is death penalty always just when considering the issues of social status, gender, and mental disability?

Answer 1

Death penalty is considered with regards to the status of a person, gender and mental disability. The court considers many factors imposing death penalty.

Answer 2

There is nothing in the law (either federal or state's that have the death penalty) that bars a person who suffers from mental illness from getting the death penalty.

The only standard that applies is that a defendent must know the difference between right and wrong (the "McNaughton Rule", going back to 19th century England.) A person can be severely mentally ill and still face the death penalty.

At the time of execution, the defendent must be sane enough to know what is happening and why.

The Supreme Court will hear the case of Scott Panetti this year. Panetti is has a history of schizophrenia, manic depression, auditory hallucinations and paranoia. He was hospitalized for these problems many times before the murder that he was convicted of. The state of Texas wants to execute him anyway.

In another case, Charles Singleton was forciby medicated by the state of Arkansas, to make him sane enough to be executed. Kelsey Patterson, who was schizophrenic, was executed on May 18, 2004 in Texas despite a 5-1 recommendation by the Parole Board for Clemency. There are more examples.

There are reasons to oppose the death penalty which are purely practical. Here are a few verifiable and sourced facts about it.

Re: Deterrence
The death penalty isn’t 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. I doubt that people with schizophrenia or who are delusioneal will be deterred by the death penalty.

Re: Who gets the death penalty
The death penalty isn’t 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: cost
The death penalty costs far more than life in prison. The huge 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 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: Alternatives
48 states now have life without parole on the books. Life without parole means what it says. Being locked up in a tiny cell, 23 hours a day, with nothing to look forward to, is no picnic

Re: Victims families
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.

Opposing the death penalty doesn’t mean you condone brutal crimes or excuse people who commit them. We should make up our minds using common sense based on solid facts, not revenge.

Answer 3

If there are times when the death penalty is most certainly NOT just, it is when it is considered in terms of socio-economic status and mental disability.

If the U.S. were to resolve the inherent racial and socio-economic differences inherent in its legal system, I personally wouldn't be opposed to the death penalty. I believe that societies have a right, if not a responsibility, to protect the populace as a whole and to punish certain grievous crimes accordingly. Unfortunately, the inequalities which have historically existed in the American legal system make the death penalty impractical from a moral standpoint.

Answer 4

NO penalty is just IF it considers ANY of the above. That said, I do support the death penalty.

Answer 5

Take the "always" out of your question and it will be more answerable.

Social status: OJ is a good example
Gender: should not matter
Mental D: No; but never let the person out on the streets again.

Answer 6

The death penalty is NEVER just! Murder is murder no matter who commits it. There is no difference between the "street" murderer and the "state" murderer. It is nothing more that state-sanctioned revenge.

Answer 7

If you knew that someone that was about to be born would one day kill you and preventing that birth or pregnacy was the ONLY way to stop him, would you gladly give up your life for his "right to life"?