what do you think of the death penalty?

Answer 1

Wow.. what an intense question.

Answer 2

This is a question that needs the facts. Here are a few, all verifiable and sourced. 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 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: 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 sloganeering.

Answer 3

if there is without a doubt that the person did it (like jeffery dahmer having bodies in his fridge) then they shouldnt even get a trial. straight to the gas chamber. if the judge sentences someone to 4 life sentences, hes never gettin out of prison, to the gas chamber with you!!! but thats just my opinion.

Answer 4

I think that the death penelty serves it's purpose. I think though that people should be punished how they victimized the victim. and so forth you get the picture.

Answer 5

The bible says an eye for an eye.I think it gives the killers the same fear they give their victims right bafore they kill them.

Answer 6

depends on the offense, if its milacous, and there is intent, or a pedafile killing a child then Im all for it.