Do the masses of Americans....?

Question

in states where capital punishment is legal...still believe its acceptable to execute individuals?

Answer 1

Americans will either agree, disagree or sit on the fence of this situation. Capital Punishment and Abortion are two of the issues I can think of off the top of my head that the answer will be 50% of people will agree or disagree.

There is no majority when it comes to these issues. Although many people make a strong argument of why they are for or against an issue.

Just because there are laws in place, it doesn't mean that the population agrees and finds the laws acceptable. Going through the legislation and courts to get the laws changed is always a battle and trying to find a compromise that everyone agrees with, it is impossible. You cannot please everyone.

Answer 2

I have pondered this question for decades and changed sides several times! Although I err on the side of caution, because of the potential for truly irreversible errors, ultimately I think it comes down to drawing a line somewhere. However:

We need a society that is sufficiently egalitarian that social background cannot be used as an excuse, for any criminal behaviour never mind murder. We are far from that.

We need a justice system that is about finding the truth, not about who can afford the best lawyer and come up with the most believable fiction. Capital cases would require the highest level of proof possible; circumstantial evidence and/or dodgy identifications would not meet the required criteria.

If there is to be capital punishment the justice system must be independent not just of politics but of politicians. But here's a thing: right-wing politicians' main thrust is all about personal responsibility. If a capital sentence is on the cards then the nearest adult relatives of the deceased should be required at the end to take this responsibility on and not leave it to the state. Could they then live with the personal consequences? Only time would tell.

Around 1000 AD in Anglo-Saxon England almost any crime upto and including murder could be mediated by the criminal and/or his family making financial restitution to the damaged family. This system of justice vanished with the Normans and it has taken us nearly a thousand years to even approach this level of pragmatism again.

Susan S: why are people like you with a grasp of the historical and contemporary facts of criminality, law, justice and ethics so thin on the ground?

Answer 3

According to a Gallup Poll, in 2006, 47% of all Americans prefer capital punishment while 48% prefer life without parole. Americans are learning the facts about the death penalty and are making up their minds using common sense, not revenge.

Here are some of the facts that are Americans are discovering - all these are verifiable and sourced-

Re: Possibility of executing an innocent person
Over 120 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence. Many had already served over 2 decades on death row. If we speed up the process we are bound to execute an innocent person. Once someone is executed the case is closed. If we execute an innocent person we are not likely to find that out and the real criminal is still out there.

Re: DNA
DNA is available in no more than 10% of murder cases. It is not a miracle cure for sentencing innocent people to death. It’s human nature to make mistakes.

Re: Appeals
Our appeals system is designed to make sure that the trial was in accord with constitutional standards, not to second guess whether the defendant was actually innocent. It is very difficult to get evidence of innocence introduced before an appeals court.

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 (if they think at all.)

Re: cost
The death penalty costs far more than life in prison. The huge extra costs start to mount up even before the trial.

Re: Alternatives
48 states have life without parole on the books. It means what it says, is swift and sure and is rarely appealed. Being locked in a tiny cell for 23 hours a day, forever, is certainly no picnic.

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: 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.

Answer 4

I am half English and the other half is American!

So I guess I can vote on this, I would say that there has to be consequences - in this day of advanced science, its rare that people are judged wrongly. If I lost a close relative or friend, I would want some closure. This is rarely the case in England.
The guilty are protected, sheltered, counselled, despite loss of freedom, there are many who have a lot less that this.

If I was given a gun and put in a room with some one who it was prov en that they had murdered or physically harmed in anyway a child or someone belonging to me, I would pull the trigger, I would have no problem whatsoever.

Answer 5

A rather doofus way to ask a good question.

The states that have capital punishment have it because its citizens voted for it. so, yes the majority rule does apply. It is, therfore, acceptable to execute criminals who have been sentenced to death. Let's not get too emotional for these scoundrels and forget the lives of their victims.

Capital punishment should be used for only the most heinous of crimes and for individuals who have no remorse for their actions.

Answer 6

I think the public view is slowly changing. It is due to DNA proving they have caught the wrong man. No one has gone as far as to prove the State executed the wrong man. If this could be proved more than once, the Supreme court would have to rule on this. The error of executing the wrong man or woman is too great. This would make it extreme cruel and unusual punishment, and therefore unconstitutional.
Then again we have some real monsters out there. Like the guy who killed Polly Class. You just want to fire up old sparky for a monster like that.

Answer 7

Yes, I'm originally from Pennsylvania, and even (maybe especially) after living overseas in countries where capital punishment is not practiced I believe it is an acceptable means of punishing severe offenders.

Why should innocent people pay for a repeat rapist murderer to live out his natural life with cable tv, hot meals and a roof over his head? Capital Punishment reduces the cost to the public of these offenders.

Answer 8

execution is the sign of an UNcivilised country. Mature countries grow through that stage. Murder by the state.

Am I right or are the more fanatically Christian states (south) the keener on capital punishment. What does God teach them? Something wrong there!!

And what happens when you get it wrong?!

Answer 9

I think the death penalty should be upheld in cases involving serial killers, and child murderers and rapists.. I have no feelings at all for the filth who destroy the innocence of the defenceless and the virtuous, "silly gorbie" refers to a question on here i asked myself.. and i believe that if the state cannot provide justice for these appaling crimes, ( life in prison for murdering and raping a two year old girl IS NOT JUSTICE) then the general public should have carte blanche to dish out retribution. Whatever it takes to prevent future atrocities against women, children and otherwise "decent" people

Answer 10

Have you read the book about Bundy? Seen the story on Dahlmer? Do you think we could have rehabilitated them into society and they would have become model citizens? yes I believe it is acceptable and sometimes necessary. I think there are individuals so twisted that you can't make them right again. I think we as a community have failed to protect our children from things that make them this way and sometimes, sometimes they are born this way and we can't do anything else but protect others from their depravity.