So, what do you think about Capital Punishment?

Answer 1

It isn't an effective way to prevent or reduce crime and it risks executions of innocent people. Here are answers to questions about the practical aspects of the system and a good alternative, with sources below. I think people should have the facts.

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 and can’t guarantee we won’g execute 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 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 2

Capital punishment is wrong, in my opinion. No one has the right to take the life of another. Just because the government, state, or whomever else has a bit of authority, it doesn't mean that certain laws are excusable for them. Why label someone as a murderer, if you're going to do the very same thing? I thought the law was meant for everyone. I seen no exceptions when reading it ,so why should there be one when executing someone? Murder is murder. It doesn't matter who is doing it.

Answer 3

I have no problems with it.

Having said that, I think it is a minimal political issue at best and many people are against it. So, for the sake of saving time and money on wasted policy arguments and endless court appeals from detractors, I wouldn't be opposed to getting rid of it either. Life in prison with no hope for parole is just about as good as the death penalty.

Answer 4

It's a great idea. Some people just need to be executed. I would like to see it televised, so I could pop some popping corn, crack open a beer, gather the children for an educational night of TV. With of course all proceeds from the commercials going to the victims of the beasts being given justice

Answer 5

We do not use it near enough. It is a cruel and unusual punishment to lock a man or woman up without possibility of parole. The punishment is to the taxpayer not the criminal. If a person is to never be freed then give them a merciful bullet behind the ear and free society from the responsibility of keeping him from hurting someone else.

Answer 6

Any man who murders another man, has declared that he does not accept the principle of individual rights. He is worse then an animal, as he has chosen to abdicate his reason, in order to act like an animal. He has adopted the code of the jungle, and must be dealt with like the animals in the jungle. He can make no claim to the principle of rights for protection. He deserves death.

What is the proper purpose of the death penalty?
Justice, i.e., retribution. It is not primarily to discourage murder. Whether the death penalty prevents crime, or not, is irrelevant, or at best secondary. The issue is not one of prevention, but one of justice.

Answer 7

Since there is no way to correct an error in administering it, we'd better be damned sure of the person's guilt first. I have no problem with it in principle IF there is no possibility of error, but I wouldn't miss it if it was gone either.

Answer 8

for it. as long as a jury determines that there was physical evidence, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that proves that the defendant committed the crime.

the problem is that most Americans seem to forget about conclusive physical evidence when they are sitting on criminal juries.

Answer 9

I think if individuals knew if they were going to commit murder and would be sentenced to death the next week the crime rate would drop.

Answer 10

eye for eye tubester..... kill and be killed... and get it done within one week of sentencing.... you kill and be found quilty - you hang one week after trial of your peers.... for the very few that are wrongfully charged - what you think scott peterson was maybe innocent? hang him today...