What's your stand on the death penalty--capital punishment?

Question

WHAT IF someone WAS innocent!? Could you bring him back to life and acquit him after he's dead!? no, of course not!

Think about it!

Answer 1

Innocense is not the issue. What if he spent 50 years in jail and was innocent?

Capital punishment is too expensive after all of the appeals are done.

It has not been shown to be a deterent, but states that have the death penalty have seen the number of capital cases increase.

Answer 2

You don't have to condone brutal crimes or want the criminals who commit them to avoid a harsh punishment to ask whether the death penalty prevents or even reduces crime and whether it risks killing innocent people. Here a some faqs, with sources, about the way the death penalty actually functions.

What about the risk of executing innocent people? Most people think this would be intolerable.
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, which is supposed to prevent executions of innocent people.

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

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: Like you said, sometimes the legal system gets it wrong. In the last 30 years, over 100 people have been released from death row 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 4

We cannot bring back to life one who has been put to death. But, do we allow the guilty to live a life with a cozy jail cell, three meals a day, and better living condtions than some hard working individuals? Our society is growing more and more violent every moment. I agree with the death penalty as well as public executions. This country is on the brink of another civil war, marshal law, and a very miserable life including the population boom of "illegal immigrants." Whichever comes first is not a factor, but the end result is definite. Buckle down folks!

Answer 5

There are criminals I believe are most deserving of their punishment and should be put to death, however even these deserve an appeal. I feel that not until every shred of evidence even down to a microscopic speck of DNA to prove a person's guilt should be examined before a declaration of the death sentence is carried out.

Answer 6

I'm mixed on this one. IN GENERAL, I do not "believe in" the death penalty. I feel that most people would suffer the most if we just put them in prison for life - no parole, no nothing, they would just be banned forever and have to die there.

HOWEVER, in rare instances I believe someone should suffer the same, for committing an extremely heinous crime. For example, if an adult brutally rapes and kills a child, I believe they should be beaten with bats and rocks and die a slow, painful death. You know what I mean?

Answer 7

I'm for it. This would be a better country if the death penalty were enforced. Less people would get away with stuff. The government has a system in determining whether or not someone is guilty. You can argue about flaws, but I'm always for those in authority.

Answer 8

Death Penalty should be MANDATORY.

We really need to thin the herd.

Here's how it should go.

Trial and conviction.
Sentenced to death within 1 year.
One appeal for ALL defendants.
If appeal fails, execution is to follow within 72 hours.
Victims families determine method of execution.
Execution to be televised.

I hear people it cruel and unusual. Well, here's my take. We all become desensitized to things as we are more exposed to them. So the more we execute, the less cruel unusual it becomes.

As far as those convicted wrongly...In today's day and age when technology had vindicated many, that only means that those convicted in the future are LESS likely to be innocent in the first place.

One more thing, those who say 'killing him won't bring the victim back'....well, guess what...keeping them alive on the taxpayer dime won't bring them back either, so your point is moot.

Answer 9

The appeals process allows for the accused to prove his/her innocence time and again. Besides, by doing even the basest research, you will find that the amount of innocent individuals put to death is less than 1/10th of 1%.

Answer 10

I don't believe in the death penalty. Taking away someone's life is something no one should have the right to do. Besides, it seems worse to me to make them suffer and stay in prison for the rest of their lives than to die quickly and almost painlessly.