death penalty??

Question

in school we are doing debates and i was just wondering about peoples thoughts on if the U.S should continue to use death penalty?? so...do you think the U.S should continue to use death penalty?? why or why not?? plz help lol thx much

Answer 1

I can give you some of the facts about the death penalty in the United States. All these are verifiable and sourced. You should make up your own mind based on the facts. I think that common sense will do the rest.

Re: Possibility of executing an innocent person
Over 120 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence, many having 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 the real criminal is still out there and will have successfully avoided being charged.

Re: DNA
DNA is available in less than 10% of murder cases. It’s not a miracle cure for sentencing innocent people to death. It’s human nature to make mistakes.

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 about the consequences or even that 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: 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, 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: 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 think we should continue with the death penalty- there are some crimes that people commit that are just so horrendous that the person who committed them should not be allowed to live- ie. the person who kidnapped, raped and then buried Elizabeth Smart alive.

That being said, I even think that people who do receive the death penalty should have a cap on the number of times they can appeal- it is outrageous. Once a person has been sentenced to death, there is no reason for them to get to live the next 10 years appealing the decision on the taxpayers dime.

Answer 3

If you're found guilty of first degree murder, in any state, the death penalty shouldn't be an option...it should be mandatory! None of this waiting for 20 years to carry it out either; find 'em guilty at 11:00, hang 'em, in public, at noon. You want an appeal, you have an hour to talk! I'm outraged by the Supreme Court blocking today's execution in Ohio because lethal injection may be "cruel and unusual". Just what do you call chopping up a woman and scattering her remains across two states? Keep voting liberal, and people will keep getting away with unthinkable crimes.

Answer 4

I vote yes. The death penalty is used primarily in the most heinous crimes. Go to Google and look up death penalty crimes. Some of these people are simply the most vile, murderous scum of the earth. The death penalty is the justice these people deserve. Another pro of the death penalty is that the deceased never harms another soul again.

Answer 5

Yes they should for many different factors. One, it is a well known fact that criminals who do hard time usually get out of prison and eventually commit the same crime they were in prison for. Two, it cost the American tax payers a lot of money to house inmates, specially those on death row. Three, Prisons are getting overcrowded and at this rate there will be more prisons than schools. Four, a person who commits a vile act then they should pay the prize.

Answer 6

I think we should continue with the death penalty. I know if someone I loved was murdered, I would want them to suffer the same fate. An eye for an eye.

Answer 7

I think it depends on the crime.Thats a very touchy subject for most but if we didnt have a death Penalty, criminals would just feel they could commit horrific crimes and in a sense,get away with it. For some of these criminals,a life sentence is the easy way out of a life of taking responsability for there lives.They will be fed,housed,and givin medical treatment when needed. but if the crime fits...Hang'em high!!!!

Answer 8

I don't believe in the death penalty, but I understand it. I guess we should still use it b/c it probably does cut down on the horrific crimes, but personally I couldn't sentence anyone to death.

Answer 9

i think of all baby molesters must be placed to sleep! i'm conscious that could desire to do away with a great factor to the human race, yet think of roughly it, everybody left may be so scared they probably does no longer do it. As for each guy or woman else, in the event that they dedicated the crime, are got here upon to blame and are fearful of death then i think of they might desire to be placed to sleep. enable them to sense the phobia of death merely like their victims. in the event that they're waiting to die then i think of we ought to consistently save them alive in detention center. And as quickly as I say detention center, I mean one meal an afternoon, no t.v., no aircon, no gyms (in elementary terms to lead them to larger! this is stupid), no privileges in any respect. Prisoners each and every each and every now and then say, "they cope with us like animals", nicely i think of in the event that they did no longer act like animals they does no longer be in there in the 1st place. i think of they might desire to artwork yet in elementary terms to pay for their outfits, foodstuff, facility expenditures, and pay a small element well-known to the victims or their families. That way well-known they're reminded of why they're in there! I do think of the cost ought to bypass to a economic business enterprise account the place the victims are no longer reminded on a daily basis of the adventure. That way they might cope with it on their very own while they're waiting. i rather do agree the only time they might desire to apply the death penalty is while they be attentive to for advantageous they dedicated the crime. As for criminals who rather did no longer bodily harm absolutely everyone i think of they might desire to place them in a detention center removed from the puzzling-middle criminals, yet I nonetheless think of they might desire to artwork for each thing.

Answer 10

I also think it should continue. I think if they had public hangings, crime would go down.