Do rapists, murderers, and child molesters deserve to live?

Question

Or have they instead forfeited the right to have their lives respected by the very society whose lives they did not respect?


I'd like a bit more than just yes/no responses, which shall be frowned upon.

I didn't mean to imply that crime is habitually all they do. Perhaps I should have said "a person who committed rape, murder, or child molestation."


Let's also assume that the criminal is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and/or that there are multiple eyewitnesses to the offense.

From the penal literature that I've read, child molesters frequently do not survive incarceration for long, even at the vigilante spirits among other inmates.

Liberty:

I believe you are referring to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran who spoke at Columbia University in September.

Answer 1

I'm of two minds on that one. For cases where it is proved beyond all doubt, and the forensics link the accused so solidly as to be impossible to contradict, I would say let's kill them. Particularly if it is a rape/murder of a child. In THAT case, then I'd say HELL YEAH let's kill the scum.

The problem is that it is (sadly) rare to get impeccable forensics. You should not kill someone until you are SURE they are the one. We owe it to the victims to get it right when we do in a perp.

Therefore, I'm OK with a life-without-pardon-or-parole type of sentence. They can live - and if new evidence comes up that is exculpatory, then well and good, they SHOULD go free. If we have the right person but have trouble proving it, living your life out in a cage is not a winning result, either.

Answer 2

Life is too valuable, and shouldn't be taken away without a really serious examination of the facts in case by case bases. But I do believe that if this criminal is beyond our current ability to take him into corrections and transform him/her into a law abiding citizen then we must be more creative in order to protect society and those who can not fence by themselves.
Perhaps this kind of criminals should be sent to prison for their remaining of their natural life, anything less only to those less dangerous and after castration and monitoring. Lets face it, a rapist uses another humans body as he/her pleases and therefore they should forfeit their own bodies accordingly. To many castration may be a cruel and unusual punishment, but it works for much more cases then receive credits for, and as a deterrent it may save many lives.

Maybe, we should ask their victims, they are the only ones that truly know how much of hell they went through and the nightmare they now had no choice but live with it for the rest of their lives. They should have the power to decide the fate of their rapist after the courts are done and it had been determinate that the defendant/s is/are guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. So if she says life is prison so life is prison is, or if she says castrate the bastard then castration is his/her fate.

Answer 3

They need not be a part of our society. They need to be dealt with. When Amadoojghi whoever from Pakistan visited our country and spoke at Columbia University? I didn't disagree with many things he said. One thing that I was so struck by was the fact that a student asked how he dealt with such people, and Amanjgjie answer was, Well, don't you want to? That is my answer too. They need to be dealt with in less then a nice way.

Answer 4

I don't think you should put Murderers in the same category as Rapists and child molesters unless they murdered a child. As far as these crimes against a helpless child. Yes, I think that is the problem with America we feel pity for these pigs. I think child molesters should be put out in public and be lynched alive.

Answer 5

Rapists deserve prison...possibly forever, depending on the severity of the circumstances and the certainty of guilt (not like the Duke/Lacross case).

Child Molestors...the situational version (opportunistic...step-father with a teen step daughter while drunk) should serve the time, receive counseling and be released. The fixated version (only thinks and dreams of molesting young children) need to stay in jail till they die.

Murderers need the death penalty. Thats the price you pay for taking a life...you lose yours. I'd like to see a pay per view on the executions and a lottery draw for who gets to be the executioner...use the money earned to pay for trial costs and to help the victim's family.

Answer 6

"Do you believe they deserve to have clothes on their back, a shelter to prevent them from becoming sick, and food to aid them in living?" You're referring to while they're in custody? Yes, of course they do. Remember, we don't provide decent treatment for prisoners because THEY are good people. We do it because WE are good people. And whether or not it is a realistic hope, we do hope that they will come to see the error of their ways and become contributing members of society.

Answer 7

An eye for an eye. Murders should but put to dead but without waiting for years on appeals after appeals. It drains our economy, just get it done. Rapist, molesters, should just get castrated no questions asked.

Answer 8

I feel they dont deserve to live, the things they do are pathetic and unnecessary. It is inhuman for someone to do, but in our society, one with so much hate it is turning into a norm. But i personally see them as deserving death, and noone should do such disgusting things with their lives!

Answer 9

They deserve to rot in prison for the **** they do, i was molested and both my mom & sister were rapped so yea, all those rapists, murders and child molesters deserve to rot in both jail & hell.

Answer 10

Yes, they deserve to live but only after they had been castrated and/or their penis cut off, and a special mark added to their driver license or state ID, so everyone knows who they are until they die.