Should repeat sex offenders get the death penalty?

Question

Do you think that repeat sex offenders should get the threat of the death penalty? When time behind bars and probation doesn't get through to these sickos, do you think we should try something different? I think that these people don't deserve to live, and a lot of these guys need to be made an example of to the others. If not killed, I think they should spend the rest of their lives behind bars and not put on probation so they can repeat the crime again. These people need a more harsh punishment!!!! What do you guys think?

In reply to you alex42z, I believe that somebody who looks at child porn is a disgusting person who would be even more tempted to act on the "curiosity" to an actual person and not limit himself to downloading some pictures. Being a sex offender of any type cannot be justified. It is all held on the same level to me. No sex offender is better than the next. I don't care if it was child porn, molesting a family member, or raping a complete stranger, they are all sick perverts who shouldn't be any part of the society that I, or any other decent human being, should live in. That is a shame how you make Child Porn out to be something innocent and non deserving of any serious punishment. Besides, curiousity killed the cat.

Answer 1

Anyone who's guilt is certain, who can't be let out because they continue to be a menace to society in the form of murder, rape or molestation should be executed, plain and simple.

It's not about wanting to "get back" at someone, it's about protecting our society and not wasting our precious tax dollars on someone who can't be released or rehabilitated.

Yes, you could argue that the punishment itself is cruel & unusual, but in some cases, it is a necessary evil.

In the US it costs roughly $26,000 a year to keep 1 prisoner alive in prison. Not adjusting for inflation, which would make it worse, if someone stays in prison for life, from age 25-85, that costs us 1.3 million dollars, just for that one person.

If they committed truly heinous crimes, beyond a shadow of a doubt (think Jeffrey Dahmer types) where there is no way we would ever let them out, and rehabilitation is out of the question, do us all a favor and use that 1.3 million to do something good in the world.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Opinions on this issue (and it's a very current and hotly-debated issue) don't mean much because the legal term "sex offender" covers such wide territory. For example, a person who downloads a single image of child porn is classified as a sex offender. In most states, that means that he must automatically be registered online, often for 15 years to life, during which time his every activity will be monitored by law enforcement (and by his neighbors who will see his name and address publicly posted on the internet). Life in prison? Why should the taxpayers be burdened with the cost for this type of offender? Maybe the dude is 18 yrs old and just curious-- that's not a legal defense, but, even if he did it 2 or 3 times, do you really think he should get the death penalty? I think the point is to have a wide range of punishments for the judge to decide.

Answer 4

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 on the basis of sound bites.

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 5

The punishment should fit the crime. There are as many repeat sex offenders as there are repeat drunk drivers killing innocent people, and repeat domestic abusers killing and/or harming "loved ones", mentally for the rest of their lives. The problems with the laws that govern sex offender crimes is that lawmakers are focused on the nature of the crime ONLY. Lawmakers have been stuck in a tunnel vision of trying to control sex offenders as a way to protect our children. The problem is the future sex offenders. How do we protect our children from the ones that have not been caught yet? We need to educate our children, and know what they are doing with their time and with whom. I agree that stiffer penalties might stop repeat and future sex offenders. This is not my belief because of the gross nature of the crime but because like all heinous crimes against people, the time should fit the crime including the death penalty, and "3 strikes your out" laws.

Answer 6

This question assumes that these sex offenders are making rational decisions when they commit these crimes. I personally don't think they are. Unless the immediate threat of death is present, I don't think it will deter this type of criminal at all.

As far as killing them goes, well that might just be doing them a favor. I guess it's doing the rest of us a favor too, but why should they get out of life while the rest of us have to stay here and confront our everyday challenges? Maybe instead we could put them all in a room together and let them offend each other to their hearts' content.

Answer 7

I think a conviction in murder and rape (or sex offenses altogether) should carry mandatory death sentences due to the nature of the crime. I don't think my tax dollars should pay for such people to live for free for the rest of their lives. They do not deserve a lifetime of 3 hot meals a day, free bed to sleep in every night, free cable or satellite TV, etc. People in prison live with much more comforts than many people trying to make a living for themselves. And I dont think it should take 20 years to be carried out.

Answer 8

I think they should be incarcerated for life. I think death would be a treat for them. Sex offenders, especially the ones who hurt children are worse off living than dying. Overall I am not a believer in the death penalty.

Answer 9

Sounds good to me. I've always thought that serial rapists and child molesters should either be put to death at hard labor or sent to a place like Devil's Island so they can all perv-out together while trying to scrape up enough food to survive..

Answer 10

I don't think anyone deserves life in prison. I mean, why should I pay the bill to have them educated, fed and clothed ? I think all of them deserve to die. If there is anyone who is spending a lifetime using my tax dollars for NO reason , KILL THEM. There is no chance of redemption or release , so , who cares ? Save my money for roads and other municipal problems. As far as sex offenders goes........thise animals should have it cut off or more aptly, ripped off mechanically and left to fend for themselves. After all, anyone can pee out of a whole.