Death penalty?

Question

why does the death penalty still exsist in the US? I am open for all sides and all views.
I doent really understand the logic of killing someone. How is that going to teach them a lesson?

Answer 1

Death penalty is the ultimate punishment. It is not a teaching exercise. It is a deterrent. It works on me. I have never killed anyone because I don't want to face a death penalty myself.

Answer 2

I don't believe in the death penalty for the following reasons. The first major reason I don't support the death penalty is becouse many innocent people are executed for crime they didn't commit. This is my biggest beef with the death penalty. Once the death penalty is carried out, the death penalty is pernament. It can not be taken back or overturned. Lets say if someone were to be executed for a crime they didn't commit and 5-10 years down the line they found the real killer, and evidence to clear the persons name. If their killed him/her it doesn't matter what type of evidence they have becouse they were all ready killed. Yeah it would suck if they were in jail 5-10 years in jail for a crime they didn't commit, but at least the conviction could be overturned, and they can be set free to start a new life. If that person was really innocent, what good does it do, if they are already killed. The worst punishment should be a life sentence without the possiblity of perol. This way if someone was found innoccent, their conviction could be over turned. If their killed, its pernament and it can not be taken back. The secound reason I don't support the death penalty is becouse it costs millions and millions of dollars of U.S. tax payers money that me and you pay. I believe this mony can go to much better use. The third reason why I don't support the death penalty is becouse its not an effect deterent to stop people from commiting these awful questions. If someone wants to commit murder, their not going to think about the consequences, their just going to do it. The only real way the death penalty could be a deterent is for the goverment to allow public executions. In any case I believe it is still wrong. Once the person recieved a life sentence, they can't hurt anybody in society again, so why is their a need to kill them. They are kept in a cell, so they will never hurt anyone again. I would rather see someone suffer for a harmful crime they commited then to see them killed. Once their killed, they don't have to suffer anymore, becouse is all stops. I think being in a cell 23 hours a day is alot worse, its also boring to. Once they die, they don't have to suffer again.

Answer 3

There are a number of reasons for the death penalty among them are the fact that if a person is dead they cannot kill again. It satisfies a need for revenge on the part of the public and it is cheaper than keeping people in prison for the remainder of their lives. I personally have no problem with the death penalty as long as all care is given to making sure that the person being put to death is actually guilty of the crime. To that end we need to do DNA testing on all death row inmates and we need to be as sure as we can after all there is no going back to correct an error. If a person is sentenced to life without parole we need to find work of some kind for them to do to help offset the cost of their incarceration after all if they had not killed or kidnapped or did some other horrible crime they would not get that sentence and why should the hard-working honest taxpayer have to foot the whole bill. Until we can come up with some method of payment than we need to stick with the death penalty. It is punishment not the teaching of a lesson, except maybe to others who have not killed as yet maybe it keeps some of them from going on to killing.

Answer 4

It is not to teach them a lesson but to try to scare other people into submission and to, in a sense, get revenge. The problem with this logic is that the sorts of people who generally perpetrate such crimes (murder etc...) are not really swayed and some of them are actually looking forward to that. I did a paper on serial killers once and it was odd that quite a few of them looked at the death penalty as a release, so in some sense it is not accomplishing anything other than given them the notoriety and the release they are looking for...

It is a difficult thing really because why should be pay to support someone who probably should be removed? Why should we give them any compassion when they obviously had none for their victims? But conversely, how can we, in good conscience, kill someone or killing someone else, without becoming what we are trying to destroy...


There are no easy answers...

Answer 5

The bottom line it is called capital punishment because it is punishment for murder.

Once a person is executed they NEVER will escape.

Once they are dead they can NEVER harm anyone else.

It is hard for family's of victims to accept a monster can see another birthday when a loved one won't even see another day aren't able to call them, there life is over. It helps the family heal easier and quicker if they assume room temperature.

Letting a murderer live is simply not justice for the life they destroyed.

The death penalty isn't meant to teach them a lesson, it's to protect society from predators. IF the have murdered someone they are beyond any chance for rehabilitation.

I will be honest I have dealt with enough women that have been assaulted to know that rape is by far more damaging to them personally than murder, and I'm all for rapists, child molesters, and murderers swinging from a rope.

Answer 6

It is not going to teach the person who is executed a lesson. However, it just might prevent someone else from committing a like crime. Reasons given for the death penalty include revenge, justice, economics (why should taxpayers pay for years of incarceration for a person on death row?), and prevention of more crime. Actually, I do not think any of those reasons work or justify an execution.

Chow!!

Answer 7

I have volunteered with both pro- and anti-death penalty activists. The viewpoint of being for the death penalty is not to teach anyone a lesson. It is to enforce a consistent penalty that the consequence for deliberately taking a human life is to lose one's life. Given murder is the ultimate irreversible violation you can commit against a person, execution is seen as the only fit punishment or consequence. Letting a convicted murder live in prison for life is still not a just punishment or consequence to the permanence of having robbed another human being of the right to live.

The other most quoted reason is 100% deterrence for the convict. Because our prison and justice system is faulty, and the threat of parole or escape haunts and torments either survivors or witnesses in a murder case, execution is argued as the only sure way that person will not commit another crime.

I personally feel the death penalty involves spiritual and religious issues that are unconstitutional for the government to decide. I believe those who believe or don't believe in capital punishment should have equal "religious freedom" to fund and support prison systems of their choice. If convicted murderers agree to cooperate fully with authorities, and with the surviving family members of their victims, I believe in the option of alternative life sentences involving restitution to the family and to society, provided that the family consents. For those who refuse to cooperate, but abuse the criminal justice system to tax the public and further torment the family of the murder victim, I would ask for deportation where such convicts lose their rights to live in the U.S. The message would be if you want to live in this country, and enjoy your Constitutional rights, you must respect the same of other citizens. Otherwise, if you abuse your rights and freedoms to violate those of others, you will be sent to a foreign prison to perform public labor, in exchange for an honest hard-working immigrant willing to become a law-abiding citizen in your place. Such a prison exchange would reinforce positive standards on citizenship based on civil behavior and ethics, while deterring crime by threat of deportation which I think would be more effective than capital punishment.

Answer 8

"Advocates of the death penalty argue that it deters crime, improves the community by making sure that convicted criminals do not find their way out onto the streets to offend again, and is cheaper than keeping convicted criminals in high security prison for the rest of their natural lives."

I just wanted to add that while I was reading "Human, All Too Human" by Nietzsche today, I came across this quote:

"How is it that every execution offends us more than does a murder? It is the coldness of the judges, the painful preparations, the conviction that a human being is here being used as a warning to scare others. For the guild is not punished, even if it existed - it lies with educators, parents, surroundings, in ourselves, not in the murderer..."

Answer 9

Takes away the chance for them to do it again. But since most people I have seen posts from in here don't care about the facts in a case, and base their opinions on preconceived notions maybe the death penalty is a bad Idea. I always agreed with it before I saw the reactions to my questions about OJ's trial. The facts in that case proved he was framed plain and simple.

Answer 10

It's not about teaching them a lesson it's about making sure they will never hurt anyone again.I think everywhere should have the death penalty and I think we should use it more.I'm personally tired of hearing about people doing sick sh*t and getting away with it or better yet going to prison and living better than people on the outside do.Like in the PA Pen(Saskatchewan,Canada)The inmates have big screen TV, they got 200 pairs of roller blades and they get to smoke in jail,they can vote and collect income tax cheques(men who haven't worked a day in 10 years get income tax cheques)What the hell is the reason not to be in jail.Besides Killing them is cheaper than paying $100,000 a year to house one inmate.And that's US dollars.