when will justice be served? people are put in prison for shoplifting, yet murderers are walking about free...

Question

for example, if i were to steal a sweet from a shop i'd probably get five years or more in prison. on the other hand, a guy kills his wife and all the evidence is there; what does the law do? this is a life we talking about not a sweet! i say the death penalty should be brought back. innocent five year olds are being raped and what is getting done about it? NOTHING!!! Its a sick world we're living in.

Answer 1

I am guessing that you are from the UK. Unfortunately some of the people who answered this don't seem to have the facts about the death penalty in the United States. Here are just a few, verifiable and sourced-

Re: Alternatives
48 states (including Texas) 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. Life without parole incapacitates a killer (keeps him from re-offending) and costs considerably less than the death penalty.

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
The United States 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. There are more cost effective ways to prevent and control crime.

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 or an eye for an eye mentality.

Answer 2

I couldn't agree more. I don't understand it either. I live in a State that has not had the death penalty since the 1800's and the city I live in, (in some areas), is turning into a little Beirut. I don't understand that a person who did one offense in their life, such as Misdemeanor theft, and get probation, restitution, and possibly some jail time, but if a hooligan that has a rap sheet from the ceiling to the floor including armed robbery or manslaughter can get out of jail within a year and keep doing the same crimes over and over. When and where is the justice going then? I am totally confused!

Answer 3

it really is a minimum sentence, which means that, assuming he serves his time with none additions to that sentence by his behaviour in penal complicated, he will be seventy one (if he lives that lengthy) earlier he will be released. no longer truly a "entire of life" sentence, yet about as close to because it ought to get. he will, virtually absolutely, charm, and would get his sentence decreased - notwithstanding it really is yet another count number. i trust it would were an entire life sentence, then he ought to not at all regain his freedom. As to the costs, please search for suggestion from from the death Sentence suggestion center which will show to you, and others, that entire life sentences are a recommendations and away more affordable to finish than death sentences. also see that those states that keep the death penalty have larger homicide costs than those that do not, so the deterrence idea is likewise incorrect. There are very many different thrilling info that this provider demonstrates - i beg you to have a glance. (i am going to submit a link in some moments)

Answer 4

people dont like the death penalty because they say it cost's to much to put somebody to death. I can buy a box of 550 rounds of .22 bullets for less than $10. Pay me minimum wage and ill cut the costs for execution.

Answer 5

You must have the misfortune, to live in a Liberal State. Here in
Texas, we take a grim view of that and put them on Death Row.
We do a fair job of putting them down at a good pace.

Answer 6

Now you know why some refer to the criminal justice system in the U.S. as the criminal INJUSTICE system. The ststue of lady justice wears a blindfold, I guess this is the way it is administered today.