Should death penalty be banned?

Question

I live in a state of New Jersey, and for the first time in four decades death penalty have been banned in my state. I personally think it would be better for prisoners like rapists and sex offenders if they could just die. Because people say that killing is wrong no matter who it is, but if they have to spend their life in jail getting raped, isn't that more...cruel?

Answer 1

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. I think your question must be answered on the basis of what is best for society.

125 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 those 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 2

Yes - it is a fact that sometimes the legal system gets it wrong. Since 1973 in the U.S. alone, 140 people have been released from death row because they were exonerated by DNA and other evidence. These are ALL people who were found guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Unfortunately, DNA evidence is not available in most homicide cases. So, as long as the death penalty is in place, you are pretty much GUARANTEED to occasionally execute an innocent person. That alone is reason enough to oppose capital punishment, but there are many others: - Cost - because of the legal apparatus designed to minimize wrongful executions (and the enormous expense of maintaining death row facilities), it costs taxpayers MUCH more to execute someone than to imprison them for life. - As you mentioned, it is not a deterrent - violent crime rates are consistently HIGHER in death penalty jurisdictions. - It is inconsistently and arbitrarily applied. - Because the U.S. is one of the last remaining nations with capital punishment, many other countries refuse to extradite known criminals who should be standing trial here. - It fosters a culture of violence by asserting that killing is an acceptable solution to a problem. - Jesus was against it (see Matthew 5:7 & 5:38-39, James 4:12, Romans 12:17-21, John 8:7, and James 1:20). - Life without parole (LWOP) is on the books in most states now (all except Alaska), and it means what it says. People who get this sentence are taken off the streets. For good. - As Voltaire once wrote, "let the punishments of criminals be useful. A hanged man is good for nothing; a man condemned to public works still serves the country, and is a living lesson." - Whether you’re a hardened criminal or a government representing the people, killing an unarmed human being is wrong. Period. “He did it first” is not a valid excuse.

Answer 3

~And then when a DNA test proves that the person is innocent, how are you going to bring them back after you've pulled the plug?

Are you aware of how many people have spent years in prison only to later be proven innocent (by recent DNA tests)?

If the judicial system was perfect, the death penalty might be a deterrent. However, until then, I'm for banning it.

Answer 4

i think the death penalty is like an easy way out for some. i believe they should have life in prison and suffer for what they did. sure it may sound a bit cruel but if they got death penalty what they did was ten times worse.

Answer 5

I don't think the death penalty should be banned... it was made to be a deterrent to crimes, though it really isn't and it costs the states more in appeals by keeping someone on death row, but I still believe that some crimes are so horrific, the death penalty is the only thing that fits.

Answer 6

I agree with Ashlie A. But the main reason it isn't, is because less than 1% of murderers get the death penalty.

Answer 7

The Older one gets, the MORE you realise just how LONG a "Life Sentence" really is. "Lifers" (people who are in Prison for the Duration...) understand this. -So there isn't as much violence among THEM as there is in the General Population. THEIR punishment- is to spend the REST of their Lives, watching the World go by without them. 40 or 50 years of THAT, doesn't get them "off the hook" the way Execution would. I applaud N.J. for having the Sense to understand that.

Answer 8

I think in a democracy, people should vote on that. My own religious stance is that killing is wrong. We lock up a murderer so he doesn't do it again. But other people may want killing because they enjoy revenge. Well, if more than 50% of people want it that way, the democracy sais so be it.

Answer 9

No! The death penalty should be killed, and (possibly) slaughtered! It is far more cruel to be alive and suffer, than to be tortured by death, and so on, and so forth! You know I'm right!(probably).

Answer 10

Yes. The death penalty is barbaric and wrong. Too many innocent people are killed also.