Nobody deserves to die no matter what TV show they prefer viewing. Even if it is The Walking Dead

 

[FunctionalAtheist]

It doesn't bother me if it's for violent crimes e.g. murder or rape.

 

[Revoltingest]

Bad verdicts are *NEVER* reversible. If you put someone in prison for all of their useful life, only to let them out when they're old, no amount of money that you throw at them will ever make up for the time they rotted behind bars.

While not 100% reversible, there is at least option of releasing a prisoner. But once they're dead, they stay that way.

 

[Levite]

Are you in favor of death penalty or not, and why?

From my religious point of view and from humane perspective i believe death penalty is needed. Its effective.
People will think twice about committing murder or dealing in hard drugs.

If we could be truly, 100% certain, without any possibility of error, of the guilt of accused criminals, I would favor the death penalty only for egregiously violent and/or multiple murderers who could be shown conclusively to be sociopaths.

Otherwise, I don't favor the death penalty-- in fact, in general I think our approach to sentencing is too oriented on vengeance and punishment, and not enough on rehabilitation, re-education, and diversion.

 

[Cephus]

But everyone's life has intrinsic value, because we are human. Not because of our good/bad actions in this life. Prisons are sufficient to containing people who are not capable of living in society without harming others.

Says who? How do you know this? You're taking a belief and asserting it as if it was a fact. It doesn't work that way.

 

[Cephus]

While not 100% reversible, there is at least option of releasing a prisoner. But once they're dead, they stay that way.

And their family gets whatever monetary compensation that would be given. So long as you cannot return someone's youth, it isn't remotely reversible.

 

[FunctionalAtheist]

But everyone's life has intrinsic value, because we are human. Not because of our good/bad actions in this life. Prisons are sufficient to containing people who are not capable of living in society without harming others.

No, there is no intrinsic value in life. Life has the value assigned by the human race. The default is that every breath of life is precious. But when you take certain actions, you act against the very culture that assigns that value to your life. When you murder, in cold blood, without remorse, you forfeit the value culture has placed on your life.

 

[Deidre]

Says who? How do you know this? You're taking a belief and asserting it as if it was a fact. It doesn't work that way.

I can't speak for you, that is true. But, in good conscience, I wouldn't want to be responsible for deliberately taking a life. Self defense, I still would have trouble with it. This is because I see human life as having intrinsic value. You are welcome to view it any way you like.

 

[Deidre]

No, there is no intrinsic value in life. Life has the value assigned by the human race. The default is that every breath of life is precious. But when you take certain actions, you act against the very culture that assigns that value to your life. When you murder, in cold blood, without remorse, you forfeit the value culture has placed on your life.

No one can decide for me what my conscience would dictate to me. That is the problem with ethical/moral debates such as this...we only have our opinions, and worldviews to go by. I can't tell you...you are wrong for thinking life has no intrinsic value. But, likewise...you really can't say I'm wrong, either.
If someone murders, they can be contained in prison for life, if need be. There are other options than the DP for murderers, etc...

 

[Revoltingest]

And their family gets whatever monetary compensation that would be given. So long as you cannot return someone's youth, it isn't remotely reversible.

Do you not believe that releasing a prisoner has some value to the prisoner? Certainly, government cannot fully right the wrong, but it's reversible at the point in time of the release. I never said it's 100%....but 60%, 45% or even 10% is better'n nuthin.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Who are we to intentionally to make plans to end someone's life? It is not self-defense where the victim did not have a choice in the matter. So, how does any justify this type of murder?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

We're human, we're always going to make mistakes. Welcome to reality. We're never going to be perfect in anything that we do. If you think we are, you have entirely unrealistic expectations.

And we also normally try to avoid making the same mistakes twice. Killing people because we think killing justifies killing seems to be a stern exception where we don't even want to budge when it comes to trying to avoiding such mistakes.

It's expensive, it's a waste of space and a waste of time. So other than making you feel better, what does LWOP actually solve?

It's more expensive to have them put to death. As for wasted space, time, and money, there is no single greater waster of all of these than the "war on drugs."

Bad verdicts are *NEVER* reversible. If you put someone in prison for all of their useful life, only to let them out when they're old, no amount of money that you throw at them will ever make up for the time they rotted behind bars.

This is true that it isn't entirely reversible. But you can release an innocent person from jail. You can't dig up a dead person and breathe life back into them.

 

[Cephus]

I can't speak for you, that is true. But, in good conscience, I wouldn't want to be responsible for deliberately taking a life. Self defense, I still would have trouble with it. This is because I see human life as having intrinsic value. You are welcome to view it any way you like.

I didn't ask you to speak for me, I asked you to defend your stated position. If it's just an opinion, then the proper way to state it is "in my opinion..." To say it otherwise implies that it is more than an opinion and that needs defending.

 

[Deidre]

I didn't ask you to speak for me, I asked you to defend your stated position. If it's just an opinion, then the proper way to state it is "in my opinion..." To say it otherwise implies that it is more than an opinion and that needs defending.

I don't believe in an eye for an eye philosophy. How to prove that? I can't. I can only say it would wreck my conscience to view life any other way. On the flipside, you cannot prove to me why the DP is essential. Can you? You are left with your own subjective opinion, as well.

 

[Sha'irullah]

My complaint about the death penalty has a multitude of issues but some primary ones are:

• Killing those who are innocent.
• Preservation of life.
• The intent to show interest in life.
• Mismanagement of execution.
• Psychological effects of using death as a penalty.

All of these things seem to be afflicting America this very instant and many of them I deemed as hypothetical before the issue became a public concern. I do not encourage anyone to take the life of another on any grounds other than treason. Having a society systematically murder people is something only conceived of int he minds of Hitler of Stalin yet we deem this men murderous and tyrannical. We enforce a legal system that does indeed enforce the systematic murder of individuals. This is intolerable purely based on the fact it sets an extremely hypocritical standard.

 

[columbus]

Humans don't generally mean much of anything, sorry. T

This is clearly where we disagree. I believe everyone matters.

Tom

 

[Sha'irullah]

I don't believe in an eye for an eye philosophy. How to prove that? I can't. I can only say it would wreck my conscience to view life any other way. On the flipside, you cannot prove to me why the DP is essential. Can you? You are left with your own subjective opinion, as well.

You can easily prove the negatives of an eye for an eye standards of ethical conduct. It create a cycle of conduct, simple as that. If you continue violence you will expect violence in retaliation. This is the reason feuds exist

 

[Cephus]

And we also normally try to avoid making the same mistakes twice. Killing people because we think killing justifies killing seems to be a stern exception where we don't even want to budge when it comes to trying to avoiding such mistakes.

And we do our best to avoid making the same mistakes twice. It has nothing to do with revenge or anything like that, it has everything to do with justice and taking these people out of society permanently.

It's more expensive to have them put to death. As for wasted space, time, and money, there is no single greater waster of all of these than the "war on drugs."

No it isn't. The expense comes in the legal wrangling, not in the execution. The majority of that wrangling has nothing to do with the actual guilt or innocence of the criminal, but just in them not wanting to die. If we stop them from appealing, except from a perspective if actual innocence, we eliminate the largest portion of the cost.

This is true that it isn't entirely reversible. But you can release an innocent person from jail. You can't dig up a dead person and breathe life back into them.

You can do nothing in either case, you can never return what has been taken away. We have to accept this in *ANY* case. Personally, I'd rather just be killed than spend the rest of my life in prison hoping to be let out. Granted, I'd never commit a crime in the first place.

 

[Cephus]

Do you not believe that releasing a prisoner has some value to the prisoner? Certainly, government cannot fully right the wrong, but it's reversible at the point in time of the release. I never said it's 100%....but 60%, 45% or even 10% is better'n nuthin.

A lifetime of violence and deprivation behind bars from which you may never get out of is not better than a quick and painless death.