What are your views on the Death Penalty???

Question

I am writing a persuasive essay about the death penalty. I know what side im on but I need more than just my oppinion. So, what do YOU think about it!!

Answer 1

Here is some fact based stuff, in q and a form. In case you need sources, I listed them below.

You don't have to condone brutal crimes or want the criminals who commit them avoid a harsh punishment to ask whether the death penalty prevents or even reduces crime and whether it risks killing innocent people.

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’t 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 trials, one to decide guilt and the second to decide the punishment) 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

Many death penalty verdict are influenced by ethnicity--therefore if I ruled the world, I would institute a simple formula to remove any bias.
If a ten year old killed a ten year old, the killer would get 20 years.
If a twenty year old killed a twenty year old, the killer would get 40 years.
If a 40 year old killed a 40 year old, the killer would get 80 years.
If the sum of the killer's and the killed person's age equaled 100 or more, the sentence would be death.
So almost all serial killers would get the death penalty--they obviously have something seriously wrong with them.
People should be getting smarter as they get older. So if they're over fifty and killing people, I think society can do without them.
I'm still working on what to do about baby rapers and mother stabbers.

Answer 3

I happen to be an opponent: Why do we kill people to show that killing people is wrong?

For the most part, it is really a non-issue. Even for Texas, the potential for being executed is really minimal. During the 20th and 21st Centuries, the year with the most executions was 1935 with 198. It is well under 100 now. With 300 million people living in the US executions are just a flyspeck in the justice system.

On a strictly economic view, it is overly expensive. The cost of prison for life is about one third the cost of taking a case to execution.

Answer 4

I do believe there is a need for the death penalty. If you kill another person why should you still have your life. If it was made clear to criminals that they would die if they kill another person then I think the murder rate would go down. The death penalty should apply to those convicted of murder. Having to kill another person in self defense is another thing. In other words, 'an eye for an eye'.

Answer 5

Some people deserve death as a penalty--but there are some who die who deserve life, Can you give that to them?
Then be not to quick to deal out death-- even the wise don't know all ends...

Gandalf to Frodo fellowship of the ring paraphrased

Answer 6

I not only agree with it, I think we should use cruel and unusual punishment and maybe people would think before they act. I believe anyone who commits homocide, intentionally, should be flown to the middle of the Pacific or Atlantic via helicopter and thrown out, never to be seen again. Leave them for the sharks. Other crimes, we could make up the effect to every cause as we go along. We would spend much less money in our prison systems and those people would never be allowed to hurt anyone else again.

Answer 7

I think the death penalty, and rightly so despite all it's faults, is here to stay in the USA. There are too many crazy people out there. You have to have some recourse for people who do really heinous things such as raping and killing kids.

Answer 8

With people being released from prison and death row on DNA evidence as well as proof of impropery behavior on the part of the prosecution it is obvious that our justice system is not able to operate according to the standard demanded by one that uses the ultimate solution.

Answer 9

I support the death penalty for parking violations and I also support the 1 appeal and death sentence to be carried out in 30 minutes after trails conclusion so Im really the wrong person to ask this one

Answer 10

I would like to point you to this map that shows how few countries still have the death penalty, and almost none of them are modern democratic nations like ours, most of them execute political prisoners and are not known for human rights

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_capital_punishment_by_nation