Is the death penalty?

Question

Justice or Revenge? And is Revenge ever Justified?

Answer 1

Good Question depends who's the one flicking the switch!!

Answer 2

It's not an effective way to prevent or reduce crime and risks exectuting innocent people. For a different perspective here are answers to questions about the practical aspects of the death penalty system and alternative with sources 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, mostly because of the legal process. When the death penalty is a possible sentence, extra costs mount up even before a trial, continuing through the uniquely complicated trial (actually 2 separate stages, mandated by the Supreme Court) in death penalty cases, and 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.

Answer 3

It is revenge disguised as justice, and all too often (when innocent people get executed), it becomes the height of injustice. I was pro-capital punishment 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 have been 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, as I stated above, 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 4

Very good question.

I had a friend, who used to hold liberal views on the death penalty. Tragically, his girlfriend was murdered during a burglary of their flat and, less than a couple of years' later, he lost colleagues and friends when the Twin Towers came down.

The outcome of these absolutely terrible events was a major change of his viewpoint on the issue of the death penalty. These enormously tragic and irreplacable losses at the hands of despicable cowards meant that the concept of capital punishment was no longer abhorrent. Given what he suffered, it seems unsurprising.

My point? our own experiences will shape our viewpoints as to whether the death penalty is justice or revenge, and whether it can ever be justified.

So, it's all very well for me to be anti-capital punishment (which I resolutely am), but then I am extremely fortunate not to have ever lost those closest to me in such terrible circumstances.

If it were to ever happen, I would be a liar if I said my stance would remain unswayed. Honest hypocrisy, I guess. And for those who claim otherwise, let's hope that none of you are ever unfortunate enough to be in a situation which leads you to have to test your beliefs.

Answer 5

Not justice, pure unadulterated revenge. And completely wrong in every case, EVEN Saddam Hussein.

EDIT - TALLBOY - you have an odd sense of history. How could Jack Straw have "signed away the death penalty"? (not that that would be a bad thing)

This government was elected in 1997. The death penalty was abolished in the UK in 1965, a full 5 years before the UK joined the EU. The Labour government of 1964-70 was not in favour of joining the EEC as it was then called. The Tory government of Heath joined the EU in 1970, and abolition of capital punishment is a requirement for membership, but the UK had already made that sensible choice. Jack Straw not involved, unless he was the youngest cabinet minister in history.

Answer 6

Quoting from the book of Deuteronomy 32:35: "Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand ..." And this is confirmed in Christian teaching in the book of Romans12:19, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay", saith the Lord. Justice is another thing, but a Christian ought not to justify the death penalty, for there is always a chance of a soul being saved by repentance and forgiveness.

Answer 7

Whatever it is at the end of the day someone is dead by the decision of another.Who are we to take away the one God given right we have,,The right to be alive,if we didn't have that right we wouldn't exist.I would rather see rapists and murderers locked away until they die,for most people on death row its an easy way out,but for some its a horrifying case of being found guilty and in reality being innocent.

Answer 8

Is it justice to see someone die who took a life or would it be better to watch them live to an old age locked in a prison not able to enjoy the pleasures of everyday life. I know which I would prefer. Death is not Justice a long unhappy life is.

Answer 9

I think it's revenge because the real punishment would be keeping them in prison for their whole lives so everyday they need to wake up and think about what they have done

Answer 10

It is justice pure and simple. It is not a deterrent as the anti brigade claim as not working. It is a punishment and rightly so. It should be brought back, a referendum would show overwhelming support, but jack Straw signed Capital Punishment away in a low key exercise in Europe some years ago. Our masters in Europe would never let it return so we would have to leave first. A simple matter confounded by Eurocrats!