Should crimes against children be punishable by death?

Question

I think child molesters, child abusers, and child rapist are some of the foulest ciminals to walk the earth. Children are vunerable and innocent. To take indecent liberties with or to abuse a child in any way is repulsive. There are people who hurt children but don't actually murder them. They may not kill their body but they kill their spirit. They rob them of the self worth, youthfulness, joy, laughter, freedom, and the trust that makes childhood worth living. It leaves these children emotionally and mentally scared for life.

I am so sick and tired of the insanity defense being used as an excuse for bad behavior. People need to take responsibility for their own actions!!

Answer 1

In SC abusing a child twice can get you the death penalty

Answer 2

Repeat offenders of child rapist should be in for life without parole or death penalty - their chose. Child molesters do not fair well in jail, no special protection. They deserve what they got for attacking the defenseless, make them the defenseless. Up to tail pipe for them for a lifetime or death - I do not care which.

Answer 3

It is tempting as a sentence. Yes and NO. To decide, I think we need to know
1 if he knew what he was doing
2 if he didn't have an exceptional judgement impairment due to some mental disease.
in most of child mollestation cases, it is really hard to say. So I think law is at sea in this matter.

Answer 4

If you hold that people commit crimes out of their own free will, then it makes sense to punish them for the sake of punishing them. Where people go astray is where they confuse the two definitions of free will. The first definition describes actions not taken under specific coercion--the difference between jumping off a cliff voluntarily versus doing so at gunpoint. The second definition revolves around the "voluntary" nature of the previous example--do people choose to jump off cliffs for no causes whatsoever, or do past events lead them inexorably to those cliffs? Is insanity caused or chosen?

If you think that it would take a definite level of insanity to commit crimes of a certain nature--that people act according to the influences on them within the limits of cause and effect and are not given the power to control their biologies and circumstances from birth--then you may take a slightly different perspective on the nature of utility of punishment.

For example, if society considers child molesters beyond redemption or correction and requires termination, does it make any sense for someone with such urges to seek help? It would be unwise to feel sympathy for the molester, and, indeed, stupid to simply say "It's bad, but you had no choice." We equally have no choice but to restrict the freedoms of those who have, beyond doubt, already posed demonstrable dangers to others. But it also seems to be to our benefit to avoid entirely draconian measures for very pragmatic concerns

From this perspective, it seems to me that the general ideas of a "sentence" and "serving time" are entirely misguided. It is wise to desire "equal protection under the law", but that presumes that criminals who commit similar crimes are equally dangerous. Instead, I tend to think that ALL criminals should be imprisoned for as long as it takes for them to become productive members of society. Maybe that means one person might get life imprisonment for shoplifting where as another goes free after six months. Maybe one child molester gets chemically castrated where the other remains in psychiatric treatment for a few years before giving up and executing him.

Granted, there are many points of failure in such a system--as always the devil is in the details--but frequently the problems we have are not dependent upon the system itself but rather our application of it. The important thing is that the good justice system will act as fairly and justly as circumstances will allow.

In practice, nothing resembling this is likely to happen here in the US. Still, the concept of practical, *useful* justice is considerably different from the irrationally *retributive* system of justice many of us are so attached to. The current concept of punishing those guilty for "sinning" against us and the State might give some people emotional pleasure, just as sympathy and unrealistic hope for the redemption of ALL felons might be pleasing for others. But when asking questions of what "should" happen, in order to create the greatest good and the best society, we should stop thinking what will make us feel good personally and try to work toward understanding.

"Fixing" the felons that are indeed reparable would seem far more productive than locking them together with those who are not. Treating the mentally ill as insane rather than purely as prisoners would seem more productive than chucking them in a cell to stew in their own delusions.

And given that wholesale slaughter of all offenders is generally a good way to punish the innocent along with the guilty, perhaps once we get over our righteous indignation we can think about doing something worthwhile and reasonable.

Answer 5

SEXUAL PREDATORS SHOULD BE EXECUTED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS OF COURSE,ITS EVIDENT THEY CANNOT BE REHABILITATED DUE TO ENDLESS ALREADY REGISTERED OFFENDERS OFFENDING AGAIN,SEX OFFENDERS CANNOT BE REHABILITATED,THATS LIKE SAYING DONT BE GAY,REMEMBER THE DEATH PENALTY WAS NOT CREATED AS A DETERRENT,OR A WAY TOO CUT DOWN CRIME,IT WAS CREATED TO REMOVE PEOPLE FROM SOCIETY THAT PREY AND KILL AND MAIM INNOCENT VICTIMS,I DONT KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT I WANT MY TAX DOLLARS INCARCERATING PEOPLE THAT CAN REALLY BE REHABILITATED,AND BECOME A PRODUCTIVE MEMBER OF SOCIETY AGAIN,IT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL FOR THIS COUNTRY NOT TO PROTECT ITS CHILDREN FROM TRASH LIKE THAT!!!!!!!!!PRISON IS A CAKE WALK!!!! FREE HEALTHCARE,ACCESS TO FREE COLLEGE,THREE MEALS A DAY AND A PLACE TO SLEEP!!!SO WHAT IF THEY WERE MOLESTED THEMSELVES,YOU HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS SOMETIME!!!!KILL KILL KILL,NOTHING WILL CHANGE UNTIL AMERICA TAKES A HARD LINE WITH THESE MONSTERS!!!!!!SHAME ON ANY ATTORNEY THAT REPRESENTS THESE EXCUSES FOR HUMAN LIFE KNOWING THEY ARE GUILTY,THEY ARE JUST AS BAD AS THE OFFENDERS

Answer 6

I agree, the death penalty should be invoked.

Especially when you consider that so many offenders are serial, repeat offenders with a seeming obsessive motivation to molest children.

I've read too many stories where multiple incarcerations did nothing but delay the next victim's suffering.

Answer 7

We don't have the death penalty where I live. Even the most terrible crimes (against children) cannot justify the death penalty.

Life without parole? Yes, yes, yes.

Answer 8

I don't believe in in murder should be punishable by death. However, crimes against children should be considered very very seriously. I don't actually know how they are treated now. Apparently, people who harm children are hated by even the other prisoners.

Answer 9

....yes death or torture like stringdean said......
speaking as a victim of a child-raping dad...living in a prison is too good a life for them....free food and time to do whatever you like and probably a tv....thats luxury for such people....I say do to them what they did to the children....its like you said, Im mentally and emotionally scared of people....especially men....and life itself...thats a big loss of quality of life...

Answer 10

Yes, and I will happily volunteer to kill them in the most terrible ways conceivable.