Death Penalty Question?

Question

Regarding the death penalty, I have a question I need answered.

If a person knows what effect will result from their action, and they commit that action, are they not responsible for the result?

Our laws are written down so that we may know what the punishments are if we break them. For example, I know that if I rob a store, I will likely face jail time. I know that if I speed in my car, I will likely get a fine. Also, I know that (in my state at least) if I murder someone I may face the death penalty. If I know that this penalty may result, and yet I still murder someone, do I have to accept the penalty?

I understand that the death penalty is far from perfect. And, it really upsets me that innocent people have been executed.

However, please answer my specific question.

Answer 1

yes you do

Answer 2

Yes, you should expect the penalty laid down by law for any crime. But how does that address errors? You can't take back an execution. Should innocent people falsely accused also accept their fate?

I guess I don't get the point you are making. The death penalty has been around for the whole of human existence, and has never worked as a deterrent. That's because generally, when someone commits murder or some other heinous act, there is no planning involved. Most murders are committed in the heat of the moment, when a person is not considering the consequences of their actions.

Answer 3

A person who knows the consequences of their actions will most likely not commit the act in the first place.
Considering the way the judicial system is today,most people who commit crimes consider the consequence of their actions to be being arrested.Not the result of the trial and sentencing after their arrest.
Murdering someone does not necessarily mean you will get the death penalty.Different levels such as first degree,second degree murder,crime of passion,premeditated murder, involuntary manslaughter makes the thought of facing the death penalty remote until it actually happens.
As for your comment that innocent people have been executed.Statistically you are probably correct.There have been people on death row who were found to be innocent and released. But as yet, there is no evidence that anyone who has been executed was innocent of the crimes they were charged with.

Answer 4

That's a fantastic question.

Legally speaking, the answer is no.

A murderer does not have to "accept" the penalty.

You can enter a plea of not guilty whether you did it or not.
Because you are innocent until proven guilty, then the State has the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are in fact guilty.

That is, that the elements of first degree murder: "the unjustified intentional premeditated killing of another human being" are in fact satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt by the evidence.

If the jury decides that to be so in the jury verdict entered at the end of trial, then the State gets to kill you.

And whether you "accept" that penalty or not, does not make any difference once that happens. Because the State is authorized to kill you.

Criminal justice is a card game of criminal procedure based on evidence gathered by both sides.

The reason we have capital punishment is threefold: 1) Deter other similar criminal behavior; 2) To punish the guilty; and 3) For retribution.

That's it, everything else is a moral question, and that's up to each person's individual beliefs.

Answer 5

Depends on the circumstances. If you commit a capital murder, death by violence, then the death penality is on the table, but if you wish it not to be, plead guilty and get life without posibility of parole. Now if YOU didn't murder anyone, but were there when someone WAS murdered, you are an accessory and can also be tried for capital murder, even though YOU didn't kill the person, you were there. You can also plead guilty and get 25-life, possibility of parole.
Each state is a bit different and some won't let you plead and make you go through a jury trial, and a lawyer will plead your case and people you don't know can decide your fate....
Ultimitly your fate is up to a GOOD lawyer (who can plead you up or down) and a jury who might like you...The judge has some say in the sentencing, depending on the circumstances.

You also have to remember some 'innocent' people have gone to prison because they didn't have money for a good lawyer, DNA evidence wasn't around 30 yr ago. People lie and judges aren't as impartial as they could be...(they're human too....)

Answer 6

Most people who kill do it during a "crime of passion" and it happens so quickly it is not thought out and being executed is not even in the decision making process as there is little!

Other murderers, many who are psychopaths, don't have a conscience, so rarely do they even care if they get the death penalty. They also have no remorse.

If caught you certainly are going to be prosecuted and given a sentence. Fortunately most of the country is not have death factories like Florida and Texas! Florida had so many errors that they had to stop the death penalty and most states either outlaw it, or like mine, though we have it, an execution has not been carried out in over 50 years!

People don't think about the death penalty, that is why it isn't a deterrent. Additionally, murderers have the lowest recidivism of any other crime.

I am against the death penalty as I don't think God gave man the right to murder, which is state sanctioned!

Answer 7

Couldn't have said it better myself. I do not personally believe in the death penalty, but that doesn't mean I should be excused from it if I commit an act which can result in that penalty being handed down. Once a person has been found guilty and sentenced, the only thing that should be open to appeal is the guilty verdict, not the sentence. If there are valid reasons to suspect the validity of the evidence and/or witnesses, then appeal on those grounds. If the convicted individual admits to the validity of the verdict, then he/she needs to be prepared to face the consequences. Period.

Answer 8

People who commit brutal and depraved acts do not think think they will caught, let alone think about whether what they are doing is right or wrong. The worst acts are perpetrated by people who are the least sane.

Some people who have been executed were forced to take medication just prior to being executed so they would be aware of what was happening.

Do we want or need a system that makes mistakes, that costs so much more than life without parole, that makes promises of "closure" to families of victims and instead prolongs their suffering. Life without parole is the better solution, for all these reasons. It is sure and swift, rarely appealed and provides a measure of finality to victims families.

One more thing- especially for David G: There are four cases in which it is highly likely that an innocent person was executed- including one, where modern forensics shows there was no crime at all (Calvin Willingham) The others: Griffin, case reopened by local DA Missouri, De Luna and Cantu (Texas).
See http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=6&did=109

Answer 9

Laws cannot be black and white because life and human nature are not black and white. As someone mentioned earlier - the majority of murders are committed as crimes of passion. Someone who once reached a pinnacle of anger that they will never reach again - and they react. They don't think - they react. And I can almost guarantee that, right or wrong, at that moment, they aren't concerned with the consequences of their actions. Should people expect to get the death penalty? Perhaps. But as human beings we never accept what others tell us are the natural consequences of our actions. We always want to take the easy way out. We want to eat whatever we want but we don't want to get fat. We want good grades but we don't want to study. We want to have nice things and take fantastic vacations but we don't want to work. I think expecting humans to accept death as the result of committing a murder is asking humans to act against their nature. And, truth be told, that's one of the things I treasure about being human and about living in a free society. We have the right to question and to argue and to protest - and that includes the laws. Just because something is a law doesn't mean that it's right.

Answer 10

If you live in a state that has the death penalty, and you are sentenced to the death penalty, it seems to me that you would not really have much choice in the matter at that point. You could try to reject it, but people would probably laugh.

Answer 11

Yes as it is written a citizen must accept the law. Even if they don't agree with it and even if they don't know it. So if you didn't know that the death penalty was in effect you could still face it.

I certainly hope this question was hypothetical.