Are you for or against the death penalty?

Question

and if your against it how would you feel if someone raped and murdered your son or daughter?

to people who say you cant judge on a personal level, thats all you should jusge it on. just because its someone elses family doesnt mean that they shouldnt see the criminal ultimate price for their crime.

Answer 1

For it. But only for the badest of the bad!

Answer 2

There are many practical issues involved. Here are some of the questions people have asked about it, with answers and sources (listed below.)

Isn't the death penalty cheaper than keeping criminals in prison?
The death penalty costs much more than life in prison. Much of the extra costs is due to the complicated nature of both the pre trial investigation and of the trials (involving 2 separate stages, mandated by the Supreme Court) in death penalty cases. There are more cost effective ways to prevent and control crime.

What about the risk of executing innocent people?
Over 120 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence, many having already served over 2 decades on death row.

Doesn't DNA keep new cases like these from happening?
DNA is available in less than 10% of all homicides. It is not a guarantee against the execution of innocent people.

Doesn't the death penalty prevent others from committing murder?
No reputable study shows the death penalty to be a deterrent. Homicide rates are higher in states that have it than in states that do not. Most killers don't think about the consequences anyway. They do not think they will be caught (if they think at all.)

So, what are the alternatives?
Life without parole is now on the books in 48 states. It means what it says. Supermax prisons are terrible places to spend the rest of your life. Life without parole is less expensive than the death penalty.

What about the very worst crimes?
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??

Doesn't the death penalty help families of murder victims?
Not necessarily. Murder victim family members across the country argue that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative.

So, why don't we speed up the process?
Many of the 123 innocent people released from death row had already been there for over 2 decades. If the process is speeded up we are sure to execute an innocent person.

But don’t Americans prefer the death penalty as the most serious punishment?
Not any more. People are rethinking their views, given the facts and the records on innocent people sentenced to death. According to a Gallup Poll, in 2006, 47% of all Americans prefer capital punishment while 48% prefer life without parole.

Answer 3

I'm against the death penalty. I could give several reasons but perhaps the best one for the sake of argument against pro-death penalty persons is that more than 118 people have been exonerated from death row since 1972. Is the likelihood of executing an innocent man worth the prize of having the death penalty? Do you think the founders of this great country would have thought so?

If my child were raped and murdered of course I'd be horrified and enraged. This is a completely natural and valid reaction. I wouldn't wish such a thing on anyone! That said, I don't think our justice system should be set up as an instrument for exacting blood vengeance.

Answer 4

Against. The same as anyone else, but people emotionally affected by the crime should not be in charge of the punishment or where would that lead..................not to a civilised society, that is for certain.

How can you say murder is wrong, but then have the state sanction it? It is the principle of the matter. Better to have then live with the loss of their freedom for life, thinking over their actions, than lose our own dignity by taking over the burden of murder ourselves.

Answer 5

I am Pro death penalty. Good statement after your question. I do have an answer for you. Because those people probably live in a gated community and send their kids to private school and do not live in the real world where they have to deal with the harsh reality that there are some people that act with a depravity they will never understand.

Answer 6

I am against it. I feel we should go back to somewhat of the old style of dealing with crime. I feel that whatever a criminal decides to pull, the same should happen to them only worse. And by every person in that immediate family should have a turn to torture that person to whatever extent they feel content. But don't kill them, what is that proving? They get off "scott-free" while the victim or the victims family suffers. Let them be beaten, raped, mugged, shot or even choked for a few minutes and let them deal with ALL of their pain and suffering. And don't just do it one time. Do it like every day, or maybe even other day.

Answer 7

For it when proven beyond a doubt of the guilty individual, Charles Manson comes to mind of someone that deserved it and never got it. Or in the case of Jeffery Dahmer, he asked to be executed. The case needs to be iron clad, with DNA testing they are finding innocent people on death row, that's not right.

Answer 8

I am for it, plus i was also raped when I was younger...at the time I wanted the guy to die - but isn't death and escape for them? It is all over...i think the best punishment is being forced to die slowly and in pain. I know that wouldn't happen - but don't some of these people look forward to being executed and having everything be over?

Answer 9

I am for the death penalty. I just wish they would kill the guys sooner than they do. It's dangerous to the people who work at the prisons. Oh yeah I hope Ronell Wilson feels all the pain he deserves.

Answer 10

Against it. I don't have any children, but perhaps I would change my mind in that case - probably not, but I have no way of knowing.

I believe that killing is wrong, except in self defense. That includes killing murderers. Putting them in jail for life without parole will permanently eliminate their danger. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Answer 11

Totally for it, but wouldn't be nice to give all the inmates condoms and a tube of bengay, and let them go to town on a murderer or rapist.Just a thought.