Death Penalty Discussion: A Question begs to be answered.?

Question

I don't typically ask a lot of questions on here, but following Saddam's sentence being carried out, it seems like there are a lot of people out there that are "staunchly opposed" to capital punishment.

My question is, for those people who are so opposed to a human being put to death for taking the life or lives of other humans, how can you say you're opposed to it? If you so adamantly against the crime of murder, it seems like you'd put your energies into stomping out MURDER itself, from the original perpetrator (the person being sentenced) instead of trying to protect the people who actually did the crime. Please explain your stance on capital punishment and why you feel the way you do.

I just want to point out one glaring observation: The only way, at least in the US that a death penalty would be imposed is if you indeed actually did take the life or lives of another person. And, it has to pretty much be in a malicious way that you did it.

Answer 1

I know I probably should not be responding to this, because I believe you are looking for people who are AGAINST the death penalty, but I can not help myself. To those liberal bleeding hearts who just can not accept the notion of "State Sanctioned Murder", and those who just cannot imagine "Who made us God - that we can decide who lives and who Dies?", or the group that bleets "Increases in Violent crimes and the rise in the murder rate proved that the Death Penalty is not a Crime Deterrent", and those who insist that "the risk of executing even one innocent man is reason enough not to execute 100 guitly men", to those to cry that the Bible says "Thou shalt not Kill" and Jesus said "Turn the Other Cheek" demonstrate the same d@mn liberal terrror of being pinned down to having to follow the rules, and obeying the same laws as every one else, and not having any wiggle room to get out of having to take responsiblity and take the consequences for their actions,

They do not want to ever have to think things out before they act - they want to act on their feelings - and to hell with the long term consequences of their actions, it's the short term gains and gratification they are after, and they always feel that because they think that because they think that what they are doing is done with good intentions - it has to be OK - so when it goes all wrong - they can't possibly be held accountable, it can't be their fault - they were trying to do good - so they must have been foiled in some way or sabotaged by those who do not share their knee jerk reaction way of doing things.

You can not govern by just being "touchy-feely" and not looking ahead and examining who's going to pay for it, or what the ramifications are. These are children who don't want to punish their classmates when they've done something wrong, for one simple reason - they do not want to be punished when they get caught doing something wrong so they are setting up a quid pro quo in advance.

Well I think that almost every one of these people would probably change their mind if it was their daughter who was the 22nd and 23rd young victim to be raped, and then hacked to bits, after being totured to death by a serial rapist/ killer with 21 murders to his credit.

Ask the victim if she thinks that her executioner, who kept her alive for 4 days only to assult her again, and again, and torture her in every way imaginable, while slowly cutting away at her body, if she believes in the death penalty. Oh, - did I forget to mention that she was 7 months pregnant at the time of her abduction? (Hence the 22nd and 23rd Victim status). We won't go into the hideous death of her unborn daughter.

Let's see - Oh yeah - the death penalty is'nt a deterrant to crime. Wrong! I know for sure of at least one criminal who won't be out there killing and raping our women any more.

Who appointed us Executioner's or God? Well as a matter of fact - we did it by popular vote, if not we would'nt have the death penalty.

Why don't we just build more Prisons to house these people for the rest of their lives? Is'nt that a more harsh punishmnet that putting them to death? I think the las figures I say for the averaged housing & care of an inmate sentenced to death was $ 45,000.00 @ year for a federal MAX SECURITY FACILITY. The average age a death row inmate got "sent up" was 31. The average time incarcerated before sentance was carried out was 22 years. So, on average, to "warehouse" a body it costs us citizens $ 990,000.00 - about MIllion Dollars a Killer. I'm told that to execute one of these animals is $ 250,00.00. How that can be I do not know. I am willing to do it for free - I'll even supply the gun and ammo, and I'm sure I can get some friends to burn the corpse.

Jesus said "Thou shall not Kill" and "Turn the Other Cheek" true. But he also said and "Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth". THe Bible is not an easy book of lame advice and a soft chronicle of a single profits life, the Bible is very harsh and strict, and adamant about retribution and family honor, and wars fought to avenge wrongs. There is very little forgiveness and go in peace in the old testement. Good Luck.

I'm pulling for you.

Answer 2

This issue is too important to make a decision without knowing the facts. Revenge is no substitute to applying common sense based on the facts.

You should know that the death penalty is not a deterrent. Homicide rates are much higher in states that have the death penalty than in states that do not.

The death penalty system costs much more than a system that does not have the death penalty. Much of these extra costs come way before the appeals begin. This money ought to be spent on crime prevention methods of proven value- including more and better trained police and programs to help young people find ways to avoid getting into trouble. The money could also be spent on victims' services, which are always underfunded.

The death penalty is racially biased, but not in the way you may think. A defendent is twice as likely to face the death penalty if the victim was white than if the victim was non white.

More and more states have life without parole on the books. It means what it says and is no picnic to be locked up for 23 of 24 hours a day, with no hope of anything else.

Over 120 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence. In the majority of these cases, the evidence was not DNA, which is not often available. More often, the problem is one of mistaken eyewitnesses. After an execution, the case is closed. If the wrong person was executed the real killer is still out there. It is human nature to make mistakes and executing an innocent person, killing an innocent person in our name should be unacceptable in a civilized society.

The death penalty can be very hard on the families of murder victims. As the process goes on they are forced to relive their ordeal in the courts and in the media. Life without parole is sure and swift and rarely appealed.

People who oppose the death penalty do not condone brutal and depraved acts and do not excuse the people who commit them.

The death penalty is not an effective way to keep us safe, or to prevent crime.

Answer 3

There's only one thing in favour that helps the situation, and that's the Iranians are going to rejoice in it, which might make them think hell, the americans aren't so bad, they've got rid of an enemy. But if that's the case, it's a bloodthirsty tactic and won't do any good at all in the long run which is what arab unionalists need.

I don't support the death penalty, this isn't mud hut age, we have the power to make people suffer a fate much worse than death anyway. And please stop assuming that the US is the only country in the world that hasn't wrestled with the concept, if you looked overseas, you'll find that often the death penalty goes hand in hand with existing high murder rates, so it's not a deterrant,

Answer 4

So committing state sanctioned murder is better than the person who committed the original murders? If we put people to death, it puts us on the same level as the murderer. As far as the U.S. death penalty goes, we're supposedly a Christian nation. I know one of the rationales for capital punishment is the old Bible saying of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Now, that's in the Old Testament along with the commandment "Thou Shall Not Kill". Then we have Jesus who said to turn the other cheek. Now, addressing the only way we put people to death is if he/she actually killed someone else, there have been cases where new evidence has been found or DNA testing done that proved an innocent person was put to death or did not belong on death row. Is that a chance you want to take. Do you want to put an innocent person to death? I realize Saddam Hussein was reprehensible, but I think letting him rot in a maximum security prison would have been better. Also, here more taxpayer money is spent on death row inmates' appeals than it would cost to house them. My question to you is how can you justify putting yourself on the same level as the criminal?

Answer 5

I am against the death penalty simply because I don't feel it's anybody's right to play God. Setting aside all the arguements such as "What about the victim's family?" and such i'm going to focus on just the death penalty itself.
I feel that anybody who makes the decision to end someone elses life is making the wrong choice simply because the person who killed to begin with also had no right to make that choice. Also The person who "Pulls the switch" is no better than the Original Offender. Because there is no way that the Switch puller has no emotion behind his actions he's got to be thinking"Yeah i'm gonna fry this S.O.B." Besides is killing say a murderer going to change the fact that the person they killed is in fact dead? that action of execution won't cancel out the original act.

I know it's a simplistic Point of view but that's how i feel.

Answer 6

I am confused to why we have so many prisoners are on death row and some states don't have the death penalty, yet how many abortions are being done. That is the taking of innocent lives. They didn't harm anyone! This does not make sense to me!

Answer 7

I'm for the death penalty but I do think our justice system needs to be reformed. I have a friend in prison who I believe is innocent. I'm sure there are some on death row who are innocent as well. But yes I think the death penalty is good for two reasons. 1). It reminds us that people are made in the image of God and therefore have great value. To take the life of another is to show disdain for God and His beloved creation. 2). It may help curb future crimes. While I can't prove this, I think it is logical to most sane people.

Answer 8

I strongly agree with Jeff L. Yes, the person(s) who decide the death penalty are also criminals. So criminals against supposedly criminals.
These same criminal figures dare say no to Euthanasia. If it's possible to decide about a person's death penalty, how come society is all against EUTHANASIA?
Wake up. All of you will be suffering at your old age, take the occasion to vote for EUTHANASIA.

Answer 9

Our American soldiers lives and the lives of people in Iraq are being taken maliciously. Why aren't they home? Why are they still dying? Who gets sentenced to death for that?

Answer 10

My beliefs come from the Bible. I believe Jesus when he said that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind and I apply that to the death penalty.