Should we bring back the death sentance?

Question

"Sentence" - its not that important, its the question i wanted information on.

Sorry i should of said that in the UK we do not have this.... i think we should! Do you?

Answer 1

There are tons of arguments for and against the death penalty. There are moral issues and there are studies that show it is an effective deterrent while others show it is not. There is the fact that in diverse cultures, there will always be racial disparities in its application; disparities based on both the victim and the defendant. There are tons of pros and tons of cons. But there is only one argument that matters.

IF YOU HAVE A DEATH PENALTY, YOU WILL EXECUTE INNOCENT PEOPLE.

Not always and certainly not on purpose, but it will happen. It is a man-made system, implemented by the government. It is therefore, by definition, a flawed system. Mistakes will be made and these are mistakes that cannot be erased or fixed.

The fact is that the true purpose of the death penalty is to make us feel better. We get to exercise vengeance under the guise of law and order and this satisfies our primal nature. The truly evolved human society sees the death penalty for what it is and abolishes it.

Answer 2

First for those who can't spell "sentence".

As to the merits of your question: if you're in the UK or Ireland, forget it. The European Convention on Human Rights, Protocol 6, forbids it. http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/114.htm

But there's another possibility:

A couple of months ago a Y! Q/A participant on the French list asked the following: "Qui, au 19° siècle, avait proposé d'abolir la peine de mort, et, à la place, de crever les yeux du condamné ?" ("Who, in the 19th Century, proposed abolishing the death penalty and, in its place, plucking out the eyes of the condemned?")

The Asker, a secondary school teacher in France, got no replies and so he gave his answer: Jules Ferry. Ferry was French minister of education in the 19th Century, and a lot of streets and schools are named after him -- after all he instituted free, secular education for all. I haven't been able to track down such a proposal on any site, French or otherwise, and I note that the Asker has since deleted his question. Still, plucking out eyes isn't so final as the guillotine, is it?

If you're in some state of the USA or in Canada, bear in mind that juries there tend to oppose the death penalty anyway, and to enact new laws restoring it would just lead to jury nullification: acquittals. Is that what you want?

And whatever happened to OJ Simpson?

ADDENDUM: So you're in the UK. Restoring the Death Penalty means quitting the European Union AND the Council of Europe ( http://www.coe.int ). And abrogating the Human Rights Act 1998 AND the European Communities Act 1972.

Ain't going to happen. It would upend the British way of life, the UK economy, the English/Scottish legal systems. And in the end, as I said, juries wouldn't convict.

Albert Pierrepoint is dead. And anyway he dispatched several innocent people (Let Him Have It), and a few unpopular and not very guilty ones (Ruth Ellis, for example).

Answer 3

Some states still have it such as Texas, California, Florida, Alabama, and others.

Answer 4

Yes, it soves 3 problems, overcrowded prisons, lack of organ donars, and saves money.

P.S. can anyone help with my question, by6 searching:

Would you wipe your **** with the american flag?

Or clicking my name and follow the links.

Answer 5

48 of 50 states still have it. Where did you think it went.

Answer 6

No. Look at it this way: When you execute someone, they will never live to regret what they did.

Answer 7

Where did it go? I know Florida still has it.

Answer 8

yup

Answer 9

ONLY if you learn how to spell

Answer 10

YUP