How can you be pro-life if you are for the death penalty?

Question

And how can you be against the death penalty but for abortion?


I have mixed feelings on the death penalty. I am against abortion because it takes a life, and the same for the death penalty. HOWEVER- I think the death penalty is a lot more ethical than holding a person in a 8x8 cell for the rest of their lives. I'm for supervised community work and hard labor over life in prison, definately. There's got to be a way to punish criminals, but by killing them, are we any better than them?

Answer 1

Have you ever noticed conservatives are anti-abortion, but for the death penalty once the person reaches 18. And liberals usually are pro choice and anti death penalty.

Answer 2

Taking the life of any living thing is always a sad issue. Taking the life of someone not yet with a voice needs someone to be that voice...that is where our conscience comes into play. Speaking for the unborn child. On the other side of the issue the death penalty is to STOP unacceptable behavior. The eye for an eye philosophy!
If we were to put all of the criminals in 8x8 cells for life we would soon run out of room and money....After all tax payers are the ones footing the bill.
Would your choice be to keep the Polly Klaus or Adam Walsh murderers or the Jeffery Dahmers of the world alive and well?
Yes I am better than them.....I make acceptable choices everyday.....I don't whine and cry foul because I was abused as a child, which by the way I was. My choice in life is to be a better person and not let my enviornment influence my choices.

Answer 3

These are separate issues. To begin with, nobody is pro abortion. Here are just a few facts about the death penalty- verifiable and sourced. This is a long answer for a very important topic.

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 will surely 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: 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 up, 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: 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

I understand what you are saying, but should taxpayers be responsible for supporting a murderer or child rapist? The types of criminals on death row have ruined numerous lives - their victims and the victims' friends and family. On the other hand, I don't think it's our place as humans to judge others and take their lives. Only God can dole out that kind of justice. So there is always two sides to an issue. I see both points on the death penalty.

Now as for abortion, I'm totally against it. The taking of an innocent life is murder. Look at the baby in Florida that was born at only 20 weeks. Doesn't that prove that life exists in the womb? Yet, it's legal in most states to abort a fetus at this stage. Where is the justice in that?

Answer 5

Because it is not an either or thing. It is two separate issues. One is, an unborn baby, letting it live or killing it off. A person that a jury has handed down a death sentence to is totally different. He could be a sex offender, a murderer, a serial killer etc. Not the cream of society. Like that old man on trial now for burying that little girl while she was still ALIVE.Why should he take up any space anywhere on this planet for any reason. If we lived a long time ago, we could bury him alive. tit for tat. You are really trying to compare peanuts to apples. Why confuse things SO much. Keep it simple.

Answer 6

The only argument that I can see as valid for supporting the death penalty while being pro-life is the simple fact that people are sentenced to death by the courts as a result of their own choices and actions.

Personally I believe abortion should be limited to cases involving rape, incest, or a woman's life is in grave jeopardy. The death penalty should be reserved for only the very worst offenders. I talking about those who do unspeakable and unthinkably terrible things to people, the real sadistic and sick offenders.

Answer 7

Being pro-choice does not mean one is anti-life. Legalized abortion is simply a necessary evil. If a woman wants an abortion, she will get it either in an alley way with a coat hanger or at a licensed clinic with experienced doctors.

When somebody meliciously takes another life as a murderer does, then that person should himself be put to death. That is only justice. However, with our legal system, there should not be a death penalty. Our legal system is simply too prone to mistakes. If there were some way to guarentee that no innocent person would be accidentally put to death or even incarcerated in the first place, I would be for a death penalty. There is simply no way to ensure this. If letting them all rot in prison is the price we pay for not executing an innocent, then we need to pay that price.

Answer 8

The death penalty is not prohibited in the Bible--not in the Old Testament nor the New. Government was given the task of dealing with capital crimes. The idea that there is a conflict here is a false issue.

Answer 9

I am pro-life and pro-capital punishment. An unborn baby is the ultimate innocent, whereas a sonvicted killer has forfieted his right to breathe air.

That being said, I'd gladly switch my position on the death penalty if we were to make our prisons hellish enough to actually serve their purpose as punishment and deterrent. Remember the movie "Midnight Express"? Now multiply that by ten and you'd have a good idea of what I think our prisons should be. As a prisoner leaved the prison, I want him thinking, "There is NO way I'm going back there!".

Answer 10

IMHO death is for God to decide in either case. But I guess for some the difference can be justified by the fact that the unborn have commited no sins, no crimes. Those facing the death penalty have been found guilty of such.