Are you for or against capital punishment?

Question

Please explain.

Answer 1

I am ambivalent. If there were truth in sentencing laws in all 50 states, I would be against it, but currently it is the only thing close to a guarantee that we have that the offender won't do it again.

Answer 2

Capital punishment has been around since the Bible days. It is a severe punishment for a severe crime. Even God condemned some . Many were killed in the Great flood. Capital punishment has got to where everyone is worried about whether it is humane. The person that got killed died a cruel painful way. Now Executions has gone to lethal injection. They are put to sleep like going to surgery. No pain involved. They just don't wake up. One thing for sure is that person will not return to commit any crimes. Any with a life sentence they could escape. It is unfortunite so much is spent on the appeals process. It is expensive to house inmates also.

Answer 3

Against. Why the hell should someone whose caused other people so much pain, get an easy way out and get to die. Death is easy, living is the hard part, and therefore death isn't a punishment, it's a release. I believe people should have to deal with the consequences of what they've done, not get a easy ride out.

There's other reasons to. There's the common reason that it's so hard with some people to be 100 per cent sure they did commit a crime. It's worrying to think that people are killed and then found to be not guilty, especially the way technology evolves. It's awful.

Then there's also the fact that killing someone to punish them for killling someone doesn't sem like justice to me, it seems like 'lowering youself to that persons level'. It's like if someone hits you, it's not the correct thing to just hit them back, that's just stooping to their level.

I definitely think we are better off without capitol punishment, although I'm also not convinced on how we do handle crime (in UK at least). But it's better than what it could be.

Answer 4

Against. The reasons are my own feelings about taking a human life. I don't believe that the state, under the guise of the jury system, has that right to decide who lives and dies. I also don't trust the jury system especially during a high profile situation. Plus, a severe life sentence would be more of a punishment. There is no way I would want to spend the rest of my life isolated from the rest of the world as punishment. A truly moral dilemma under many circumstances, though.

Answer 5

I oppose it. Here are some facts about it, verifiable and sourced. Common sense can do the rest.

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. 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
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. 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.

Answer 6

I'm 100% against capital punishment.
I think that it's a primitive form of punishment that needs to be done away with.
Cliche, but two wrongs don't make a right.
A person kills someone, so in order to prove that killing is wrong, that person is put to death. It contradicts the purpose.
Also, death is an easy way out. It's more of a punishment if you have to sit in jail for the rest of your life thinking about why you're there. Try that for feeling remorse for your actions.

Hundreds of people are also wrongfully put to death. Years later, they realize that the person who was excecuted was, in fact, innocent.

And for those who think their tax dollars go to waste 'supporting' criminals in jail, try looking up the expenses going to keeping capital punishment in this country.

It needs to be done away with. Soon.

Answer 7

Thou shall not kill. Starting from that most basic and fundamental of premises, I'm against capital punishment. As you might also guess, I'm against abortion as well. To be in favor of one and not the other is inconsistent.

Answer 8

Against it...killing someone doesn't make you better than them. And death is not a punishment, it's the easy way out.

Answer 9

I against capital punishment because all death penaltys are cruel and unusual deaths such as leathal injection, fireing sqaud, hanging, gas chamber, and electric chair.

Answer 10

I am for it. The next time someone rapes and murders your mother let me hear you say, "Oh, let the poor boy live in a nice jail cell, eating three meals a day and getting all the exercise and tv he can. He had a bad childhood", or some such crap. A lot of people have bad childhoods who don't become killers or rapers and murders of children. Kill the bastards I say. If there is no doubt, kill them.