Capital PUNISHMENT!!?

Question

How much Prison Space would we FREE up if we brought back the death penalty...i mean 'an eye for and eye' situation?

Answer 1

Yeah bring it on back!

Lets just kill everyone that does something wrong!

Answer 2

No.
This logic is not acceptable.
Imposition of death punishment to free prison space is a barbaric idea.
Crime and punishment has in between a big space for, if I may choose a word, de-criminalisation of mind or reform of the personality like de-toxification.
Death penalty is an option like amputation of an organ to save rest of the body. It has to be applied in rarest of rare situation when option of any reform has exhausted.
In civilised world an eye for an eye" situation is antitheis of civilisation.
Now question of deterrent comes, this is a very dynamic action depending upon time and space and has to be left to the wisdom of judicial system to decide on case to case basis.
Space in prisons need to be expanded by way of new construction and by way of de-toxification of minds. We have to find out ways for the same, Dr. Kiran Bedi, IPS has contributed a lot in this field in The Tihar Jail and, if it could be done there, why it cannot be done in all Jails.
nk agarwal

Answer 3

Most overcrowding in prisons is because we sentence low level offenders to long terms. For example, people are sentenced to long terms for possession of narcotics (not trafficking in narcotics.)

We put seriously mentally ill people in prison with very little (if any) treatment. Before the '70's they were hospitalized. As mental hospitals were closed, they were supposed to be replaced with outpatient treatment facilties and care. That did not happen and the result has been a disaster. A 2005 study by H. Richard Lamb, M.D., and Linda Weinberger, Ph.D., concluded that as much as 24 percent of the prison population has a severe mental illness. They do not get better in prison and are usually released with no follow up instructions for their treatment.

Here are some facts to consider before you make up your mind on the death penalty. All 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, also, 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. 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 and making up their minds using common sense, not revenge.

Answer 4

probrally alot I am not a 100% supporter of the death penalty but I think if we take all the prisoners in the usa that are terrosits or have killed at least 15 people and commited many more crimes and send them to the gallows my gosh the prison spaec would be 30% empty

Answer 5

Eye for an eye was a rule for limiting revenge.

Not a rule for mandating punishments.

But if the death penalty was used more expediantly, it would obviously clear quite a bit of space in prisons. But thats the same as saying that you will clear more space in your fridge by eating more. Its not a very profound statement.

Answer 6

I do believe in capital punishment but I dont believe it would free up much prison space as so few qualify by committing capital crimes as they were called.I assume this is a UK question?

Answer 7

Christ did not advocate eye for an eye. Furthermore capital punnishment has never been proven to be a deterrant to crime but has proven to (1) kill innosent people, (2) is racist.

Anyone calling himself a Christian better rethink his stand. Those especially against abortion or stemcell research. It is all the same you are killing another human being. War is the only reason to do that and war should be avoided as much as possible.

Answer 8

when you say an i for an i you should no what you are saying .. that means the person hu killed whoever should be killed to as they are now a murderer even if it is there job .. what about all the inercent people who get charged then couple years later are realised as the truth comes out .. could you live with your self noing you killed an inercent .. plus it means we are just dropin to there level .. i dont think capital punishment should come back as its not a true punishment it doesnt deter criminals as .. i believe life should mean life not so many years !! if it did it would deter criminals as the worse thing you can take from someone is the freedom ..

Answer 9

What are you talking about, we have the death penality. Some states don't use it but here in Oklahoma we use it regularly. The problem with it is it takes too long from the time of conviction to the execution.

Answer 10

I just can't condone killing people in any circumstances. I would feel very different if I was in the position of losing someone I love through the act of someone else. On the one hand I think it would be fair to kill someone who murdered someone else, but there is a chance that someone might be accused and convicted innocently and it's terrible to think of someone being killed innocently. For me that is much worse that letting murderers rot in jail rather than killing them....

Answer 11

The reason we abandoned capital punishment was that its irreversible, and mistakes are made. If the legal system kills someone, then subsequent inquiries prove that they were innocent, do we then exercise capital punishment against those who sanctioned the execution?