As such, it is a crime that CRIES OUT FOR PUNISHMENT. But it behooves me to ask to whether the DEATH PENALTY is the proper punishment.
2007-01-20 23:04:21 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
This is an issue that cries out for the facts. Here are a few of them-
Re: cost
The death penalty costs far more than lifetime incarceration. (Example- New York State statistics- 7 people sentenced to death since 1995, cost over 200 million dollars. None had more than one appeal, 3 had not yet had any. Annual cost to incarcerate someone in NY $35,000. Do the math.)
Re: DNA
DNA evidence is available in no more than 20% of all murder cases. It is no guarantee that we will never execute an innocent person. It is human nature to make mistakes.
Re: speed
If we speed the process we are bound to execute an innocent person.
Re: Deterrence
The death penalty is not a deterrent. Murder rates are actually higher in states with the death penalty than in states without it. Moreover, people who kill or commit other serious crimes do not think they will be caught (if they think at all.)
Re: Alternatives
More and more states have life without parole on the books. Life without parole means what it says and is no picnic.
Re: Who gets the death penalty
The death penalty is not reserved for the “worst of the worst,” but rather for defendants with the worst lawyers. When is the last time a wealthy person was sentenced to death, let alone executed??
Re: Victims families
People should know that the death penalty is very hard on victims’ families. They must relive their ordeal in the courts and the media. Life without parole is sure, swift and rarely appealed. Some victims families who support the death penalty in principal prefer life without parole because of how the death penalty affects families like theirs.
Last of all, opposing the death penalty does not mean a person condones brutal crimes or excuses the people who commit them. Liberals and conservatives, and people on both sides of the abortion issue oppose it. I believe that the dialogue on the death penalty should be based on verifiable facts. People should make up their minds using common sense not revenge.
2007-01-21 03:50:02 · answer #1 · answered by Susan S 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The death penalty is not given lightly but for heinous crimes. These are crimes done in such a way that the doer has proclaimed himself not fit to live in society with other men. Death should be a deterrent yet these crimes continue to happen. There are some people so evil with no regard for others that need to know they will die if they commit these crimes. If it stops one such crime then it is good for society.
2007-01-21 07:13:04 · answer #2 · answered by towanda 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
It has no effect on crime, is biased against the poor (name a single person with a good lawyer who has been executed), and has killed numerous innocent people.
America has the death penalty because conservative ‘pro-life’ Christians insist on it. They also insist on torturing prisoners (e.g., gittmo), even though America’s own intelligence experts say that torture is useless and, in fact, counter productive. Human torture, suffering, and death provides conservative Christians with a sexual excitement they cannot experience otherwise.
2007-01-21 07:26:46 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The way it is now, no.
It would be better if the victim were executed with in 3 months of the verdict and that if there were less chances for appeals. We need an end to having people spend decades on death row.
2007-01-21 08:28:38 · answer #4 · answered by Think.for.your.self 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Death is never good. It is the proper punishment for a violent offender. Will it deter future crimes of violence ? I doubt very much. It will however stop a waste of resource on housing an individual who hasn't a care for another human life. In that regards it may not be good , but it is the proper punishment.
2007-01-21 07:11:46 · answer #5 · answered by meathead 5 · 1⤊ 3⤋
It is not the big crime deterrent law makers thought it would be. In the US states without capital punishment have lower crime rates.
2007-01-21 07:08:33 · answer #6 · answered by Cherry_Blossom 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I do not agree with the death penalty.No matter the gravity of the crime,we have no right to judge.
2007-01-21 07:09:22 · answer #7 · answered by n 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋
In some cases, of course it is. You would need more detail in the question for me to answer in more detail. Some people are killers, born and raised. Animals that need to be put down like animals.
Multiple murderers, child killers/rapists, terrorists to name a few groups. What possible argument exists that could justify letting them live?
2007-01-21 07:09:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
well, it doesn't reduce the rate of violent crime or murder, and it's applied quite arbitrarily, like being hit by lightning. So probably no.
2007-01-21 07:09:29 · answer #9 · answered by dognhorsemom 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It sure is good for making sure that the convicted person never again spreads their misery on the rest of us...
2007-01-21 07:58:37 · answer #10 · answered by Lt. Dan reborn 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋