Death Penalty?

Question

Do you believe that the death penalty is justice?

What if it was your child that was killed?

Answer 1

I believe in the death penalty if the person is 100% guilty. Prisons are so over crowded and what punishment is it really. they get to sit, eat, watch tv, recreation, work out, schooling. if they can kill let them be killed in return.

Answer 2

I think the urge to see the perpetrator of a horrendous crime killed is a normal and understandable human reaction - ESPECIALLY if that crime was committed against someone you loved.

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 the legal system gets it wrong. Look at all the people who are being released after years of imprisonment because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. Unfortunately, DNA evidence is not available in most cases. No matter how rare it is, the government should not risk executing one single innocent person.

Really, that should be reason enough for most 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, and there are many theories about why this is (Ted Bundy saw it as a challenge, so he chose Florida – the most active execution state at the time – to carry out his final murder spree). Personally, I think it has to do with the hypocrisy of taking 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. When Ted Bundy was finally arrested in 1978, he told the police officer, “I wish you had killed me.”

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

I don't believe it is effective in preventing or reducing crime and it risks executions of innocent people. (Certainly not just, but not unconstitutional.) Here are answers to questions about the practical aspects of the death penalty system and alternatives, with sources listed below. It is unjust to implement a system with so many flaws, in ignorance of the fact that human beings are fallible and make mistakes.

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, mostly because of the legal process, in place to help avoid executing innocent people. A death penalty case is more complicated from the pre trial investigation, the trials (involving 2 separate stages, mandated by the Supreme Court) in death penalty cases and subsequent appeals.

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.

Answer 4

No! And justice is not for me to give by putting someone else to death by state sanctioned murder.

I saw in a Newspaper that some idiot wrote, that for each put to death 18 lives are saved. The Boston strangler, Son of Sam, or Jack the Ripper, who had 4 known and 13 suspected, or any other mass murderer has never killed that many! What BS they would have you believe!

They just let some people out of jail after they had spent a couple of decades in for murder! The state agreed to compensate them!

Seems the FBI FRAMED THEM!

Answer 5

I really can't find it in me to forgive someone who kills and rapes a child and these vicious serial killers.

Only, due to our twisted court system that forces people with poor representation or lack of money into a guilty plea, I would say no. Also, look at all the people who have already served years in prison only to find their DNA proved them innocent years later. This is and always will be a miscarriage of justice. Top it off with a jury of your peers. They always pick the people each side finds easy to manipulate for jury duty. God help anyone who has to go before our easily influenced public.

Based off those things, no death penalty has my vote just to protect the innocent. Life for the people I wish would get the lethal injection or electric chair or possibly an unforseen accident.

Answer 6

Death should NEVER be a punishment. It goes against everything America stands for. Justice isn't served by ending someone's life.

Answer 7

no. I believe that the person is better punished by a life sentense w/ no chance of paroll. The person doesn't even really suffer, they just cease to exist. What message does it show if you kill someone for killing someone. The one who carries it out is just as guilty as the criminal. p.s. im 13 and have thought this through very carefully

Answer 8

yep. ( of course for the relative crime)

To the person who said it doesnt bring the person back: thats the point of it. ;)

Answer 9

yes. it might not bring back the victim but the sob will never do that crime again.

Answer 10

Yes...however it depends on the crime.