2007-03-12 14:18:55 · 21 answers · asked by teetzijo 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Let's say you were convicted of murder and got the death penalty but you were innocent. Would you want to be put in the electric chair?
The US justice system is FAR from perfect & they do make mistakes because all human being make mistakes. But with Capital Punishment if you make a mistake it can put an innocent man to death or murder. If you can lock someone away for life & save some innocent people from death isn't that worth not having the death penality?
2007-03-12 14:25:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The purpose of capitol punishment is the idea that not everybody can be rehabilitated, so if proven that a person will never be a better or a more productive person than they are presently, and especially if lives were took without remorse, they are often punished lethally. A lot of people don't get punished that way because obvously they can fake remorse to save themselves....it is a backwards policy....lol! Hope this helps and good luck.....Oh. and I do not believe that it helps. When was it ever ok when we were kids to hit someone back that hit first? It is an eye-for-an-eye policy, and it is completly different than what I was told, you know, about how Two wrongs NEVER made a right.....
2007-03-12 14:31:24 · answer #2 · answered by Shellyann 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have two questions.
I don't know what the purpose of capital punishment is. For religionists, it's usually retribution against the guilty. For others, it's supposed to be a deterrent. For some twisted people, it is ghoulish entertainment.
As to its effectiveness, I think only those looking for sadistic entertainment could say that it meets the purpose.
Many people get sent for capital punishment that are not guilty, so it isn't effective as retribution.
And only the poorest, least well-connected fools with no savvy end up being executed except in very few cases, so there's no deterrent effect.
I say we reopen Alcatraz for hardened criminals . . . no phones, no internet access . . . and lots of sharks in San Francisco Bay . . .
2007-03-12 14:26:14 · answer #3 · answered by nora22000 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The purpose of capital punishment is twofold: to remove from society persons who are likely to cause harm/death to others, and to deter others who are "contemplating" serious crimes.
It doesn't work. REALLY. Amnesty International has a HUGE amount of information about this... crime rates actually go UP every time someone is executed. AND most crimes are "crimes of passion" in which the person is not thinking about the consequences of their actions.
2007-03-12 14:25:57 · answer #4 · answered by MARY N 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The original purpose of capital punishment was to punish those who refuse to rehabilitate themselves into society.
It also is used as a deterent for criminals so they can see what will happen to them if they commit atrocities.
Here are some resources that I hope help you.
I hope I have been helpful.
2007-03-12 14:26:28 · answer #5 · answered by Matthew D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would work a whole lot better if we did it like the Iraqi's do it. You're found guilty in one month, and you're hanged in the second month.
This would certainly get the attention of many would be assassins ! I believe we would see an immediate reduction in violent crime, in the US particularly !
Years ago, in the US, it did work, but then, the damned lawyers got a hold of it, with all their legal delays, and the punishment no longer fit the crime since the murderer is allowed to live while the victim has died.
2007-03-12 14:27:12 · answer #6 · answered by briang731/ bvincent 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It is supposed to be a deterrant to crime, but since there are so many ways out of it and it isn't use consistently in the U.S., it does not work. It would have to be enforced more and issued quicker before people started taking it as a serious punishment for their crimes.
2007-03-12 14:21:54 · answer #7 · answered by Dale D 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think its for retribution. I don't like the idea of that though because it requires that we the people become murderers. It's just not civil or humane. The Green Mile is a great movie if you want to explore the issue. Its got Tom Hanks in it and it was written by Stephen King.
2007-03-12 14:29:51 · answer #8 · answered by Eisbär 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do not know who will agree with this, but I feel Capital Punishment is ultimately to save the soul of the person on death row. Have you ever seen "Dead Man Walking?" The man on death row played by Sean Penn was guilty. He knew he was guilty from the start, of course he did. However, he denied he was guilty, just in case he could get away with it and move on with his life...it wasn't until he knew there was no turning back, and he was assuredly going to die that he finally admitted to the nun he was in fact guilty. He needed to confess it, get it off his chest before he died..he needed to have a clear conscience before he "met his maker." People who believe in capital punishment believe in doing what is right for the greater good. If you are lenient on a murderer or a rapist and he thinks he can con his way out of it, he will try. It is human nature. Capital punishment is actually doing a service to the criminal. No one wants to die with that kind of behavior on their record so to speak, and the fact that they ARE going to die forces them to deal with their actions and not bury them in denial or other forms. I could go on, but I think I got my point across.
Yes, I believe it works, but now with all the delays, etc. due to fancy lawyering, it is not as effective as it could be if people were put to death in a reasonable amount of time following their conviction.
2007-03-12 14:41:52 · answer #9 · answered by AytymnRain 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes it works SOMETIMES & no it also has a bad affect on them as well as the public,as example,they way the goverment and statues are designed to go after the criminal isnt always the best,some get off easily/less time and others get more time then deserved
2007-03-12 14:33:42 · answer #10 · answered by shawna64801 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋