Does it disgust you that the US is the only industrialized nation that still murders its citizens?

Question

AKA "Capital Punishment"?

Answer 1

No. But you are wrong in your premise. China has Capital punishment and last time I looked they were industrialized.

Answer 2

That's not an entirely true statement. Many countries still practice capital punishment whether they choose to officially endorse the practice or not.

Personally, Given that Amnesty International has many instances of prisoners being vivisected in China and elsewhere, I suspect that traditional forms of capital punishment seem positively enlightened.

It is also the case that while many states in the US have capital punishment "on the books", that many states do not actually enforce the law as such. Texas would be an example of a state where they both heavily convict for and carry out punishment for capital crimes, they also have a poor record acknowledging prosecutorial fraud, so nearly 1 in 10 death row inmates was recently exhonorated through DNA, which should thankfully give most states pause....just not Texas.

New Jersey on the other hand, has had a capital punishment law for some time and hasn't actually executed anyone in nearly 50 years (since 1964 if I remember).

Answer 3

The U.S. Federal Government rarely executes anyone any more. The states, on the other hand, perform most executions. Because the United States is a federal republic and affords significant power to states, either a Constitutional Amendment, a Supreme Court ruling, or individual state initiatives would be required to end the practice. All of these initiatives take significant time and effort to have an effect. In addition, most Americans are in support of the death penalty. That alone probably explains why it is practiced in the United States.
The US, oddly enough, has a de facto moratorium on almost all executions for the next few months as the US Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality of Lethal Injection- used in all states with the death penalty but one. Until that is decided, there will probably be no executions.
New Jersey recently abolished the death penalty, making it 36 states with the death penalty.

Answer 4

I don't like capital punishment. I think it is archaic and does not deter most capital crimes (if it did, Florida and Texas would have the lowest crime rates). I think that it sometimes kills innocent people (as the development of DNA testing has proven). I think it ties up the courts with appeals which cost more to the taxpayers than imposing life imprisonment. I think that using it for crimes committed while under 18 is a violation of international law.

But it has been practiced for thousands of years, so disgust is too strong a word. Also, what punishment can deter multiple murders? If a person has committed one, he may as well kill more since there is nothing to lose.

Answer 5

The United States is not the only industrialized country with the death penalty. To show the company we are in, however, here is the list of countries that voted (In the UN) against a (non binding) death penalty moratorium resolution:

Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Chad, China, Comoros, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Grenada, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United States, Yemen, Zimbabwe.

The top 5 nations in executions carried out in 2006 are- China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan, United States.

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.

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 6

No, not really. Murder implies that the person has not done something wrong, whereas capital punishment is, well, punishment for a crime that is so severe that it carries the penalty of one's life.

Answer 7

No, I am all for it. Think if it was YOUR 6 year old child that was headed, sodomized and thrown into a ditch. You caught the killer, he had done this before to other children, you want to pay his food, medical, cable, exercise rooms, attorneys fees, education, etc. for the rest of his life? He doesn't deserve to live!

Answer 8

We average around one a month in Texas, and governors past and present do not grant paroles. Only DNA and the Supreme Court will slow Texas down. The message is clear... if you plan on killing, don't come to Texas.

Answer 9

No, not at all. In fact, I think they should carry out more death sentences, instead of letting them live in hotel conditions on our dime.

Besides, I believe "an eye for an eye" deters crime. If more people were walking around missing a hand or two for stealing, they surely couldn't do it again.

Answer 10

mur·der
n.
1. The unlawful killing of one human by another, especially with premeditated malice.

Since capital punishment isn't unlawful, it can't be murder. Hope that helps.