Im doing a research paper on capital punishment, and i wanted to include a paragraph about how people felt about it. whether it was right or wrong and why. so if you guys could tell me what you thought about it, it would be great! :) thanks!
2007-10-09 14:50:08 · 13 answers · asked by Schecter18 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Other - Politics & Government
Two thoughts first. 1. i am not a bleeding heart that believes people should get away with crime. 2. death is permanent.
I can not accept capital punishment because our legal/justice/jury/trial/criminal system is very imperfect. most trials that determine life or death of an accused person is in actuality a contest between lawyers. jurors are people who listen, and then become convinced or unconvinced by what they hear. our justice system just has too many holes in it to let it determine a persons life. what happens when a person is executed, then found to be innocent? do we all say "oops?"
life sentences are best. if circumstances or "truth" changes down the road, at least the person is still alive. our system is just too fallible to let it say a person must die.
2007-10-09 15:12:37 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
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.Your question deserves more than a sound bite. Use what info you like- the sources are listed below (you may already have seen these sources.)
Risks of executing innocent people-
124 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence. DNA is available in less than 10% of all homicides and isn’t a guarantee we won’t execute innocent people.
The death penalty doesn't prevent others from committing murder. No reputable study shows the death penalty is 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 don’t.
We have a good alternative. 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.
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.
The death penalty isn't reserved for the worst crimes but for defendants with the worst lawyers. It doesn't apply to people with money. When is the last time a wealthy person was on death row, let alone executed?
The death penalty doesn't necessarily help families of murder victims. 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.
Problems with speeding 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.
2007-10-09 22:44:40 · answer #2 · answered by Susan S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did any of them think about the Crimes committed against their victims? Pedophiles should be included. The criminals involved that do recieve the Death Penalty, live for years on apeal after appeal. The only thing that should stop an execution is If the Evidence can trully introduce a Doubt of being guilty.
2007-10-09 21:58:32 · answer #3 · answered by ShadowCat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm for it. But, it is the appeals process leading to extended imprisonment and delay of executing the sentence that is cruel and unusual punishment. There is no reason for a last-minute appeal of a murder committed ten or more years ago on technical grounds to even be heard by any appeals court at any level.
2007-10-10 00:27:59 · answer #4 · answered by desertviking_00 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I personally don't agree with it. I don't think it's up to man to take another man's life. Having said that, if someone ever harmed one of my kids, I'd kill them!! I think it's a really tough thing. If some perv rapes and kills a 7 yr old, of course we all want that person to fry. At the same time, innocent people have been executed. It really isn't much of a deterent if you look at how many people are on death row. I just don't think it's worth it.
2007-10-09 21:55:09 · answer #5 · answered by BoredinVA 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would solve our overpopulated prisons.
I'm just saying that I believe murder, repeat offenders of rape & pedophilia should get capital punishment. We don't need their genes!
With DNA evidence nowadays, I only advocate the death penalty when there is absolutely no doubt that the person is guilty.
2007-10-09 21:52:43 · answer #6 · answered by Katzy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its right,
its necessary,
it should not be a punishment, its an extermination.
but at the same time
i feel deeply concerned that the government has this power.
it takes way to long to happen.
2007-10-09 21:53:53 · answer #7 · answered by That Guy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I feel if someone is willing to take someone else's life then they should be able to take the same consequence, of death. We don't need to waste money (from taxes) keeping a killer alive in jail.
2007-10-09 21:54:20 · answer #8 · answered by Will T 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard a detective put it like this.
"the threat of the death penalty may not deter one person from committing a crime but if you execute a murder you have just deterred him from ever killing anyone else."
2007-10-09 22:21:55 · answer #9 · answered by CFB 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
an eye for an eye
2007-10-09 23:06:15 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋