The Death Penalty

[Neytiri.]

Honestly I believe in it. I believe that if someone commits a crime hanus enough they deserve it. I believe rape is an offense worth death, because it can drastically effect someones life and in the end ruin the majority of there life. I also believe murder should be punished by murder. You have no right to take ones life unless your fighting for your own.

I know this is kind of a morbid topic, i was just wondering what you guys thought.

[electrosphere11]

I do, but don't. I think sometimes its hard to justify wether it is right to do so or not.

[rasomaso]

Well the thing about rape is that when the girl says it happened, no one will believe the guy when he says she wanted it (in case that's true). Also I think that you cannot judge murder like that in general, of course you're right when you say that no one has the right to kill someone, but I think there is so much variables in the reasons behind it, that you cannot just say kill everyone who did it. So no and yes, I'm against the death penalty as a usual means to punish for these crimes, but there are certainly cases where it would be suitable.

[Neytiri.]

Originally Posted by rasomaso

Well the thing about rape is that when the girl says it happened, no one will believe the guy when he says she wanted it (in case that's true). Also I think that you cannot judge murder like that in general, of course you're right when you say that no one has the right to kill someone, but I think there is so much variables in the reasons behind it, that you cannot just say kill everyone who did it. So no and yes, I'm against the death penalty as a usual means to punish for these crimes, but there are certainly cases where it would be suitable.

Yeah it definitely depends on the situation, I guess that's the jury's job is to hash everything out. But they definitely make mistakes, no systems perfect i guess.

[electrosphere11]

Originally Posted by rasomaso

Well the thing about rape is that when the girl says it happened, no one will believe the guy when he says she wanted it (in case that's true). Also I think that you cannot judge murder like that in general, of course you're right when you say that no one has the right to kill someone, but I think there is so much variables in the reasons behind it, that you cannot just say kill everyone who did it. So no and yes, I'm against the death penalty as a usual means to punish for these crimes, but there are certainly cases where it would be suitable.

I agree with Raso.

[Neytiri.]

Originally Posted by electrosphere11

I agree with Raso.

We'll yeah all murder isn't punishable by the death penalty. But some is, I'm not some cruel soulless woman who believes everyone should die lol

Some cases are extremely brutal and the only logical option can be death.

But like others have said, the Process takes forever. They've sped it up in taxes. But its ridiculously slow everywhere else.

[Woodsprite]

Originally Posted by Neytiri.

I also believe murder should be punished by murder.

Well, there's a big difference between murder and execution.

But yes, I pretty-much agree with your stance on this subject. The death penalty is a justice method of ridding the world of people who are likely to commit the crime again ("the crime", meaning something that actually deserves a penalty as serious as death), and/or people who have done something so inexcusable that the only reasonable thing to do, as dictated by the society or the laws that govern the people, is to dictate a punishment that fits the crime. In the case of murder, death with death. Though, I do agree that there are forms of murder that don't deserve such a punishment, obviously.

[Banefull]

I am against the death penatly. It does not deter crime. The only reason for having the death penalty seems to be revenge. Why kill when you can achieve the same through prison? Most criminals consider life in prison to be a far worse fate than death and it costs a lot more to put a person to death than to put a person in prison for life. If anything the speed at which justice is handed out tends to affect crime rate more. Now the penalty for a crime does have an effect but once you reach a certain point, the diminishing returns are so small as to become negligable.

[txen]

I've got to say that I'm pretty much with Baneful on this one.

I'm in California and we have the death penalty here. However, it takes over 10 years and an insane amount of money to actually put a convicted criminal to death. It's much less expensive to just lock them up for the rest of their lives. For me this trumps any other of the points of argument.

There was a death penalty back before the legal system became what it is today. In the 19th century a person was executed within days of a sentence being handed down. That was a death penalty. Now we have a goldmine for lawyers.

[Isard]

Originally Posted by txen

I've got to say that I'm pretty much with Baneful on this one.

I'm in California and we have the death penalty here. However, it takes over 10 years and an insane amount of money to actually put a convicted criminal to death. It's much less expensive to just lock them up for the rest of their lives. For me this trumps any other of the points of argument.

There was a death penalty back before the legal system became what it is today. In the 19th century a person was executed within days of a sentence being handed down. That was a death penalty. Now we have a goldmine for lawyers.

This.

Its far more efficient to keep them away from society for the rest of their lives. It also deny's them attention, which some crave.

[X.,.Pandora.,.X]

Originally Posted by Banefull

I am against the death penatly. It does not deter crime. The only reason for having the death penalty seems to be revenge. Why kill when you can achieve the same through prison? Most criminals consider life in prison to be a far worse fate than death and it costs a lot more to put a person to death than to put a person in prison for life. If anything the speed at which justice is handed out tends to affect crime rate more. Now the penalty for a crime does have an effect but once you reach a certain point, the diminishing returns are so small as to become negligable.

Life in prison is far worse yes, but it is more comforting to know that the mass murderer who killed your family is dead...

[caveman]

Originally Posted by X.,.Pandora.,.X

Life in prison is far worse yes, but it is more comforting to know that the mass murderer who killed your family is dead...

If that's the case, then we have a very flawed social outlook on life. Comfort shouldn't come from knowing someone else is dead, even if they killed a loved one. Comfort should come from... forgiveness. But that in itself is a process, and there needs to be a high level of trust - knowing the person will never resort to hate again.

[Neytiri.]

Originally Posted by caveman

If that's the case, then we have a very flawed social outlook on life. Comfort shouldn't come from knowing someone else is dead, even if they killed a loved one. Comfort should come from... forgiveness. But that in itself is a process, and there needs to be a high level of trust - knowing the person will never resort to hate again.

Forgiveness, If anyone harmed my child i would ****ing destroy them. Not to be rude but honestly it feels as if either you have no one you care about, or no back bone.

If anyone harmed anyone i loved I would go Ape****. **** forgiveness.

Murder is not something you forgive and forget. Its something you deal with.

I could get a lot worse with this and all that would come from it would be insults so I'm deciding to stop.

All I'm saying is that if you wouldn't feel vengeance would be necessarily if someone killed your family members, then I'm glad as hell your not my family.

[caveman]

Originally Posted by ZenitYerkes

If we are to change anything for the better, if we are to finally stop crime, let's finish with the problem from its roots.

This. I don't believe anyone is born evil, rather, they are born into evil. The best solution would be to cure the situation that caused someone to kill another.

Originally Posted by Neytiri.

Forgiveness, If anyone harmed my child i would ****ing destroy them. Not to be rude but honestly it feels as if either you have no one you care about, or no back bone.

Just because I'm against your opinions doesn't mean I'm lacking friends, family, or a spinal cord. I have all of those. But the love for the people closest to me doesn't create a need for vengeance if they were killed. Vengeance is selfish. It has everything to do with the person left over.

If anyone harmed anyone i loved I would go Ape****. **** forgiveness.

Those actions would be for yourself and your own satisfaction, and probably don't represent the wishes of the person who was lost. I feel like, in the case you were dying and had one wish before you died, you wouldn't chose vengeance. You would chose for a better society that didn't push people into that extreme. Like said before, to cure the roots.

Murder is not something you forgive and forget. Its something you deal with.

Yes. That's why I briefly described a process of forgiveness. It's not "Say you're sorry and you're off the hook". It's more about curing the person from the motives that caused him to commit such an evil act. So something like rehabilitation would be appropriate.

All I'm saying is that if you wouldn't feel vengeance would be necessarily if someone killed your family members, then I'm glad as hell your not my family.

The only thing that would satisfy me is knowing that the troubled soul that killed my family is alive, well, and doing something good for the world. Sadly enough, some people can't really be helped due to mental illnesses or what have you. Naturally they are a different story, and need special treatment. Certainly not death.

[Sempu]

Originally Posted by caveman

If that's the case, then we have a very flawed social outlook on life. Comfort shouldn't come from knowing someone else is dead, even if they killed a loved one. Comfort should come from... forgiveness. But that in itself is a process, and there needs to be a high level of trust - knowing the person will never resort to hate again.

This.