Should the death penalty be used in every state?

Question

I'm looking for some good honest answers that can help me decide if it should or shouldn't be used. Immoral or not?

Answer 1

Yes! The criminals that get the death penalty are the worst of the worst. Their crimes are horrific and the only way to make sure they don't do the crime again is death.
There was a old man who raped then chopped a 15 year old girls arms off. She lived and he spent many years behind bars. He was released on probation even though he told them he would do it again. Less than a year after release, he raped, beat, and tortured another woman. He got the death penalty and rightly so.
Have NO sympathy for them. They don't deserve to live, much less be felt sorry for. The girl still has no arms.

Answer 2

Although I do think these murderers, rapists & generally evil people are getting what they deserve, I don't believe in the death penalty because of the potential to kill innocent people. There are other ways to punish people, like life imprisonment for example. Personally I think that would be worse than death, but at least for the innocent there is a chance someone will prove their innocence and they'll get out. There's no coming back from death, and I shudder to think at how many innocent people have been killed over the years because of capital punishment.

Answer 3

Many people oppose the death penalty for practical reasons. I think that you should decide this on the basis of verifiable facts. Some of the answers you received are mistaken. Here are just a few of the facts. (Sources below)

Re: cost
The death penalty costs far more than life in prison. The extra costs begin even before the trial.

Re: Possibility of executing an innocent person
Over 120 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence. If we speed up the process, as some of the people who answered your question have suggested, we are bound to execute an innocent person.

Re: DNA
DNA evidence is available in no more than 10% of all murder cases. It is no guarantee that we will never execute an innocent person. It is human nature to make mistakes.

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. I believe that the dialogue on the death penalty should be based on verifiable facts. People should make up their minds using common sense and the teachings of their own traditons.

Answer 4

Firstly I would like to say that anyone convicted of a major crime should be punished to the full extent of the law. I used to think that the death sentence was a good deterrent, but when analyzed, it has been proven not to be so. I am in favor of no death penalty, but rather a life sentence in a max security prison. This way the person suffers a lot more for the crime committed, perhaps this will work as a deterrent, I know I sure would rather die then spend my life locked up in a 10 x 12 cell for the rest of my life and let out 1 time a week for a shower and 1 hour per week for exercise all by himself.

Answer 5

Use of the death penalty has NEVER been known to bring the victim back to life.

The state is NOT capable of restoring life to a person wrongfully convicted & executed.

The death penalty has proved to have been a deterrent in the cases of Ted Bundy & Jeffry Dahmer (albeit not applied through due process in the latter instance.) Neither of them have killed anyone since their own death.

The death penalty is more about revenge than deterrent.

Given that since the inception of The Innocence Project, more than one hundred and fifty people have been released from Death Row after conviction, the death penalty clearly MUST be reserved for extreme cases.

However, I am not in favor of it's abolishment.

But society would benefit from quite a few people being locked up for life, without hope of parole, with minimal medical benefits. It IS a shame that this will add to the largest growth industry in this country, the prison & corrections industry.

Answer 6

Yes, the penalty for capital crimes should be capital punishment. It is the best method for dealing with these perpetrators. The rate of recidivism is zero.

Some might argue that life imprisonment would achieve the same effect: a recidivism rate of zero,. however the facts tell us otherwise. Some murderers have committed additional murders while in prison, and some have even escaped to kill again.

We have an obligation to destroy rabid animals, and rabid humans for the safety of the rest of the population.

Answer 7

No! more jails should be built to house all the bad guys for life & life means until they die!
Killing is not good even if they were rotten freaks they should be made to work in the jail in a way that helps society & not be paid any money for it.
They should not be treated like they live in a motel & only special TV shows be allowed when they earn some sort of good behaviour points & never give them the net.
fix the drug problems & there will be much more room in jails

Answer 8

Yes, I am a strong advocate of the Death Penalty and believe it benefits all places where it is used.

Answer 9

IMO it is moral and necessary. It is no more murder than is abortion and at least the people that are killed have had a chance to show what they bring to society. Certain types of criminals have shown that they do not reform so what is the point of allowing them to continue to pose a threat. Child molesters, and rapist don't reform. Mass murders don't reform so I say they should be condemned to death.

Answer 10

The DEATH PENALTY has NOT deterred crimes. One proof is how people are found dead and law enforcement files them to the cold case files. California: West Hollywood and Sacramento, the Russian Mafia dominates and law enforcement FEARS them unofficially. North Hollywood CA 91605 and Arleta/Pacoima CA 91331 plenty of murders are NEVER made public. The ones to watch are MS-13, the Russian Mafia, and ESPECIALLY the Chinese Mafia who is a Covert and Stealth Arm of the People's Republic of China. The Dragon is more powerful than you believe and immersed in all philosophies. I HAVE tried to study their philosophy is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to comprehend.