Death Penalty Question - Personally Split.?

Question

I am defnitely split on the issue of the death penalty. My question is why don't we let the victims of their crimes ... or the remaining victim of their crimes have the say so in states that allow the death penalty. If your child/mother/brother, etc. were murdered and that person was going to be put to death. I think the real crimes were against the people who still remain. THEY should get to determine if that person is put to death or not AND flip the switch themselves. What do you think?

Excellent answers all. Here is another question, though, isn't the death penalty revenge? I really think it is.

Here is another thing to think about ... if the family of the victim had to flip the switch, could they? After all the appeals have been exhausted, which is considerable. I don't think many people could actually do it. I've heard all the arguements and I still am on the fence because I do believe in consequences for your actions, but is the death penalty the answer? There are not many issues that I'm on the fence about and this one is the only one.
Great Answers.

Answer 1

I totally agree. Sometimes i think maybe it would be good to make them sit their whole life and rot . If i had my choice, i would make the person stay alive so every day they can think about the choice they made! The death penalty seems to be a cop out. But others days my opinion changes...

Answer 2

The victoms of the murder,rape, abuse should get the chance to push the button, drop the packet or pull the trigger, but we are all victims when they are released or kept for a longer pieriod than they should, supporting them on taxpayer money!

Drop the criminals into a Grinder and use them for Fertilizer!

As soon as the judge pronounces sentence don't even give them a chance to breath the same air!

Kind of like the guy who sits over a vat of water, at the Fair, connected to a target, dumping him after it is hit, only, he doesn't come back up!

No But, And, Ifs or second chances and make sure that everyone knows the punishment!

Do you think the crime rate will be affected?

And there is a little more than revenge that's screwed up the Middle-East!!

Answer 3

We can't do that because we have a society of law, not revenge. Yes, we'd all like to be in that judgement chair if someone hurt our family, but giving that kind of decision to a survivor would be ultimately damaging to them.

There are two good reasons not to kill others:

1. You can't undo it. I don't want to be responsible for a SINGLE wrongful death.

2. It costs MORE to execute someone than to keep them in prison for life. The problem here is the extraordinary hurdles that have been laid down by the Supreme Court. Automatic appeals - even if the convicted person doesn't want one; extreme care and attention to every lab test, witness etc that is taken to ensure there is no reversal on appeal; the endless legal wrangling of motions and counter-motions. The net result - it's cheaper to lock them up and throw away the key.

To the poster who said earlier that there has not been one wrongful death associated with the death penalty - the Federal Government's own figures show that over 80 people have been found innocent AFTER their sentence was carried out. It's not a huge number, but even ONE is too many. See the excellent article below for more information.

Answer 4

That is because you already have a wall built of preconceived notions as to how the christian community is suppose to acted when dealing with murderers. The rights of the murderer do not override the rights of the victim. This is where we part company. How can anyone place greater value on the criminal over the victim? Does society have a twisted interpretation about forgiveness? Is it that cut and dry to say, let us spare the criminals life. he will have to live with his quilt. Do people seriously believe that a criminal who has just beaten the system by not getting the death sentence, going to suffer from quilt? When you are a father looking for your missing daughter, waiting and then 6 months later the police come knocking on your door and tell you, we found her. She was found bounded and gagged, her arms and legs ducted taped and thrown into the river, is the father suppose to turn around and say, spare this criminal. The scumbag criminal deserves death and absolutely nothing less than that. You tell me you find solice in the death of your child and that its OK with you for the murderer to sit in prison eating 3 square meals a day. Free medical payed with your tax dollars. laughing because he got away with it. For the christian, the matter if death sentence is up to the state. Its not a religious issue, not unless you want to make it an issue. And the USA is not a christian nation.

Answer 5

Letting the victim's families flip the switch would be a contradiction in the concept that "society" is the victim of crimes. If the victim's families were the victims, they would be in a civil suit.

We've gotten beyond that revenge thing that has the middle east in such a mess. That's why we the families don't flip the switch.

Answer 6

Morally speaking,capital punishment is very medieval, I don't think the sole decision should be just up to one group of angry hurt people. I can not and will not, accept that any one person is totally evil right down to their core, therefore, I think that the killing off of a seemingly evil person has societal repercussions, and doesn't really contribute to the greater good.

That mentality goes way back to hammurabi's code... an eye for an eye, which focuses on revenge not forgiveness

Answer 7

Personally, I think that the death penalty should be outlawed. There have been alot of instances where someone on death row has been exanerated due to new evidence and released. Revenge should not be a motive for sentancing someone, justice should, and I think that a Maximum security prison in Alaska with hard labor for the rest of their lives should be institutionalized for humanity's worst.

Answer 8

It's always good to forgive, but you sure don't have to forget! I personally don't have ANY sympathy for child molestors and child murderers!! What chance or choice did the innocent children have?? NONE!!! So the death penalty in especially those cases is appropriate!! Alot of times even too kind!! I think they deserve what's coming to them!!!

Answer 9

Seems to me the best determining factor would be the danger the convict represents if he (or she) ever got out. Escapes do happen sometimes, and some sentences get commuted. The greater good is what is best for society at large.

Answer 10

I think that sounds fair.

If someone murdered my child, I would flip the switch. I realize it is totally contradictory to my beliefs, but I would do it anyway.

And I don't believe that it would give me closure or anything even close to it, but it would certainly keep that person from killing anyone else's child.