Do you agree or disagree with the death penalty?

Question

And how do you justify your opinion? Also, out of interest, can you say what nationality you are?

Answer 1

I am a native american woman and I am against the death penalty. It costs more to put a person to death then it does to put them in prison for life (cost of appeals) it doesn't bring back the victim, most people faced with life in prison versus death would choose death (let them live a long life in misery), it is unconstitutional (cruel and unusual punishment) and it is barbaric. ' An eye for an eye leaves us both blind' -Martin Luther King

Answer 2

I am British. I disagree with the death penalty for a number of reasons.

I don't think it is really a deterrent - why would people who live in the US states that still have the death penalty still commit crimes there if it was a deterrent? The answer is they don't care. They are going to commit the crime whether or not they are sentenced to death.

Part of punishment is retributive, I agree, but what about allowing for some sort of 'credit'? If someone has committed a rape, say, and knows that they are to be sentenced to death, what is to stop them from murdering that person as they are going to be hanged anyway?

Why should we stoop to their level? - How can we justify a claim to the moral high ground with human rights issues if we condone state-sponsored murder ourselves? The kind of person who rapes/murders/indecently assaults sees the death penalty as a release. Why not keep them in dire circumstances in prison, solitary confinement or put them in with all the other prisoners instead of segregating them? Their life would become a living hell, a far worse punishment than a while on death row and a quick exit.

Who would be employed to carry out the sentence? - Some will say that they will do it gladly or that the victim's family shoud do it but it's one thing saying it and another thing actually doing it.

What if there was a miscarriage of justice? - Guildford Four, Birmingham Six, Steffan Kizko, Derek Bentley and many others now released/pardoned because they didn't do what they were convicted of doing. (I realise that Derek Bentley was actually hanged but has since been pardoned). What would have happened then if they had been sentenced to death? Although it is hard, at least they can get on with their lives now.

If the UK was to re-instate the death penalty, it would be a serious backward step.

Answer 3

I am an American born in the USA. I disagree with the death penalty except in extreme cases which are few and far between. I think in most cases the death is an accident because of extenuating circumstances. The extenuating circumstances do not justify the killings but it is understood. There are some cases such as Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy where swift justice should be the result.

Answer 4

That's kind of hard for me to answer in a "I agree all the time" or "I disagree all the time" way. I disagree with it, as a rule, because our judicial system has such margin for error. I think innocent people have been put to death in the past and I think that's horrible. I can't imagine knowing I was going to die for something I did not do and not being able to make anyone believe me. And I also don't think it works as a deterrent to other potentially violent criminals as is it supposed to. But I also know that if someone were to walk into my mom and dad's home and kill them in cold blood (God forbid) and there was no doubt that they did it, then I'm quite sure I would want them to die.

Answer 5

American

I disagree with it in the sense that it is not effective. At least with the American justice system the person has appeals after appeals and they can basically prolong their life 20-30 more years before getting executed. In short you get to have a long life before getting killed. But they get to prolong their punishment and spend time in a place where they have no responsibilities and they get to watch tv, weight lift, etc.

If we had a faster turn around time between sentencing and execution I'd agree with it. People need to be punished when they do bad deeds. Not only that it sets an example to other people and hopefully will make them think twice about breaking the law. Also with people like serial killers do we really want to keep them alive?

Answer 6

I am Canadian and I agree with the death penalty in certain situations.When you have people like Saddam, Jeffery dahmer, and Paul Bernardo they deserve to be put to death. The government would say so much money by bringing back the death penalty. If you know 100% that this person murdered, molested or repeatedly assaulted then I thing they need to be taken out of society all together and their life is a small price to pay for hurting others.

Answer 7

Disagree. British. Apart from the risk of mistake, it makes the state as brutal as the killer. The state does it in cold blood. Also, can you belive that somebody actually has a job that involves killing people in cold blood with a sickoe audience watching. Life imprisonment must be a worse punishment. But the bottom line for me, is that no one has the right to take another life. If the executioner believes in his work so much, would he execute a member of his own family? After all, it's not personal son, just doing my job. It's OK dad, I understand. Also, the family of the condemmed suffer as much as he does.

Answer 8

I disagree. Let the c***ts suffer in jail and when they wake up, and look around them, they are reminded of why they are there. I know for a fact that the people who do really bad stuff like raping kiddies get what is coming to them when the other inmates find out. Or put them all on an island together- rapists will get the urge and rape a rapist. A killer will get the urge and kill a killer. KARMA!
I am white scottish/english by the way.

Answer 9

Hi >
1st off, I am Brit Christian, but although my bible tells me about "an eye for an eye & a tooth for a tooth" meaning also a life for a life,
I cannot condone "official" manslaughter.
Too many mistakes have been made in the past with the death penalty. Irreversable injustices.
They used to hang you for nicking a sheep,
Where is the sense in that?
No - humane punishment has to be the best option.

Bob

Answer 10

I oppose the death penalty in all cases.The US is the ONLY developed nation that still has a death penalty.
#1- You cannot ever prove deterance.

#2- through the appeals process, it costs more to kill someone than it does for life in prison.

#3 several innocent people have been wrongly put to death.