capital punishment?

Question

should the death sentence be banned or is it there to stay,has there ever been a vote by the people in this matter

Answer 1

I have always been a bit wary of the death penalty, not because I don't believe in an eye for an eye, it is just that tiny chance that a innocent person is sent to the gallows.

Answer 2

You know I just say a show the other day on A&E that made me more and more for the death penalty. It was about this guy, last name McDuff, who was a sexual offender and sentenced to death in TX for murdering 3 teenagers (raping and torturing one of them). THis was in the late 1980s. At some point while he was in prison, the death penalty was voted against and all of the prisoners on death row were sentenced to life. Then TX had to deal with overcrowded prisons. Some how this McDuff guy got paroled from prison. He then went on to kill 5 more people (that they know of) and was one of the nation's most wanted until they finally arrested him and sentenced him to death again (by then the death penalty was back on).

This to me proves that we need the death penalty. With the amount of killings and perverts we have out now, think of how screwed up society would be without it.

Answer 3

I think that, most of all, people need the facts about this issue. Some of your answered are mistaken on them and some have answered without any facts at all. Here are a few practical facts about the death penalty system, all verifiable and sourced.

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 (Minnie is wrong on this)
The death penalty costs far more than life in prison. The huge extra costs start to mount up even before the trial. Much of these result from the unusually complicated nature of both the pre trial investigation and of the trials (2 stage, mandated by the Supreme Court) in death penalty cases. 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. (Proud liberal is wrong about this one.) Americans are learning the facts and making up their minds using common sense, not revenge or partisan bickering.

Answer 4

Probably every vote taken, concerning capital punishment in this country has shown enthusiastic approval by the voters. Killing something is always popular here in the good ol' U.S.of A.

Answer 5

As far as I'm concerned, capital punishment is nothing more or less than murder being committed in the name of the state. The US is one of the very few civilized countries left in the world that continue to sanction executions...most others consider it barbaric.

Answer 6

I am pro capital punishment, save taxpayers money, I am sure there has been many votes on this subject

Answer 7

I would say "let the punishment fit the crime" but when it comes down to it "an eye for an eye, the whole world goes blind"