Poll: Do you believe capital punishment should be banned? I do.?

Answer 1

I agree with you. I oppose the death penalty because it is not an effective way to prevent or reduce crime and because it risks executing innocent people. Although this is a poll, here are answers to questions often asked about the death penalty system, with sources listed below.

What about the risk of executing innocent people?
124 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence.

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. To be a deterrent a punishment must be sure and swift. The death penalty is neither. Homicide rates are higher in states and regions that have it than in states that do not.

So, what are the alternatives?
Life without parole is now on the books in 48 states. It means what it says. It is sure and swift and rarely appealed. Life without parole is less expensive than the death penalty.

But isn't the death penalty cheaper than keeping criminals in prison?
The death penalty costs much more than life in prison, largely because of the legal process. Extra costs include those 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 and subsequent appeals. There are more cost effective ways to prevent and control crime.

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?
Over 50 of the innocent people released from death row had already served over a decade. 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. Americans are learning about the system and we are making up our minds based on facts, not eye for an eye sound bites.

Edit- another question for polls is whether people prefer the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole.

Answer 2

I don't.... Reason being: States tell people they can't kill..... but yet the states turn around and kill through capital punishment.. That's being hypocritical.. Also, in a "functioning, democratic society" how can we put people on death row, when we KNOW at some point an Innocent person is going to be executed??? Now granted that doesn't happen often, but my informed guess is that its has happened. The Criminal Justice system isn't and never will be perfect...... I don't think it's right for people to murder other human beings but unfortuately it happens whatever the justification may be. My best friend was murdered and I still don't believe in capital punishment- someone else dying won't bring my friend back. There is no justice when someone is murdered. Life in prison is cheaper anyway... Death sentence appeals take at least 7-8 years (or longer depending on the state) to get thru the courts. By the time tax payers pay for court fees, faxes, attorney fees, paralegals, etc, its much cheaper to let killers rot in a cell.....

Answer 3

i strongly disagree..

if the society itslef isnt able to give the good example the ppl rnt going to follow, an eye for an eye policy is totally wrong and so against the human rights

we're supposed to be fighting human rights violation, and capital punishment only enforces it

im a 90% into this

my other 10% thinks tht drug dealers ooor those accused of children seduction should be harshly punished

Answer 4

Well...killing is a sin no matter what AND executing a person costs the tax payer more then the offender spending life in jail...so, it would seem that capital punishment is a loose/loose decision.

Answer 5

yes. doesn't deter crime only feds the need for vengeance for the victims.
If they are christian... well killing is a sin.
Lock them up for life... life in hell of prison... much worse than death anyway.

Answer 6

No, It's a necessary evil.

Answer 7

nope

Answer 8

no, people who kill,rape and maime without remorse deserve to die.

Answer 9

Nope, need to use it more often.

Answer 10

not on your life pal...