Are you against the death penalty and why ?

Answer 1

I AM FOR THE DEATH PENALTY. OUR PRISONS ARE OVERCROWDED AND THOSE ON DEATH ROW DON'T DESERVE OUR TAXES TO KEEP THEM ALIVE.

Answer 2

I think that a person should know the facts about the death penalty and make up their minds based on the facts, not on revenge.

I oppose the death penalty. Here are just a few of the facts.

The death penalty is not a deterrent. States that have the death penalty have higher homicide rates than states that do not.

Capital punishment costs far more than life without parole. And a great deal of the extra cost has nothing to do with appeals.

More and more states have life without parole, which means what it says. Being locked in a tiny cell, for 23 of 24 hours a day is no picnic. Where this is the maximum sentence, the costs are many times lower.

The system is very error prone. Unfortunately, DNA is not enough to correct this. It was used to prove innocence in very few of the over 120 cases where people on death row were shown to be innocent. And executing an innocent person is something most of us do not want, so we provide for appeals of death sentences. Keep in mind that once someone is executed for a murder the case is closed. If the wrong person was executed the real killer is still out there.

Death sentences can be very hard on the families of murder victims. Every time the case is appealed, they have to relive their ordeal in the courts and in the media. Life without parole is sure and swift, and rarely appealed. Many victims’ family members do not support the death penalty for these reasons.

Supporting a common sense approach to how we punish murderers and how we respond to depraved acts does not mean we condone either. The death penalty is just not smart on crime.

Answer 3

interesting that this question be asked on the eve of saddam's inevitable death. i am not against the death penalty if all the evidence has been delivered to prove that the defendant was in fact guilty of the crime committed . with the appeals processes the defendant is more than likely to live a decade or more after the crime. the death penalty ( or as most call it capitol punishment, seems less harsh, more politically correct), has been around for all of recorded mans history. you can take the biblical version "eye for eye" or the he killed my sister, so i have a right to kill him (gang version of justice). the main reason the death penalty is on the books are to try, at least, to keep people
from doing things that the sentence would impose. and as any system of justice, mistake can and will have been made as we,
as humans are not perfect. to make it a little more personal,
lets just say that your little brother/sister went to the local store on the corner, not even a block from your house, to get a loaf of bread because what you had went bad and you didn't know it was when you went to the grocery store earlier, so he/she is walking to the store... and in a most terrible fashion, the child is raped and then, to cover their tracks, the child is strangled to death and dumped into a ditch. how would you feel about the death penalty now and what would do?

Answer 4

I ask how could anyone with any compassion or any form of decency ever think seriously about voting for the death penalty, especially in view of what has been happening in our country, I am referring to the incident in Illinois where 47 men were executed and finally a reporter got wind of the methods used to get the death sentence for these men after he did his investigation he called in the f,b,I, and proved 35 of these men were not guilty, the gov, commuted all death sentences after that, they proved the prosecutor knew these men were not guilty and that cops had lied and presented false evidence , yet not one cop was even indited, and the prosecutor became Attorney genera for the state, then the rampart killings robbery's etc where the cops actually did the crimes and pinned it on others after a through investigation it was proved the cops had did the crimes ,Calif, has thousands of cases that the feds said they had to retry, yet no cops are indicted so far, ???
Amnesty International has kept records for years on capital punishment , and say no one who had as much as $50,000 in cash or property has ever been executed in the u,s, so until they can revamp the court system in our country, and the rich and poor are treated the same I will vote NO DEATH PENALTY,

Answer 5

Yes: but not for every situation. And not to just reduce the prison population.
However, prisons are so over crowded. Some states, like Indiana, have been known to send prisoners to neighboring states. In Illinois, the inmates get satellite television, training and educational opportunities, gym, and they get money (not much, though) to spend at the commissary. If they follow all the rules, they can have a television and radio in their cell, too. Oh, and did I mention that they get 3 meals a day? Yea, they have it made in many respects. And the recidivism rate in the prison system is high. So, apparently, prison doesn't rehabilitate the inmate. So, again, in extreme cases, I am for the death penalty.

Answer 6

i am against it. i believe the death penalty keeps the cycle of violence going and sends the wrong message to the community. in addition, for many offenders, the death penalty is too easy of a way out. sitting in prison for the rest of a person's life seems more fitting a punishment. this also allows for mistakes in convictions to be rectified. the reasons for the death penalty all come down to revenge.

Answer 7

I am against it because I don't think the criminal justice system works. I don't think 12 'peers' are smart enough to determine who should live or die. I don't think DP works as a deterrent and it certainly does not rehabilitate. It serves only as punishment. It costs more to keep some one on death row, then it would if we did away with the DP and just used life without the possibility of parole (this is because the appellate system is very expensive--Judges salaries, the law clerk's work, the number of appeals that can be had). That money could go to help stop from from string in the first place.

People who commit crimes for which the DP is imposed are often mentally unstable and not able to get treatment. I personally know of a case where one guy killed some family members--turns out he has toxic levels of some anti-depressant in his system....did the jury care? Not in Arkansas, they didn't. needless to say, this man was so devastated by what he had done, he wanted to die anyway and withdraw all appeals........

Anyway---Just my 2 cents. Thanks!

Answer 8

I am against it, for the most part. However, in cases like Saddam Hussein, there really is no other alternative. He is intrinsically evil and there is a very strong likelyhood that his supporters would help him escape. So, as a protection to society, the safest course of action is death.

Answer 9

i'm not against the death penalty because criminals deserve it and especially that people dead everyday by rape , murdered , and in some cases by accidents and justice have to be solved by the best way of death penalty

Answer 10

I think for repeat offenses it is a must, but through time we have convicted a few on circumstantial evidence. Must be concrete conviction to hang. The thought of death for non conformance to the established laws would make it much harder to turn to the dark side for committing crimes.

Answer 11

No - all peadophiles (sp?) rapists and mass murderers deserve to die. Its not that I'm pro killing, but there are certain things which are too far...I can tolerate burglary and stuff...dont want it t happen, but doesnt deserve death. However, other things (like those above) sicken me to the core, and deserve to die.
However, death for a murder would be debatable...it would have to depend on the circumstances and motive.