Your thoughts on the death penalty?

Answer 1

I am against it because it is not an effective way to prevent or reduce crime and risks the execution of innocent people. You have received some great answers- from Myles D (about cost- the 15th answer) and from those who wrote about innocent people on death row. A couple of people who answered seem to be unaware of the facts, particularly about cost, the alternatives to capital punishment, and about what deterrence means. (Deterrence means to persuade others from committing the same crime, while incapacitation means to prevent a criminal from reoffending.)

Here are answers to questions 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.

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.

Answer 2

I think the urge to see the perpetrator of a horrendous crime killed is a normal and understandable human reaction. Because of this, I was pro-death penalty for a long time, but I have changed my stance over the years, for several reasons:

1. By far the most compelling is this: Sometimes our legal system gets it wrong. Look at all the criminals who are being released after years of imprisonment because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. No matter how rare it is, our government should not risk executing one single innocent person.

Really, that should be reason enough for most reasonable people. If you need more, read on:

2. Because of the extra expense of prosecuting a DP case and the appeals process (which is necessary - see reason #1), it costs taxpayers MUCH more to execute prisoners than to imprison them for life.

3. The deterrent effect is questionable at best. Violent crime rates are actually higher in death penalty states. This may seem counterintuitive, but think about the mixed message it sends: we’re trying to take a stand against murder…by killing people. The government becomes the bad parent who says, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’

4. There’s also an argument to be made that death is too good for the worst of our criminals. Let them wake up and go to bed every day of their lives in a prison cell, and think about the freedom they DON’T have, until they rot of old age.

5. The U.S. government is supposed to be secular, but for those who invoke Christian law in this debate, you can find arguments both for AND against the death penalty in the Bible. For example, Matthew 5:38-39 insists that violence shall not beget violence. James 4:12 says that God is the only one who can take a life in the name of justice. Leviticus 19:18 warns against vengeance (which, really, is what the death penalty amounts to). In John 8:7, Jesus himself says, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Answer 3

The only industrialized nation to still embrace the death penalty is the USA.

The rest of the civilized nations realized long ago that it was inhumane and no deterrent whatsoever.

For some reason or another the Americans seem to think it should be applied more often.

My thoughts are that it should be abolished just like drawing and quartering. I believe there are 18 of the United States that no longer have the death penalty on the table.

Answer 4

Cost of maintaining an inmate is only about $30,000 to $50,000 per year depending on the state. Death penalty trials cost an average of 48% more than the average cost of trials in which prosecutors seek life imprisonment. It is actually more expensive to kill someone. With at least 2 lawyers mandatory for most death penalty case, and appeals that go for years it becomes more expensive to kill someone than keep them in prison. also, every month you see people exonerated by DNA evidence and they were on death row. Statistics show that 10% of inmates on death row are innocent, and leads you to believe that we have therefore executed innocent people. There is in all states "Life without the possibility of Parole" which means that inmate will NEVER interact with society again. IF there is even the possiblity of killing an innocent person, don't you think that is grounds enough for a moratorium on the death Penalty? And are we to teach people it is wrong to kill by killing people?

By the eye for an eye logic, we must also execute the executor?

Answer 5

The death penalty does not deter crime BUT what does? Putting them in prison sure doesn't. The Arian Brotherhood is alive and doing well from prison. Some even committed Federal crimes to expand into the Federal Prisons.

The death penalty doesn't deter crimes BUT it sure gets one more degenerate off the face of the Earth!

Answer 6

Why should a convicted violent criminal, get a free ride on your tax money for the rest of their life, when they denied their victim the right to life??? At what point does the penalty fit the crime? Also, without severe consequences, what deterrent affect does the criminal justice system have against future violators??? With the historic rehabilitation success for violent offenders down in the single digits, it is reasonable to believe that we cannot expect them to turn from their violent behavior! So, why maintain them and risk their future exposure to the public??

Answer 7

If the wrong person is put to death there is no going back. Although the chances of getting it wrong are small that is little consolation to the person who has to die, nor to their relatives and friends.

Answer 8

God spared Adam and Eve when they committed the first sin.

God spared the first murderer Cain when he killed Abel.

God spared St. Paul - who murdered many- and made him a Saint and Apostle.

Answer 9

It's a reasonable sanction where someone has flagrantly violated the mores, ethics, and sanctity of society.

Since we don't have any of that anymore, maybe we need to just drop the whole concept of capital punishment.

Answer 10

IT'S TO KEEP CRAZIES FROM KILLING ANY MORE OF US SANE PEOPLE, SINCE PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS COMPLAINING HOW PRISONS COST SO MUCH. What the bloody heck are we supposed to do, let 'em run free so they can keep robbing, killing, and torturing normal people?

Don't you think life in prison costs more than "no life in prison"...because they're dead?

Of course, if you believe that answer two above mine, "It doe not prevent crime", then you won't listen to me. Well, it may "doe not", but it sure as heck "does" prevent me from committing any crimes punishable by death! And I'll never commit a crime in Texas!!!

.....Mr. RP McMurphy, I salute thee.