Do you beleive in the Death Penalty?

Question

Currently, as we speak, a man on Death Row in Alabama has been denied a DNA test that could exonerate him, yet the United States Supreme Court has denied his request for a DNA test against the accusers rape kit that was taken in 1982.

This Man has been in jail from 1982 until now and is scheduled to be executed Dec 6th 2007-that is next week.

All levels of our (USA) JUDICIAL SYSTEM HAS DENIED HIS REQUEST TO A DNA TEST that could prove him innocent.

Help save this mans life from Murder. Watch this video and be sick from what is happening. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8-YBISH0gU

Have we turned into a Savage Nation?

I DO NOT personally know this individual, however - place yourself, a family member, a friend into his shoes.

Power of the People! Please sign this petition on his behalf!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/save-thomas-d-arthur-frm-execution-09-27-2007

Answer 1

I dont believe in death penalty, but the people who believe he should be executed abviously have a good reason for it. I don't believe in death penalty because I think the criminal should suffer instead of just letting him die, and if what you are saying is true then we are a savage nation and our government is bitter.

Answer 2

The death penalty is one example of something I believe in - but it is not the only example.

What I believe should exist is the power of a society to take someone and say, "Because of what you have done, you can never in a gazillion years come back to normal society. Your crime is SO depraved and heinous that you can never be allowed back into common surroundings." I.e. A life sentence with no pardon, parole, commutation, or any way out.

If a state wants to forego the death penalty then I think they should have one of these "out of society forever" sentences available. And if they want to pay for the criminal to stay in jail until he rots, fine. Just keep the scumbag off the streets.

But if a state doesn't want to keep building more jails and doesn't want to release someone back to society either, then a death penalty makes sense. It is, after all, the ultimate deterrent. Any guy who is executed for his crimes won't go out again tomorrow and kill someone else. (Unless you are stuck in a bad movie.)

I agree, however, that a person who is about to face the most terrible power a government can impose should always be given the chance to prove innocence or at least prove the existence of reasonable doubt. Which is why I'm against the idea of disallowing an exonerating DNA test.

If you are going to impose the ultimate penalty on a person, you owe it to that person - AND THE VICTIMS - to dot every i and cross every t in finding the perpetrator and dealing harshly with same. You owe it to the citizens to get it right so that there is more trust (or at least less distrust) in the heart of our criminal justice system. You owe it to those who died to make this country what it is that you should be absolutely sure you have the right person.

Answer 3

The primary flaw in the application of the death penalty (why are you capitalizing it by the way?) is that it is not applied often enough.

Do some research and find out how many people are murdered by criminals in this country every year.

Then get the total number of convicted murderers actually put to death in the same year.

Right there is the problem.

You have a better chance of winning the Powerball Lottery, getting crushed in a stampede, and struck twice by lightning all in the same day than you do of being executed for committing murder in this country.

DNA tests to exonerate an individual? YES, of course. As well as any other evidence including a chemical debriefing of the accused if no other way presents itself of establishing innocence.

But once those avenues of appeal are exhausted, and guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is established, then it is time for them to die.

The problem isn't that a few risk being executed wrongfully....that can be fixed with little effort given the political will to do so.

The problem is that thousands, more than thousands, who desperately deserve death are not getting it.

Answer 4

Cases like this one reflect very badly on our justice system. Yet they are rather common in the system. Take a look at www.innocenceproject.org and you will see a large number of cases that eventually resulted in exoneration with DNA prosecutors resisted testing DNA over and over again.

In fact, you don't have to sympathize with criminals or want them to avoid a terrible punishment to ask if the death penalty prevents or even reduces crime and to think about the risks of executing innocent people. Your question is much too important to settle without having answers to these questions.

124 people on death rows have been released with proof that they were wrongfully convicted. 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 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 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.

Answer 5

any penalty system have the following three purposes:

1.will be a deterrent to others not ot do crime.

2.deterrent to the accused, not to repeat any crime in future.

3.Solace to the mental agony of the victim to the crime.

In the case of death penalty, the first purpose is not served which is evident, there is no end to grave crimes which is happening every day.

The second pupose is also not served in death penaty because the accused will be no more.

It can serve only the third purpose of consoling the victim. So death penaty has to be deliberated in the light of the mental agony of the victims. So, istead of death penalty, life imprisonment with out bail or parole could meet the end justice and it may serve the first two purposes also. Even a mercy request by the accused to the victim (not necessarily to the judiciary) may relieve the pain, i hope. hence, under no circumstances, death penalty can be justified.

Answer 6

A star for your empathy.
I do wish more people would stand up for their beliefs the way you have.

I don't believe capital punishment is a solution to crime. Apart from stooping to the level of murder, it is no deterrent as has been proved in countries where capital punishment is rampant.

Another not so compassionate but realistic reason why I abhor the capital punishment is that it is way too easy for child murderers/ abusers.

Will surely sign your petition. Capital punishment needs to abolished as soon as possible as Bishop Desmond Tutu recently advocated.

Answer 7

Most asurably, I believe in the death sentence, but not in the case your talking about, why on earth would they not take a dna test, where are the human rights activists when you need them, thats just plain not fair. where are the civil rights people that are always shouting their mouths off, why are they not helping this person get a dna sample??????????

Answer 8

IF there is just cause for the death sentence, yes, i beleive in the process, i can't beleive that the system has not weighted all the facts of this matter.

Answer 9

I use to but after seeing how the DA and cops both lie just to get a guilty verdict I don't any more

Answer 10

i dont believe in the death penalty too many innocents have died that way. I can understand how victims families support it though.